Hippocampal neurogenesis and Arc expression are enhanced in high-fat fed prepubertal female pigs by a diet including omega-3 fatty acids and Bifidobacterium breve CECT8242

Obesity during childhood has become a pandemic disease, mainly caused by a diet rich in sugars and fatty acids. Among other negative effects, these diets can induce cognitive impairment and reduce neuroplasticity. It is well known that omega-3 and probiotics have a beneficial impact on health and cognition, and we have hypothesized that a diet enriched with Bifidobacterium breve and omega-3 could potentiate neuroplasticity in prepubertal pigs on a high-fat diet.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cav-1 Protein Levels in Serum and Infarcted Brain Correlate with Hemorrhagic Volume in a Mouse Model of Thromboembolic Stroke, Independently of rt-PA Administration.

Thrombolytic therapy with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is currently the only FDA-approved drug for acute ischemic stroke. However, its administration is still limited due to the associated increased risk of hemorrhagic transformation (HT). rt-PA may exacerbate blood-brain barrier (BBB) injury by several mechanisms that have not been fully elucidated. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a major structural protein of caveolae, has been linked to the endothelial barrier function. The effects of rt-PA on Cav-1 expression remain largely unknown. Here, Cav-1 protein expression after ischemic conditions, with or without rt-PA administration, was analyzed in a murine thromboembolic middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and in brain microvascular endothelial bEnd.3 cells subjected to oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). Our results show that Cav-1 is overexpressed in endothelial cells of infarcted area and in bEnd.3 cell line after ischemia but there is disagreement regarding rt-PA effects on Cav-1 expression between both experimental models. Delayed rt-PA administration significantly reduced Cav-1 total levels from 24 to 72 h after reoxygenation and increased pCav-1/Cav-1 at 72 h in the bEnd.3 cells while it did not modify Cav-1 immunoreactivity in the infarcted area at 24 h post-MCAO. Importantly, tissue Cav-1 positively correlated with Cav-1 serum levels at 24 h post-MCAO and negatively correlated with the volume of hemorrhage after infarction, the latter supporting a protective role of Cav-1 in cerebral ischemia. In addition, the negative association between baseline serum Cav-1 levels and hemorrhagic volume points to a potential usefulness of baseline serum Cav-1 levels to predict hemorrhagic volume, independently of rt-PA administration.This work was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-fnanced by the European Development Regional Fund “A Way to Achieve Europe” Health Strategic Action Program PI13/02258 and PI17/02123 (MC), PI20/00535 (IL), and Spanish Stroke Research Network RETICS RD12/0014/0010 (MC), and RD16/0019/0003 (JS), RD16/0019/0004 (MC), and RD16/0019/0009 (IL); from Regional Madrid Government B2017/BMD- 3688 (IL); from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PID2019-106581RBI00 (MAM); from Leducq Foundation for Cardiovascular Research TNE-19CVD01 (MAM); and from Fundación La Caixa HR17_00527 (MAM). P. Comajoan was a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the University of Girona (IF-UdG 2015).S

Electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle as a potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease: effects on molecular markers in rodent model

Electrical stimulation of deep brain areas has been suggested as a novel approach to restore memory circuits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Previous studies from our group have demonstrated that rewarding stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB-ICSS) facilitates learning and memory in healthy and brain-lesioned rats. This thesis assesses for the first time the effect of MFB-ICSS on AD-associated molecules and its relation with cognitive outcome in rats, including amyloid-β and streptozotocin sporadic AD models. Results confirmed that MFB-ICSS modulates AD-related molecules and facilitates memory in this condition. Specifically, amyloid precursor protein (APP), phosphorylated tau and key gene expression regulators like SIRT1 and particular microRNAs are modulated by MFB-ICSS in the hippocampus of treated rats. Moreover, effects on miR-132 and SIRT1 were also observed in blood, suggesting a potential use of these molecules as non-invasive biomarkers. Altogether, these data sustain the MFB as a promising stimulation target for AD treatment.L’estimulació elèctrica de regions cerebrals profundes s’ha proposat com una estratègia per reparar els circuits de la memòria en la malaltia d’Alzheimer (AD). Estudis previs del nostre grup demostren que l’estimulació reforçant del feix prosencefàlic medial (MFB-ICSS) facilita l’aprenentatge i la memòria en rates sanes o amb determinades lesions cerebrals. En aquesta tesi, s’avalua per primera vegada l’efecte de la MFB-ICSS sobre molècules associades amb l’AD i la relació amb la millora cognitiva en rates, incloent els models d’AD esporàdic de β-amiloide i d'estreptozotocina. Els resultats confirmen que la MFB-ICSS afecta molècules relacionades amb l’AD i facilita la memòria en aquest context. Concretament, modula els nivells de les proteïnes APP, tau fosforilada, SIRT1 i determinats microARNs a l’hipocamp. A més, els efectes sobre miR-132 i SIRT1 també s’observen en sang, suggerint un potencial biomarcador d’aquestes molècules. Globalment, aquests resultats situen el MFB com a diana d’estimulació prometedora per tractar l’ADPrograma de Doctorat en Biologia Molecular, Biomedicina i Salu