The complex role of physical exercise and reactive oxygen species on brain

AbstractReactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously generated during aerobic metabolism and at moderate level. They play a role in redox signaling, but in significant concentration they cause oxidative damage and neurodegeneration. Because of the enhanced sensitivity of brain to ROS, it is especially important to maintain the normal redox state in different types of neuron cells. In last decade it became clear that regular exercise beneficially affects brain function, and can play an important preventive and therapeutic role in stroke, Alzheimer, and Parkinson diseases. The effects of exercise appear to be very complex and could include neurogenesis via neurotrophic factors, increased capillariszation, decreased oxidative damage, and increased proteolytic degradation by proteasome and neprilysin. Data from our and other laboratories indicate that exercise-induced modulation of ROS levels plays a role in the protein content and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, tyrosine-related kinase B (TrkB), and cAMP response element binding protein, resulting in better function and increased neurogenesis. Therefore, it appears that exercise-induced modulation of the redox state is an important means, by which exercise benefits brain function, increases the resistance against oxidative stress, facilitates recovery from oxidative stress, and attenuates age-associated decline in cognition

The Allolobophora sturanyi species group revisited: Integrated taxonomy and new taxa (Clitellata: Megadrili)

The Allolobophora sturanyi Rosa, 1895 species group is revisited using DNA barcoding and morphology. Barcoding results corroborated the previous treatment of the Allolobophora sturanyi subspecies and furthermore proved that the morphologically similar Allolobophora gestroides Zicsi, 1970 species belong to this species group. Elaboration of new samples from the Apuseni Mts resulted in discovery of a new subspecies A. sturanyi biharica ssp. nov. from the summit of the Bihor range, and a new species A. zicsica from the Vladeasa range similar to A. gestroides described from Northern Hungary

Measuring statistical learning by eye-tracking

Statistical learning—the skill to pick up probability-based regularities of the environment—plays a crucial role in adapting to the environment and learning perceptual, motor, and language skills in healthy and clinical populations. Here, we developed a new method to measure statistical learning without any manual responses. We used the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task, adapted to eye-tracker, which, besides measuring reaction times (RTs), enabled us to track learning-dependent anticipatory eye movements. We found robust, interference-resistant learning on RT; moreover, learning-dependent anticipatory eye movements were even more sensitive measures of statistical learning on this task. Our method provides a way to apply the widely used ASRT task to operationalize statistical learning in clinical populations where the use of manual tasks is hindered, such as in Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, it also enables future basic research to use a more sensitive version of this task to measure predictive processing

Mitochondrial biogenesis-associated factors underlie the magnitude of response to aerobic endurance training in rats

Trainability is important in elite sport and in recreational physical activity, and the wide range for response to training is largely dependent on genotype. In this study, we compare a newly developed rat model system selectively bred for low and high gain in running distance from aerobic training to test whether genetic segregation for trainability associates with differences in factors associated with mitochondrial biogenesis. Low response trainer (LRT) and high response trainer (HRT) rats from generation 11 of artificial selection were trained five times a week, 30 min per day for 3 months at 70 % VO2max to study the mitochondrial molecular background of trainability. As expected, we found significant differential for the gain in running distance between LRT and HRT groups as a result of training. However, the changes in VO2max, COX-4, redox homeostasis associated markers (reactive oxygen species (ROS)), silent mating-type information regulation 2 homolog (SIRT1), NAD+/NADH ratio, proteasome (R2 subunit), and mitochondrial network related proteins such as mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Fis1) and mitochondrial fusion protein (Mfn1) suggest that these markers are not strongly involved in the differences in trainability between LRT and HRT. On the other hand, according to our results, we discovered that differences in basal activity of AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKα) and differential changes in aerobic exercise-induced responses of citrate synthase, carbonylated protein, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC1-α), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), and Lon protease limit trainability between these selected lines. From this, we conclude that mitochondrial biogenesis-associated factors adapt differently to aerobic exercise training in training sensitive and training resistant rats

Large-brained birds suffer less oxidative damage

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Proteomic Changes of Osteoclast Differentiation in Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis Reveal Functional Differences

BACKGROUND: Osteoclasts play a crucial role in the maintenance, repair, and remodeling of bones of the adult vertebral skeleton due to their bone resorption capability. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are associated with increased activity of osteoclasts. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to investigate the dynamic proteomic changes during osteoclast differentiation in healthy donors, in RA, and PsA. METHODS: Blood samples of healthy donors, RA, and PsA patients were collected, and monocytes were isolated and differentiated into osteoclasts in vitro using macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANK-L). Mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used to analyze proteins from cell lysates. The expression changes were analyzed with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). RESULTS: The analysis of the proteomic changes revealed that during the differentiation of the human osteoclasts, expression of the proteins involved in metabolic activity, secretory function, and cell polarity is increased; by contrast, signaling pathways involved in the immune functions are downregulated. Interestingly, the differences between cells of healthy donors and RA/PsA patients are most pronounced after the final steps of differentiation to osteoclasts. In addition, both in RA and PsA the differentiation is characterized by decreased metabolic activity, associated with various immune pathway activities; furthermore by accelerated cytokine production in RA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results shed light on the characteristic proteomic changes during human osteoclast differentiation and expression differences in RA and PsA, which reveal important pathophysiological insights in both diseases