Spinal autophagy is differently modulated in distinct mouse models of neuropathic pain

BACKGROUND Autophagy is a homeostatic degradative process essential for basal turnover of long-lived proteins and organelles as well as for removal of dysfunctional cellular components. Dysregulation of the autophagic machinery has been recently associated to several conditions including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, but only very few studies have investigated its role in pain processing. RESULTS We previously described autophagy impairment at the spinal cord in the experimental model of neuropathic pain induced by spinal nerve ligation (SNL). In this study, we characterized the main autophagic markers in two other common experimental models of neuropathic pain, the chronic constriction injury (CCI) and the spared nerve injury (SNI). The different modulation of LC3-I, Beclin 1 and p62 suggested that autophagy is differentially affected in the spinal dorsal horn depending on the type of peripheral injury. Confocal analysis of p62 distribution in the spinal dorsal horn indicated its presence mainly in NeuN-positive cell bodies and occasionally in glial processes, thus suggesting a predominant expression in the neuronal compartment. Finally, we investigated the consequences of autophagy impairment on pain behaviour by using the autophagy blocker cloroquine. Intrathecal chloroquine injection in naïve mice induced spinal accumulation of LC3 and p62 paralleled by significant mechanical hypersensitivity thus confirming the block in autophagosome clearance and suggesting the participation of the autophagic process in spinal mechanisms of pain processing. Altogether, our data indicate that spinal autophagy is differentially altered in different experimental pain models of neuropathic pain and that this process may be relevant for pain control

New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS): an Australian multiagency, multigenerational, longitudinal record linkage study

Purpose: The initial aim of this multiagency, multigenerational record linkage study is to identify childhood profiles of developmental vulnerability and resilience, and to identify the determinants of these profiles. The eventual aim is to identify risk and protective factors for later childhood-onset and adolescent-onset mental health problems, and other adverse social outcomes, using subsequent waves of record linkage. The research will assist in informing the development of public policy and intervention guidelines to help prevent or mitigate adverse long-term health and social outcomes. Participants: The study comprises a population cohort of 87,026 children in the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW). The cohort was defined by entry into the first year of full-time schooling in NSW in 2009, at which time class teachers completed the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) on each child (with 99.7% coverage in NSW). The AEDC data have been linked to the children's birth, health, school and child protection records for the period from birth to school entry, and to the health and criminal records of their parents, as well as mortality databases. Findings to date: Descriptive data summarising sex, geographic and socioeconomic distributions, and linkage rates for the various administrative databases are presented. Child data are summarised, and the mental health and criminal records data of the children's parents are provided. Future plans: In 2015, at age 11 years, a self-report mental health survey was administered to the cohort in collaboration with government, independent and Catholic primary school sectors. A second record linkage, spanning birth to age 11 years, will be undertaken to link this survey data with the aforementioned administrative databases. This will enable a further identification of putative risk and protective factors for adverse mental health and other outcomes in adolescence, which can then be tested in subsequent record linkages.Vaughan J Carr, Felicity Harris, Alessandra Raudino, Luming Luo, Maina Kariuki, Enwu Liu, Stacy Tzoumakis, Maxwell Smith, Allyson Holbrook, Miles Bore, Sally Brinkman, Rhoshel Lenroot, Katherine Dix, Kimberlie Dean, Kristin R Laurens, Melissa J Gree

Artificial Modulation of the Gating Behavior of a K+ Channel in a KvAP-DNA Chimera

We present experiments where the gating behavior of a voltage-gated ion channel is modulated by artificial ligand binding. We construct a channel-DNA chimera with the KvAP potassium channel reconstituted in an artificial membrane. The channel is functional and the single channel ion conductivity unperturbed by the presence of the DNA. However, the channel opening probability vs. bias voltage, i.e., the gating, can be shifted considerably by the electrostatic force between the charges on the DNA and the voltage sensing domain of the protein. Different hybridization states of the chimera DNA thus lead to different response curves of the channel

Continuum Molecular Simulation of Large Conformational Changes during Ion–Channel Gating

A modeling framework was developed to simulate large and gradual conformational changes within a macromolecule (protein) when its low amplitude high frequency vibrations are not concerned. Governing equations were derived as alternative to Langevin and Smoluchowski equations and used to simulate gating conformational changes of the Kv7.1 ion-channel over the time scale of its gating process (tens of milliseconds). The alternative equations predict the statistical properties of the motion trajectories with good accuracy and do not require the force field to be constant over the diffusion length, as assumed in Langevin equation. The open probability of the ion–channel was determined considering cooperativity of four subunits and solving their concerted transition to the open state analytically. The simulated open probabilities for a series of voltage clamp tests produced current traces that were similar to experimentally recorded currents

