Role of XIAP gene overexpressed bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of cerebral injury in rats with cerebral palsy

Reciprocal crosslink among MeCP2/BDNF /CREB signaling pinpointed in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder, or individual disability (ID), is a condition characterized by complications in social interaction, restricted repetitive behavior, and difficulties in social communication. Neuquinon (NQ) possess a powerful therapeutic potential in various neurodegenerative disease. Nevertheless, contributing to NQ's low water solubility and bioavailability, its medicinal use has been constrained. Liposomes were supposed to be prospective drug-delivering agents for NQ, crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and reaching the target organs. The current investigation aims to track the signaling pathways that govern NQ and liposomal neuquinon (LNQ) action in autistic models generated by ethyl formic acid. The neurotransmitters gamma amino-butyric acid (GABA), acetylcholine (ACh), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in addition to, the gene expressions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), and methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) and the DNA damage COMET analysis at different time intervals of the study, were assessed. EFA in a dose of 500 mg/kg BW was used to induce autism in rats, and then NQ and LNQ were administered in 10 mg/kg and 2 mg/kg BW, respectively. The results revealed that NQ and LNQ significantly down-regulated BDNF, GABA, and AChE; on the other hand, they up-regulated MeCP2, CREB gene expressions, and ACh action. NQ and LNQ displayed improvement in DNA damage in almost all brain regions after EFA alterations; even better results were noticed post-LNQ therapy. Therefore, it may be concluded that neuquinon and liposomal-loaded neuquinon have a therapeutic index versus EFA-induced autism in a rat model.

Proteomic analysis discovers potential biomarkers of early traumatic axonal injury in the brainstem

OBJECTIVE

Application of Tandem Mass Tags (TMT)-based LC-MS/MS analysis to screen for differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in traumatic axonal injury (TAI) of the brainstem and to predict potential biomarkers and key molecular mechanisms of brainstem TAI.

METHODS

A modified impact acceleration injury model was used to establish a brainstem TAI model in Sprague-Dawley rats, and the model was evaluated in terms of both functional changes (vital sign measurements) andstructural changes (HE staining, silver-plating staining and β-APP immunohistochemical staining). TMT combined with LC-MS/MS was used to analyse the DEPs in brainstem tissues from TAI and Sham groups. The biological functions of DEPs and potential molecular mechanisms in the hyperacute phase of TAI were analysed by bioinformatics techniques, and candidate biomarkers were validated using western blotting and immunohistochemistry on brainstem tissues from animal models and humans.

RESULTS

Based on the successful establishment of the brainstem TAI model in rats, TMT-based proteomics identified 65 DEPs, and bioinformatics analysis indicated that the hyperacute phase of TAI involves multiple stages of biological processes including inflammation, oxidative stress, energy metabolism, neuronal excitotoxicity and apoptosis. Three DEPs, CBR1, EPHX2 and CYP2U1, were selected as candidate biomarkers and all three proteins were found to be significantly expressed in brainstem tissue 30 min-7 days after TAI in both animal models and humans.

CONCLUSION

Using TMT combined with LC-MS/MS analysis for proteomic study of early TAI in rat brainstem, we report for the first time that CBR1, EPHX2 and CYP2U1 can be used as biomarkers of early TAI in brainstem by means of western blotting and immunohistochemical staining, compensating for the limitations of silver-plating staining and β-APP immunohistochemical staining, especially in the case of very short survival time after TAI (shorter than 30 min). A number of other proteins that also have a potential marker role are also presented, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms, therapeutic targets and forensic identification of early TAI in brainstem.

Influence of Perinatal Factors on Gene Expression of IAPs Family and Main Factors of Pluripotency: OCT4 and SOX2 in Human Breast Milk Stem Cells-A Preliminary Report

Due to their therapeutic potential, mesenchymal stem cells are the subject of intensive research on the use of their potential in the treatment of, among others, neurodegenerative diseases or immunological diseases. They are among the newest in the field of medicine. The presented study aimed to evaluate the expression of eight genes from the IAP family and the gene regulating IAP-XAF1-in stem cells derived from human milk, using the qPCR method. The relationships between the expression of genes under study and clinical data, such as maternal age, maternal BMI, week of pregnancy in which the delivery took place, bodyweight of the newborn, the number of pregnancies and deliveries, and the time elapsed since delivery, were also analyzed. The research was carried out on samples of human milk collected from 42 patients hospitalized in The Clinic of Obstetrics and Perinatology of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4, in Lublin. The conducted research confirmed the expression of the following genes in the tested material: NAIP, BIRC2, BIRC3, BIRC5, BIRC6, BIRC8, XIAP, XAF1, OCT4 and SOX2. Moreover, several dependencies of the expression of individual genes on the maternal BMI (BIRC5, XAF1 and NAIP), the time since childbirth (BIRC5, BIRC6, XAF1 and NAIP), the number of pregnancies and deliveries (BIRC2, BIRC5, BIRC6 and XAF1), the manner of delivery (XAF1 and OCT4), preterm labor (BIRC6 and NAIP) were demonstrated. Additionally, we found positive relationships between gene expression of BIRC7, BIRC8 and XAF1 and the main factors of pluripotency: SOX2 and OCT4. This work is the first to investigate the expression of genes from the IAPs family in mother's milk stem cells.

