Synaptic dysfunction and abnormal processing of amyloid precursor protein(APP) are early pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Recently, noncoding RNAs such as micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and circular RNAs(circ R...Synaptic dysfunction and abnormal processing of amyloid precursor protein(APP) are early pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Recently, noncoding RNAs such as micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and circular RNAs(circ RNAs) have been reported to contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. We found an age-dependent elevation of mi R-138 in APP/PS1(presenilin-1) mice. Mi R-138 inhibited the expression of ADAM10 [a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10], promoted amyloid beta(Ab) production, and induced synaptic and learning/memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice, while its suppression alleviated the AD-like phenotype in these mice. Overexpression of sirtuin 1(Sirt1), a target of mi R-138, ameliorated the mi R-138-induced inhibition of ADAM10 and elevation of Ab in vitro. The circ RNA HDAC9(circ HDAC9) was predicted to contain a mi R-138 binding site in several databases. Its expression was inversely correlated with mi R-138 in both Ab-oligomertreated N2 a cells and APP/PS1 mice, and it co-localized with mi R-138 in the cytoplasm of N2 a cells. Circ HDAC9 acted as a mi R-138 sponge, decreasing mi R-138 expression, and reversing the Sirt1 suppression and excessive Ab production induced by mi R-138 in vitro. Moreover,circ HDAC9 was decreased in the serum of both AD patients and individuals with mild cognitive impairment.These results suggest that the circ HDAC9/mi R-138/Sirt1 pathway mediates synaptic function and APP processing in AD, providing a potential therapeutic target for its treatment.展开更多
Synapses are specialized structures that mediate information flow between neurons and target cells,and thus are the basis for neuronal system to execute various functions,including learning and memory.There are around...Synapses are specialized structures that mediate information flow between neurons and target cells,and thus are the basis for neuronal system to execute various functions,including learning and memory.There are around 1011 neurons in the human brain,with each neuron receiving thousands of synaptic inputs,either excitatory or inhibitory.A synapse is an asymmetric structure that is composed of pre-synaptic axon terminals,synaptic cleft,and postsynaptic compartments.Synapse formation involves a number of cell adhesion molecules,extracellular factors,and intracellular signaling or structural proteins.After the establishment of synaptic connections,synapses undergo structural or functional changes,known as synaptic plasticity which is believed to be regulated by neuronal activity and a variety of secreted factors.This review summarizes recent progress in the field of synapse development,with particular emphasis on the work carried out in China during the past 10 years(1999-2009).展开更多
Diabetic retinopathy （DR） is one of the most common retinal diseases world-wide. It has a complex pathology that involves the vasculature of the inner retina and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier. Extensive res...Diabetic retinopathy （DR） is one of the most common retinal diseases world-wide. It has a complex pathology that involves the vasculature of the inner retina and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier. Extensive research has determined that DR is not only a vascular disease but also has a neurodegenerative component and that essentially all types of ceils in the retina are affected, leading to chronic loss of visual function. A great deal of work using animal models of DR has established the loss of neurons and pathology of other cell types, including supporting glial cells. There has also been an increased emphasis on measuring retinal function in the models, as well as further validation and extension of the animal studies by clinical and translational research. This article will attempt to summarize the more recent developments in research towards understanding the complexities of retinal neurodegeneration and functional vision loss in DR.展开更多
Background Intense exercise can cause injury and apoptosis, but few studies have reported its effect on the central nervous system （CNS）. The initial reason for hippocampus injury is the excitotoxicity of glutamate ...Background Intense exercise can cause injury and apoptosis, but few studies have reported its effect on the central nervous system （CNS）. The initial reason for hippocampus injury is the excitotoxicity of glutamate and calcium overload. Intracellular free Ca2＋ （[Ca2＋]i） overload may trigger the apoptosis pathway and neuron damage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intense exercise could cause hippocampus apoptosis and neuron damage and then to determine which pathway was activated by this apoptosis. Methods We used one bout of swimming exhaustion rats as models. Intracellular [Ca2~]i was measured to estimate the calcium overload by Fura-2/AM immediately after exhaustion; glial fibrillary acidic protein （GFAP） and synaptophysin （SYP） immunofluorescence were performed for estimating astrocyte activation and synapse plasticity 24 hours after exhaustion. Apoptosis cells were displayed using dUTP nick end labelling （TUNEL） stain; endoplasmic reticulum （ER） stress-induced apoptosis pathway and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway were synchronously detected by Western blotting. Results An increasing level of intracellular [Ca2＋]i （P 〈0.01） was found in the hippocampus immediately after exhaustion. GFAP and SYP immunofluorescence showed that the astrocytes are activated, and the synapse plasticity collapsed significantly 24 hours after exhaustion. TUNEL stain showed that the number of apoptosis cells were notably raised （P 〈0.01）; Western blotting of the apoptosis pathway showed increasing levels of caspase-3 cleavage （P 〈0.01）, Bax （P 〈0.01）, caspase-12 cleavage （P 〈0.01）, C/EBP-homologous protein （CHOP） （P 〈0.01）, and phospho-Junamino- terminal kinases （p-JNK; P 〈0.01） and decreasing level of Bcl-2 （P 〈0.01）. Our results proved that exhaustion can induce hippocampus injury and apoptosis by [Ca2＋]i overload, with collapsed synaptic plasticity as the injury pattern and ER stress-induced apoptosis as the activated pathway. Concl展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81500925)