A comparative study on long-term evoked auditory and visual potential responses between Schizophrenic patients and normal subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The electrical signals measuring method is recommended to examine the relationship between neuronal activities and measure with the event related potentials (ERPs) during an auditory and a visual oddball paradigm between schizophrenic patients and normal subjects. The aim of this study is to discriminate the activation changes of different stimulations evoked by auditory and visual ERPs between schizophrenic patients and normal subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-three schizophrenic patients were selected as experimental group patients, and 40 healthy subjects with no medical history of any kind of psychiatric diseases, neurological diseases, or drug abuse, were recruited as a control group. Auditory and visual ERPs were studied with an oddball paradigm. All the data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software version 10.0.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the comparative study of auditory and visual ERPs between the schizophrenic and healthy patients, P300 amplitude at Fz, Cz, and Pz and N100, N200, and P200 latencies at Fz, Cz, and Pz were shown significantly different. The cognitive processing reflected by the auditory and the visual P300 latency to rare target stimuli was probably an indicator of the cognitive function in schizophrenic patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows the methodology of application of auditory and visual oddball paradigm identifies task-relevant sources of activity and allows separation of regions that have different response properties. Our study indicates that there may be slowness of automatic cognitive processing and controlled cognitive processing of visual ERPs compared to auditory ERPs in schizophrenic patients. The activation changes of visual evoked potentials are more regionally specific than auditory evoked potentials.</p

PET and SPECT Imaging in Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders

Movement disorders can be classified in hypokinetic (e.g., Parkinson's disease, PD) and hyperkinetic disorders (e.g., dystonia, chorea, tremor, tics, myoclonus, and restless legs syndrome). In this chapter, we will discuss results from positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging studies in patients with tremor, tics, myoclonus, and restless legs syndrome. Most studies in patients with tremor included patients with essential tremor (ET): a bilateral, largely symmetric, postural or kinetic tremor mainly involving the upper limbs and sometimes the head. Other studies evaluated patients with orthostatic tremor (OT): an unusually high frequent tremor in the legs that mainly occurs when patients are standing still. Increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and increased glucose metabolism have been found in the cerebellum, sensorimotor cortex, and thalamus in both patients with ET and OT compared to controls. Both PET and SPECT studies have evaluated the dopamine system in patients with ET and OT. Most imaging studies in patients with ET showed no, or only subtle loss of striatal tracer binding to the dopamine transporter indicating that ET is not characterized by nigrostriatal cell loss. The serotonin and/or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) systems may play a role in the pathophysiology of ET. PET and SPECT imaging of the dopamine and serotonin system in patients with OT showed no abnormalities. Tics, the clinical hallmark of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS), are relatively brief and intermittent involuntary movements (motor tic) and sounds (phonic tic). The essential features of tics are that (1) they can be temporarily suppressed; after suppression a rebound usually occurs with a flurry of tics; (2) the patient experiences an urge to tic, and (3) the tic is followed by a short moment of relief. Using 18F-FDG PET, it was shown that TS is a network disorder where multiple brain areas are active or inactive at the same time. The exact composition of this network is yet to be determined. Using rCBF PET and SPECT many brain regions were found to be abnormal, however, tics mostly correlated with hypoperfusion of the caudate nucleus and cingulate cortex. Both dopamine and serotonin are likely to play a role in the pathophysiology of TS. It is hypothesized that TS is characterized by low serotonin levels that modulate increased phasic dopamine release. Myoclonus is defined as a brief muscle jerk and occurs in many neurologic and non-neurologic disorders. Imaging with PET and SPECT in patients with myoclonus mainly showed abnormalities consistent with the underlying disorder. We described PET and SPECT imaging results in patients in which myoclonus was a prominent symptom. Hypoperfusion and/or hypometabolism of the frontoparietal cortex was found in patients with negative epileptic myoclonus, Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familiar insomnia, and posthypoxic myoclonus. Other findings that were frequently reported were decreased rCBF and/or glucose metabolism in the cerebellum and thalamus and abnormalities in the dopamine system. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is defined as an urge to move the legs accompanied with an unpleasant sensation in the legs or in another body part that is especially present during the evening and night and that can be accompanied by periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). Imaging studies in these patients have mainly focused on the dopamine system. Most PET studies found decreased tracer binding to the dopamine transporter, although this was not found in SPECT studies. Both PET and SPECT studies showed conflicting results regarding dopamine D2/3 receptor binding: both increased and decreased tracer binding was reported. Furthermore, it is likely that the serotonin and opioid systems also play a role in the pathophysiology of RLS.</p

