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Conte C, Baldi E, Bucherelli C, di Vito R, Petri D, Traina G. Modulation of synapse-related gene expression in the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex of rats subjected to the contextual fear conditioning paradigm. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023:107776. [PMID: 37236300 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The contextual fear conditioning (CFC) paradigm is the most productive approach for understanding the neurobiology of learning and memory as it allows to follow the evolution of memory traces of a conditioned stimulus and a specific context. The formation of long-term memory involves alterations in synaptic efficacy and neural transmission. It is known that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) exerts top-down control over subcortical structures to regulate behavioural responses. Moreover, cerebellar structures are involved in storing conditioned responses. The purpose of this research was to determine if the response to conditioning and stressful challenge is associated with alterations in synapse-related genes mRNA levels in the PFC, cerebellar vermis (V), and hemispheres (H) of young adult male rats. Four groups of Wistar rats were examined: naïve, CFC, shock only (SO), and exploration (EXPL). The behavioural response was evaluated by measuring the total freezing duration. Real-Time PCR was employed to quantify mRNA levels of some genes involved in synaptic plasticity. The results obtained from this study showed alterations in gene expression in different synapse-related genes after exposure to stressful stimuli and positioning to new environment. In conclusion, conditioning behavioural stimuli change the expression profile of molecules involved in neural transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmela Conte
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Romana, 06126, Perugia, Italy.
| | - Elisabetta Baldi
- Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni, 63, 50134, Firenze, Italy.
| | - Corrado Bucherelli
- Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Università di Firenze, Viale G.B. Morgagni, 63, 50134, Firenze, Italy.
| | - Raffaella di Vito
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Romana, 06126, Perugia, Italy.
| | - Davide Petri
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, via San Zeno 37, 56123 Pisa, Italy.
| | - Giovanna Traina
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via Romana, 06126, Perugia, Italy.
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Mota SI, Pita I, Águas R, Tagorti S, Virmani A, Pereira FC, Rego AC. Mechanistic perspectives on differential mitochondrial-based neuroprotective effects of several carnitine forms in Alzheimer's disease in vitro model. Arch Toxicol 2021; 95:2769-2784. [PMID: 34164711 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-021-03104-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial deregulation has emerged as one of the earliest pathological events in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Improvement of mitochondrial function in AD has been considered a relevant therapeutic approach. L-carnitine (LC), an amino acid derivative involved in the transport of long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria, was previously demonstrated to improve mitochondrial function, having beneficial effects in neurological disorders; moreover, acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) is currently under phase 4 clinical trial for AD (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01320527). Thus, in the present study, we investigated the impact of different forms of carnitines, namely LC, ALC and propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC) on mitochondrial toxicity induced by amyloid-beta peptide 1-42 oligomers (AβO; 1 μM) in mature rat hippocampal neurons. Our results indicate that 5 mM LC, ALC and PLC totally rescued the mitochondrial membrane potential and alleviated both the decrease in oxygen consumption rates and the increase in mitochondrial fragmentation induced by AβO. These could contribute to the prevention of neuronal death by apoptosis. Moreover, only ALC ameliorated AβO-evoked changes in mitochondrial movement by reducing the number of stationary mitochondria and promoting reversal mitochondrial movement. Data suggest that carnitines (LC, ALC and PLC) may act differentially to counteract changes in mitochondrial function and movement in neurons subjected to AβO, thus counteracting AD-related pathological phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra I Mota
- CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal
- IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, 3030-789, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Inês Pita
- Institute of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rodolfo Águas
- CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Slah Tagorti
- Alfasigma B.V, 3528 BG, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Frederico C Pereira
- Institute of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - A Cristina Rego
- CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
- Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.
