Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Tnf-Α Promotes Nuclear Enrichment Of The Transcription Factor Tonebp/Nfat5 To Selectively Control Inflammatory But Not Osmoregulatory Responses In Nucleus Pulposus Cells., Zariel I. Johnson, Alexandra C. Doolittle, Joseph W. Snuggs, Irving M. Shapiro, Christine L. Le Maitre, Makarand V. Risbud

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) causes chronic back pain and is linked to production of proinflammatory molecules by nucleus pulposus (NP) and other disc cells. Activation of tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP)/NFAT5 by non-osmotic stimuli, including proinflammatory molecules, occurs in cells involved in immune response. However, whether inflammatory stimuli activate TonEBP in NP cells and whether TonEBP controls inflammation during IDD is unknown. We show that TNF-α, but not IL-1β or LPS, promoted nuclear enrichment of TonEBP protein. However, TNF-α-mediated activation of TonEBP did not cause induction of osmoregulatory genes. RNA sequencing showed that 8.5% of TNF-α transcriptional responses were TonEBP-dependent and …

Strain Specific Effects Of Low Level Lead Exposure On Associative Learning And Memory In Rats., Megha Verma, J. S. Schneider

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Exposure to lead (Pb) remains a significant public health concern. Lead exposure in early life impairs the normal development of numerous cognitive and neurobehavioral processes. Previous work has shown that the effects of developmental Pb exposure on gene expression patterns in the brain are modulated by various factors including the developmental timing of the exposure, level of exposure, sex, and genetic background. Using gene microarray profiling, we previously reported a significant strain-specific effect of Pb exposure on the hippocampal transcriptome, with the greatest number of differentially expressed transcripts in Long Evans (LE) rats and the fewest in Sprague Dawley (SD) …

Calcineurin Dysregulation Underlies Spinal Cord Injury-Induced K(+) Channel Dysfunction In Drg Neurons., Benjamin M. Zemel, Tanziyah Muqeem, Eric V. Brown, Miguel Goulão, Mark W Urban, Stephen R. Tymanskyj, Angelo C. Lepore, Manuel Covarrubias

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Dysfunction of the fast-inactivating Kv3.4 potassium current in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons contributes to the hyperexcitability associated with persistent pain induced by spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the underlying mechanism is not known. In light of our previous work demonstrating modulation of the Kv3.4 channel by phosphorylation, we investigated the role of the phosphatase calcineurin (CaN) using electrophysiological, molecular, and imaging approaches in adult female Sprague Dawley rats. Pharmacological inhibition of CaN in small-diameter DRG neurons slowed repolarization of the somatic action potential (AP) and attenuated the Kv3.4 current. Attenuated Kv3.4 currents also exhibited slowed inactivation. We observed similar …

Mechanisms Of Modulation Of Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Function By Thrombin., Eugen Brailoiu, Megan M. Shipsky, Guang Yan, Mary E. Abood, G. Cristina Brailoiu

College of Pharmacy Faculty Papers

Brain microvascular endothelial cells are a critical component of the blood-brain barrier. They form a tight monolayer which is essential for maintaining the brain homeostasis. Blood-derived proteases such as thrombin may enter the brain during pathological conditions like trauma, stroke, and inflammation and further disrupts the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, via incompletely characterized mechanisms. We examined the underlying mechanisms evoked by thrombin in rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (RBMVEC). Our results indicate that thrombin, acting on protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) increases cytosolic Ca

Map7 Regulates Axon Collateral Branch Development In Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons., Stephen R Tymanskyj, Benjamin Yang, Aditi Falnikar, Angelo C Lepore, Le Ma

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Collateral branches from axons are key components of functional neural circuits that allow neurons to connect with multiple synaptic targets. Like axon growth and guidance, formation of collateral branches depends on the regulation of microtubules, but how such regulation is coordinated to ensure proper circuit development is not known. Based on microarray analysis, we have identified a role for microtubule-associated protein 7 (MAP7) during collateral branch development of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons. We show that MAP7 is expressed at the onset of collateral branch formation. Perturbation of its expression by overexpression or shRNA knockdown alters axon branching in …

Adiponectin Partially Rescues High Glucose/High Fat-Induced Impairment Of Mitochondrial Biogenesis And Function In A Pgc-1Α Dependent Manner., H. Wang, W.-J. Yan, J.-L. Zhang, F.-Y. Zhang, C. Gao, Y.-J. Wang, W.B. Lau, L. Tao

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Plasma adiponectin (APN) levels are decreased in diabetic patients. Dysfunctional mitochondrial biogenesis is involved in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) pathogenesis, by unclear mechanisms. The present study determined (1) whether myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis was impaired in cardiomyocytes exposed to a high glucose/high fat (HGHF) medium (a T2DM in vitro model), (2) the effects of APN administration upon mitochondrial biogenesis in cardiomyocytes affected by HGHF incubation, and 3) the involved underlying mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) were isolated and incubated in HGHF medium. Mitochondrial function was assessed by ATP content, and fluorescent microscopic analysis of myocardial apoptosis …