文摘Synaptic dysfunction and abnormal processing of amyloid precursor protein(APP) are early pathological features in Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Recently, noncoding RNAs such as micro RNAs(mi RNAs) and circular RNAs(circ RNAs) have been reported to contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. We found an age-dependent elevation of mi R-138 in APP/PS1(presenilin-1) mice. Mi R-138 inhibited the expression of ADAM10 [a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10], promoted amyloid beta(Ab) production, and induced synaptic and learning/memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice, while its suppression alleviated the AD-like phenotype in these mice. Overexpression of sirtuin 1(Sirt1), a target of mi R-138, ameliorated the mi R-138-induced inhibition of ADAM10 and elevation of Ab in vitro. The circ RNA HDAC9(circ HDAC9) was predicted to contain a mi R-138 binding site in several databases. Its expression was inversely correlated with mi R-138 in both Ab-oligomertreated N2 a cells and APP/PS1 mice, and it co-localized with mi R-138 in the cytoplasm of N2 a cells. Circ HDAC9 acted as a mi R-138 sponge, decreasing mi R-138 expression, and reversing the Sirt1 suppression and excessive Ab production induced by mi R-138 in vitro. Moreover,circ HDAC9 was decreased in the serum of both AD patients and individuals with mild cognitive impairment.These results suggest that the circ HDAC9/mi R-138/Sirt1 pathway mediates synaptic function and APP processing in AD, providing a potential therapeutic target for its treatment.
文摘Synapses are specialized structures that mediate information flow between neurons and target cells,and thus are the basis for neuronal system to execute various functions,including learning and memory.There are around 1011 neurons in the human brain,with each neuron receiving thousands of synaptic inputs,either excitatory or inhibitory.A synapse is an asymmetric structure that is composed of pre-synaptic axon terminals,synaptic cleft,and postsynaptic compartments.Synapse formation involves a number of cell adhesion molecules,extracellular factors,and intracellular signaling or structural proteins.After the establishment of synaptic connections,synapses undergo structural or functional changes,known as synaptic plasticity which is believed to be regulated by neuronal activity and a variety of secreted factors.This review summarizes recent progress in the field of synapse development,with particular emphasis on the work carried out in China during the past 10 years(1999-2009).
文摘Diabetic retinopathy （DR） is one of the most common retinal diseases world-wide. It has a complex pathology that involves the vasculature of the inner retina and breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier. Extensive research has determined that DR is not only a vascular disease but also has a neurodegenerative component and that essentially all types of ceils in the retina are affected, leading to chronic loss of visual function. A great deal of work using animal models of DR has established the loss of neurons and pathology of other cell types, including supporting glial cells. There has also been an increased emphasis on measuring retinal function in the models, as well as further validation and extension of the animal studies by clinical and translational research. This article will attempt to summarize the more recent developments in research towards understanding the complexities of retinal neurodegeneration and functional vision loss in DR.
基金This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 30270636 and No. 30671015）.
文摘Background Intense exercise can cause injury and apoptosis, but few studies have reported its effect on the central nervous system （CNS）. The initial reason for hippocampus injury is the excitotoxicity of glutamate and calcium overload. Intracellular free Ca2＋ （[Ca2＋]i） overload may trigger the apoptosis pathway and neuron damage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intense exercise could cause hippocampus apoptosis and neuron damage and then to determine which pathway was activated by this apoptosis. Methods We used one bout of swimming exhaustion rats as models. Intracellular [Ca2~]i was measured to estimate the calcium overload by Fura-2/AM immediately after exhaustion; glial fibrillary acidic protein （GFAP） and synaptophysin （SYP） immunofluorescence were performed for estimating astrocyte activation and synapse plasticity 24 hours after exhaustion. Apoptosis cells were displayed using dUTP nick end labelling （TUNEL） stain; endoplasmic reticulum （ER） stress-induced apoptosis pathway and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway were synchronously detected by Western blotting. Results An increasing level of intracellular [Ca2＋]i （P 〈0.01） was found in the hippocampus immediately after exhaustion. GFAP and SYP immunofluorescence showed that the astrocytes are activated, and the synapse plasticity collapsed significantly 24 hours after exhaustion. TUNEL stain showed that the number of apoptosis cells were notably raised （P 〈0.01）; Western blotting of the apoptosis pathway showed increasing levels of caspase-3 cleavage （P 〈0.01）, Bax （P 〈0.01）, caspase-12 cleavage （P 〈0.01）, C/EBP-homologous protein （CHOP） （P 〈0.01）, and phospho-Junamino- terminal kinases （p-JNK; P 〈0.01） and decreasing level of Bcl-2 （P 〈0.01）. Our results proved that exhaustion can induce hippocampus injury and apoptosis by [Ca2＋]i overload, with collapsed synaptic plasticity as the injury pattern and ER stress-induced apoptosis as the activated pathway. Concl
