Differential Spinal and Supraspinal Activation of Glia in a Rat Model of Morphine Tolerance

Development of tolerance is a well known pharmacological characteristic of opioids and a major clinical problem. In addition to the known neuronal mechanisms of opioid tolerance, activation of glia has emerged as a potentially significant new mechanism. We studied activation of microglia and astrocytes in morphine tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia in rats using immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and RNA sequencing in spinal-and supraspinal regions. Chronic morphine treatment that induced tolerance and hyperalgesia also increased immunoreactivity of spinal microglia in the dorsal and ventral horns. Flow cytometry demonstrated that morphine treatment increased the proportion of M2-polarized spinal microglia, but failed to impact the number or the proportion of M1-polarized microglia. In the transcriptome of microglial cells isolated from the spinal cord (SC), morphine treatment increased transcripts related to cell activation and defense response. In the studied brain regions, no activation of microglia or astrocytes was detected by immunohistochemistry, except for a decrease in the number of microglial cells in the substantia nigra. In flow cytometry, morphine caused a decrease in the number of microglial cells in the medulla, but otherwise no change was detected for the count or the proportion of M1-and M2-polarized microglia in the medulla or sensory cortex. No evidence for the activation of glia in the brain was seen. Our results suggest that glial activation associated with opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia occurs mainly at the spinal level. The transcriptome data suggest that the microglial activation pattern after chronic morphine treatment has similarities with that of neuropathic pain. (C) 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Systemic hypertonic saline enhances glymphatic spinal cord delivery of lumbar intrathecal morphine

The blood-brain barrier significantly limits effective drug delivery to central nervous system (CNS) targets. The recently characterized glymphatic system offers a perivascular highway for intrathecally (i.t.) administered drugs to reach deep brain structures. Although periarterial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) influx and concomitant brain drug delivery can be enhanced by pharmacological or hyperosmotic interventions, their effects on drug delivery to the spinal cord, an important target for many drugs, have not been addressed. Hence, we studied in rats whether enhancement of periarterial flow by systemic hypertonic solution might be utilized to enhance spinal delivery and efficacy of i.t. morphine. We also studied whether the hyperosmolar intervention affects brain or cerebrospinal fluid drug concentrations after systemic administration. Periarterial CSF influx was enhanced by intraperitoneal injection of hypertonic saline (HTS, 5.8%, 20 ml/kg, 40 mOsm/kg). The antinociceptive effects of morphine were characterized, using tail flick, hot plate and paw pressure tests. Drug concentrations in serum, tissue and microdialysis samples were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Compared with isotonic solution, HTS increased concentrations of spinal i.t. administered morphine by 240% at the administration level (T13-L1) at 60 min and increased the antinociceptive effect of morphine in tail flick, hot plate, and paw pressure tests. HTS also independently increased hot plate and paw pressure latencies but had no effect in the tail flick test. HTS transiently increased the penetration of intravenous morphine into the lateral ventricle, but not into the hippocampus. In conclusion, acute systemic hyperosmolality is a promising intervention for enhanced spinal delivery of i.t. administered morphine. The relevance of this intervention should be expanded to other i.t. drugs and brought to clinical trials.Peer reviewe

MANF Is Essential for Neurite Extension and Neuronal Migration in the Developing Cortex

Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein with neuroprotective effects. Previous studies have shown that MANF expression is altered in the developing rodent cortex in a spatiotemporal manner. However, the role of MANF in mammalian neurogenesis is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the role of MANF in neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation, differentiation, and cerebral cortex development. We found that MANF is highly expressed in neural lineage cells, including NSCs in the developing brain. We discovered that MANF-deficient NSCs in culture are viable and show no defect in proliferation. However, MANF-deficient cells have deficits in neurite extension upon neuronal differentiation. In vivo, MANF removal leads to slower neuronal migration and impaired neurite outgrowth. In vitro, mechanistic studies indicate that impaired neurite growth is preceded by reduced de novo protein synthesis and constitutively activated unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways. This study is the first to demonstrate that MANF is a novel and critical regulator of neurite growth and neuronal migration in mammalian cortical development.Peer reviewe

Intrastriatally Infused Exogenous CDNF Is Endocytosed and Retrogradely Transported to Substantia Nigra

Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) protects the nigrostriatal dopaminergic (DA) neurons in rodent models of Parkinson's disease and restores DA circuitry when delivered after these neurons have begun to degenerate. These DA neurons have been suggested to transport striatal CDNF retrogradely to the substantia nigra (SN). However, in cultured cells the binding and internalization of extracellular CDNF has not been reported. The first aim of this study was to examine the cellular localization and pharmacokinetic properties of recombinant human CDNF (rhCDNF) protein after its infusion into rat brain parenchyma. Second, we aimed to study whether the transport of rhCDNF from the striatum to the SN results from its retrograde transport via DA neurons or from its anterograde transport via striatal GABAergic projection neurons. We show that after intrastriatal infusion, rhCDNF diffuses rapidly and broadly, and is cleared with a half-life of 5.5 h. Confocal microscopy analysis of brain sections at 2 and 6 h after infusion of rhCDNF revealed its widespread unspecific internalization by cortical and striatal neurons, exhibiting different patterns of subcellular rhCDNF distribution. Electron microscopy analysis showed that rhCDNF is present inside the endosomes and multivesicular bodies. In addition, we present data that after intrastriatal infusion the rhCDNF found in the SN is almost exclusively localized to the DA neurons, thus showing that it is retrogradely transported.Peer reviewe