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Mendes GD, Zaffalon GT, Silveira AS, Ramacciato JC, Motta RHL, Gagliano-Jucá T, Lopes AG, de Almeida Magalhães JC, De Nucci G. Assessment of pharmacokinetic interaction between piracetam and l-carnitine in healthy subjects. Biomed Chromatogr 2015; 30:536-42. [PMID: 26248695 DOI: 10.1002/bmc.3579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2015] [Revised: 07/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
A rapid, sensitive and specific method for quantifying piracetam in human plasma using Piracetam d-8 as the internal standard (IS) is described. The analyte and the IS were extracted from plasma by one-step precipitation of protein using an acetonitrile (100%). The extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The method had a chromatographic run time of 3.8 min and a linear calibration curve over the range 0.5-50 µg/mL (r > 0.99). This LC-MS-MS procedure was used to assess the bioavailability of two piracetam formulations: piracetam + l-carnitine (Piracar®; 270/330 mg tablet) and piracetam (Nootropil®; 800 mg tablet) in healthy volunteers of both sexes. The geometric means with corresponding 90% confidence interval (CI) for test/reference percentage ratios were 88.49% (90% CI = 81.19 - 96.46) for peak concentration/dose and 102.55% (90% CI = 100.62 - 104.51) for AUCinf /dose. The limit of quantitation of 0.5 µg/mL is well suited for pharmacokinetic studies in healthy volunteers. It was concluded that piracetam (Piracar®; 270/330 mg tablet) has a bioavailability equivalent to the piracetam (Nootropil®; 800 mg tablet) formulation with regard to both the rate and the extent of absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo D Mendes
- Department of Pharmacology, University Camilo Castelo Branco, SP, Brazil.,Galeno Research Unit, Latino Coelho St, 1301, Parque Taquaral, 13087-010, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Traldi Zaffalon
- Department of Pharmacology, University Camilo Castelo Branco, SP, Brazil.,Faculty of Odontology, Dental Research Center São Leopoldo Mandic, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Antonio Sérgio Silveira
- Galeno Research Unit, Latino Coelho St, 1301, Parque Taquaral, 13087-010, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Thiago Gagliano-Jucá
- Galeno Research Unit, Latino Coelho St, 1301, Parque Taquaral, 13087-010, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Anibal Gil Lopes
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Camilo Castelo Branco, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Gilberto De Nucci
- Department of Pharmacology, University Camilo Castelo Branco, SP, Brazil.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Traina G, Scuri R. Transcription and protein synthesis inhibitors influence long-term effects of acetyl-l-carnitine on non-associative learning in the leech. Neurochem Int 2015; 80:72-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2014.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2014] [Revised: 11/13/2014] [Accepted: 11/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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The Beta-amyloid protein of Alzheimer's disease: communication breakdown by modifying the neuronal cytoskeleton. Int J Alzheimers Dis 2013; 2013:910502. [PMID: 24416616 PMCID: PMC3876695 DOI: 10.1155/2013/910502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2013] [Accepted: 11/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent severe neurological disorders afflicting our aged population. Cognitive decline, a major symptom exhibited by AD patients, is associated with neuritic dystrophy, a degenerative growth state of neurites. The molecular mechanisms governing neuritic dystrophy remain unclear. Mounting evidence indicates that the AD-causative agent, β-amyloid protein (Aβ), induces neuritic dystrophy. Indeed, neuritic dystrophy is commonly found decorating Aβ-rich amyloid plaques (APs) in the AD brain. Furthermore, disruption and degeneration of the neuronal microtubule system in neurons forming dystrophic neurites may occur as a consequence of Aβ-mediated downstream signaling. This review defines potential molecular pathways, which may be modulated subsequent to Aβ-dependent interactions with the neuronal membrane as a consequence of increasing amyloid burden in the brain.
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Federighi G, Traina G, Macchi M, Ciampini C, Bernardi R, Baldi E, Bucherelli C, Brunelli M, Scuri R. Modulation of gene expression in contextual fear conditioning in the rat. PLoS One 2013; 8:e80037. [PMID: 24278235 PMCID: PMC3837011 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In contextual fear conditioning (CFC) a single training leads to long-term memory of context-aversive electrical foot-shocks association. Mid-temporal regions of the brain of trained and naive rats were obtained 2 days after conditioning and screened by two-directional suppression subtractive hybridization. A pool of differentially expressed genes was identified and some of them were randomly selected and confirmed with qRT-PCR assay. These transcripts showed high homology for rat gene sequences coding for proteins involved in different cellular processes. The expression of the selected transcripts was also tested in rats which had freely explored the experimental apparatus (exploration) and in rats to which the same number of aversive shocks had been administered in the same apparatus, but temporally compressed so as to make the association between painful stimuli and the apparatus difficult (shock-only). Some genes resulted differentially expressed only in the rats subjected to CFC, others only in exploration or shock-only rats, whereas the gene coding for translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 protein and nardilysin were differentially expressed in both CFC and exploration rats. For example, the expression of stathmin 1 whose transcripts resulted up regulated was also tested to evaluate the transduction and protein localization after conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Federighi
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e Delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Fisiologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanna Traina
- Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Estimative e degli Alimenti, Sezione di Chimica Bromatologica, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Nutrizione, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Monica Macchi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Cristina Ciampini
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e Delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Fisiologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Rodolfo Bernardi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Genetica Alimentari e Agro-Ambientali, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Baldi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiologiche, Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy
| | - Corrado Bucherelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiologiche, Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy
| | | | - Rossana Scuri
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e Delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Fisiologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Traina G, Ristori C, Brunelli M, Scuri R. Acetyl-l-carnitine prevents serotonin-induced behavioural sensitization and dishabituation in Hirudo medicinalis. Behav Brain Res 2013; 253:323-8. [PMID: 23906768 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Revised: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 07/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Several studies suggest that acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) might influence learning processes. Along this line of investigation, we have previously shown that ALC impaired sensitization and dishabituation induced by nociceptive stimulation of the dorsal skin of the leech Hirudo medicinalis, in the behavioural paradigm of the swim induction (SI). In previous works we showed that 5HT was involved in both sensitization and dishabituation of SI acting through the second messenger cAMP. In this work, we have reported that for given doses and temporal ranges ALC was able to block sensitization and to impair dishabituation mimicked by the injection of 5-HT or 8Br-cAMP, a membrane permeable analogue of cAMP. Our results show that a single treatment with 2mM ALC was the most effective concentration to block the onset of sensitization induced by 5-HT injection and its major effects occurred 11 days after ALC treatment. 2mM ALC also blocked sensitization induced by 8Br-cAMP injection, whereas, ALC did not completely abolish dishabituation induced by 5-HT or 8Br-cAMP injection at the tested concentrations and at every time point.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Traina
- Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Estimative e degli Alimenti, Sezione di Chimica Bromatologica, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Nutrizione, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
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Differentially expressed genes in Hirudo medicinalis ganglia after acetyl-L-carnitine treatment. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53605. [PMID: 23308261 PMCID: PMC3537667 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2012] [Accepted: 11/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) is a naturally occurring substance that, when administered at supra-physiological concentration, is neuroprotective. It is involved in membrane stabilization and in enhancement of mitochondrial functions. It is a molecule of considerable interest for its clinical application in various neural disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and painful neuropathies. ALC is known to improve the cognitive capability of aged animals chronically treated with the drug and, recently, it has been reported that it impairs forms of non-associative learning in the leech. In the present study the effects of ALC on gene expression have been analyzed in the leech Hirudo medicinalis. The suppression subtractive hybridisation methodology was used for the generation of subtracted cDNA libraries and the subsequent identification of differentially expressed transcripts in the leech nervous system after ALC treatment. The method detects differentially but also little expressed transcripts of genes whose sequence or identity is still unknown. We report that a single administration of ALC is able to modulate positively the expression of genes coding for functions that reveal a lasting effect of ALC on the invertebrate, and confirm the neuroprotective and neuromodulative role of the substance. In addition an important finding is the modulation of genes of vegetal origin. This might be considered an instance of ectosymbiotic mutualism.
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Calabrese V, Cornelius C, Dinkova-Kostova AT, Iavicoli I, Di Paola R, Koverech A, Cuzzocrea S, Rizzarelli E, Calabrese EJ. Cellular stress responses, hormetic phytochemicals and vitagenes in aging and longevity. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2011; 1822:753-83. [PMID: 22108204 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2011.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 280] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2011] [Revised: 10/31/2011] [Accepted: 11/01/2011] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Modulation of endogenous cellular defense mechanisms represents an innovative approach to therapeutic intervention in diseases causing chronic tissue damage, such as in neurodegeneration. This paper introduces the emerging role of exogenous molecules in hormetic-based neuroprotection and the mitochondrial redox signaling concept of hormesis and its applications to the field of neuroprotection and longevity. Maintenance of optimal long-term health conditions is accomplished by a complex network of longevity assurance processes that are controlled by vitagenes, a group of genes involved in preserving cellular homeostasis during stressful conditions. Vitagenes encode for heat shock proteins (Hsp) Hsp32, Hsp70, the thioredoxin and the sirtuin protein systems. Dietary antioxidants, such as polyphenols and L-carnitine/acetyl-L-carnitine, have recently been demonstrated to be neuroprotective through the activation of hormetic pathways, including vitagenes. Hormesis provides the central underpinning of neuroprotective responses, providing a framework for explaining the common quantitative features of their dose response relationships, their mechanistic foundations, their relationship to the concept of biological plasticity as well as providing a key insight for improving the accuracy of the therapeutic dose of pharmaceutical agents within the highly heterogeneous human population. This paper describes in mechanistic detail how hormetic dose responses are mediated for endogenous cellular defense pathways including sirtuin, Nrfs and related pathways that integrate adaptive stress responses in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Antioxidants and Antioxidant Treatment in Disease.
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Modulation of Myelin Basic Protein Gene Expression by Acetyl-l-Carnitine. Mol Neurobiol 2011; 44:1-6. [DOI: 10.1007/s12035-011-8189-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2011] [Accepted: 05/09/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Traina G, Federighi G, Brunelli M, Scuri R. Cytoprotective Effect of Acetyl-l-Carnitine Evidenced by Analysis of Gene Expression in the Rat Brain. Mol Neurobiol 2009; 39:101-6. [DOI: 10.1007/s12035-009-8056-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2008] [Accepted: 01/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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