The functional mechanism of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of animal models with Alzheimer's disease: crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis

The transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) alleviates neuropathology and improves cognitive deficits in animal models with Alzheimer's disease. However, the underlying mechanism remains undefined. Based on meta-analysis and comprehensive review, high-profile studies support the theory that transplanted BMMSCs activate autophagy, as evidenced by the expression levels of signal molecules such as Beclin-1, Atg5, LC3-II, and mTOR. Functional autophagy mitigates neuronal apoptosis, which is reflected by the alterations of IAPs, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and so forth. Moreover, the transplantation of BMMSCs can decrease aberrant amyloid-beta peptides as well as tau aggregates, inhibit neuroinflammation, and stimulate synaptogenesis. There is a signal crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis, which may be regulated to produce synergistic effect on the preconditioning of stem cells. Forasmuch, the therapeutic effect of transplanted BMMSCs can be enhanced by autophagy and/or apoptosis modulators.

The Effect of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) on Brain Injury Repair and Synapse Regeneration in Mice Under Different Conditions of Intrauterine Ischemia and Hypoxia Through Wnt Pathway

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can be differentiated into a variety of cells and repair damaged cells. We explore whether BMSCs can repair brain damage and synapses regeneration in mice under intrauterine ischemia and hypoxia. Twenty-five pregnant mice were assigned into control group, 6% hypoxic injury group, 8% hypoxic injury group, 6% treatment group, 8% treatment group followed by analysis of the expression of MBP, MAG, CSPGs, IGF-1, NCAN, COLIV, SynD1G1, GFAP, GSK-3β, and β-actin by RT-PCR and Western blot. Our results showed that the expression of MBP, MAG, COL IV, SynD1G1, IGF-1 in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in hypoxic injury group with significant differences between the 8% treatment group and 6% treatment group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, BMSCs can repair brain damage and synapse regeneration in mice under different intrauterine ischemia and hypoxia conditions which might be through Wnt signaling pathway.

The Effect of Sirtuin 2 (Sirt2) Overexpressing Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Growth of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (Her-2) Breast Cancer Cells and Its Mechanism

Our study investigates the effect of high expression of Sirt2 in MSCs (MSCs-Sirt2) on Her-2 breast cancer cell proliferation. A mouse subcutaneous xenograft tumor model was established and MSCssirt2 analysis was performed on nude mice. TUNEL staining, flow cytometry, western-blot, real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect cancer cell apoptosis. The number of NK cells infiltrated by flow cytometry detected the tumor tissue of tumor-bearing mice, and its killing activity on tumor-bearing mice was detected by isotope labeling and release method. The levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-10 were detected by ELISA. Caspase-3 level was decreased in the MSCs group (P <0.01) while increased in the MSCs-sirt2 group (P <0.001). However, PCNA expression showed an opposite profile in the Her-2 group and MSCs-sirt2 group compared to Caspase-3 level (P <0.01). The tumor volume and weight in the MSCs-sirt2 group was significantly reduced (P < 0.01), while increased in the MSCs group significantly (P < 0.05). The number of Ki-67-positive tumor cells in MSCs-sirt2 group was significantly reduced (P <0.01) and increased in MSCs group (P < 0.001) with oppositive number of TUNEL-positive tumor cells in the MSCs-sirt2 group and MSCs group (P <0.01). IFN-γ level showed an upward trend (P <0.001). The NK cell toxicity of MSCs-Sirt2 group was significantly higher (P <0.001). MSCs-Sirt2 has an inhibitory effect on Her-2 breast cancer cell growth by enhancing the local inflammatory response of NK cells.

Proteomic changes in the hippocampus and motor cortex in a rat model of cerebral palsy: Effects of topical treatment

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive motor-impairment disorder related to brain injury early in development. To gain new insights into the mechanisms of CP and the therapeutic efficacy of Baimai ointment, we used a high-throughput quantitative proteomic approach to evaluate proteomic changes in the hippocampus and motor cortex in a rat model of CP induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) combined with hypoxia/ischemia (H/I). More than 2000 proteins were identified in each brain region with high confidence. Quantitative analysis demonstrated profound disturbances in the proteomes of the hippocampus and motor cortex after LPS + H/I, in addition to the disruption of the motor system. In contrast, the topical application of Baimai ointment not only alleviated the motor deficit in the CP model rats, but also restored the proteomes in the brain cortex. Furthermore, astrocytes in the hippocampus were strongly activated in the Baimai-treated CP rat brains, associated with an increase in neurotrophic factors. Proteomic analysis demonstrated that the CP model induced neuroinflammatory responses in the brain which were reversed by the topical application of Baimai ointment. This study highlights the unexpected roles of hippocampus and motor cortex neurons in CP progress and treatment, thus providing potentially novel therapeutic targets for CP.