Identifying priority sites for whale shark ship collision management globally

The expansion of the world's merchant fleet poses a great threat to the ocean's biodiversity. Collisions between ships and marine megafauna can have population-level consequences for vulnerable species. The Endangered whale shark (Rhincodon typus) shares a circumglobal distribution with this expanding fleet and tracking of movement pathways has shown that large vessel collisions pose a major threat to the species. However, it is not yet known whether they are also at risk within aggregation sites, where up to 400 individuals can gather to feed on seasonal bursts of planktonic productivity. These "constellation" sites are of significant ecological, socio-economic and cultural value. Here, through expert elicitation, we gathered information from most known constellation sites for this species across the world (&gt;50 constellations and &gt;13,000 individual whale sharks). We defined the spatial boundaries of these sites and their overlap with shipping traffic. Sites were then ranked based on relative levels of potential collision danger posed to whale sharks in the area. Our results showed that researchers and resource managers may underestimate the threat posed by large ship collisions due to a lack of direct evidence, such as injuries or witness accounts, which are available for other, sub-lethal threat categories. We found that constellations in the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, and Southeast and East Asia, had the greatest level of collision threat. We also identified 39 sites where peaks in shipping activity coincided with peak seasonal occurrences of whale sharks, sometimes across several months. Simulated collision mitigation options estimated potentially minimal impact to industry, as most whale shark core habitat areas were small. Given the threat posed by vessel collisions, a coordinated, multi-national approach to mitigation is needed within priority whale shark habitats to ensure collision protection for the species

PTPA variants and impaired PP2A activity in early-onset parkinsonism with intellectual disability

The protein phosphatase 2A complex (PP2A), the major Ser/Thr phosphatase in the brain, is involved in a number of signalling pathways and functions, including the regulation of crucial proteins for neurodegeneration, such as alpha-synuclein, tau and LRRK2. Here, we report the identification of variants in the PTPA/PPP2R4 gene, encoding a major PP2A activator, in two families with early-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. We carried out clinical studies and genetic analyses, including genome-wide linkage analysis, whole-exome sequencing, and Sanger sequencing of candidate variants. We next performed functional studies on the disease-associated variants in cultured cells and knock-down of ptpa in Drosophila melanogaster. We first identified a homozygous PTPA variant, c.893T&gt;G (p.Met298Arg), in patients from a South African family with early-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. Screening of a large series of additional families yielded a second homozygous variant, c.512C&gt;A (p.Ala171Asp), in a Libyan family with a similar phenotype. Both variants co-segregate with disease in the respective families. The affected subjects display juvenile-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. The motor symptoms were responsive to treatment with levodopa and deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. In overexpression studies, both the PTPA p.Ala171Asp and p.Met298Arg variants were associated with decreased PTPA RNA stability and decreased PTPA protein levels; the p.Ala171Asp variant additionally displayed decreased PTPA protein stability. Crucially, expression of both variants was associated with decreased PP2A complex levels and impaired PP2A phosphatase activation. PTPA orthologue knock-down in Drosophila neurons induced a significant impairment of locomotion in the climbing test. This defect was age-dependent and fully reversed by L-DOPA treatment. We conclude that bi-allelic missense PTPA variants associated with impaired activation of the PP2A phosphatase cause autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism with intellectual disability. Our findings might also provide new insights for understanding the role of the PP2A complex in the pathogenesis of more common forms of neurodegeneration.</p

Role of Basal Ganglia Circuits in Resisting Interference by Distracters: A swLORETA Study

BACKGROUND: The selection of task-relevant information requires both the focalization of attention on the task and resistance to interference from irrelevant stimuli. Both mechanisms rely on a dorsal frontoparietal network, while focalization additionally involves a ventral frontoparietal network. The role of subcortical structures in attention is less clear, despite the fact that the striatum interacts significantly with the frontal cortex via frontostriatal loops. One means of investigating the basal ganglia's contributions to attention is to examine the features of P300 components (i.e. amplitude, latency, and generators) in patients with basal ganglia damage (such as in Parkinson's disease (PD), in which attention is often impaired). Three-stimulus oddball paradigms can be used to study distracter-elicited and target-elicited P300 subcomponents. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In order to compare distracter- and target-elicited P300 components, high-density (128-channel) electroencephalograms were recorded during a three-stimulus visual oddball paradigm in 15 patients with early PD and 15 matched healthy controls. For each subject, the P300 sources were localized using standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (swLORETA). Comparative analyses (one-sample and two-sample t-tests) were performed using SPM5® software. The swLORETA analyses showed that PD patients displayed fewer dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF) distracter-P300 generators but no significant differences in target-elicited P300 sources; this suggests dysfunction of the DLPF cortex when the executive frontostriatal loop is disrupted by basal ganglia damage. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that the cortical attention frontoparietal networks (mainly the dorsal one) are modulated by the basal ganglia. Disruption of this network in PD impairs resistance to distracters, which results in attention disorders