Alterations in the antioxidant enzyme activities in the neurodevelopmental rat model of schizophrenia induced by glutathione deficiency during early postnatal life

The aim of the present study was to assess the e ects of l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO), a glutathione (GSH) synthesis inhibitor, and GBR 12909, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, administered alone or in combination to Sprague-Dawley rats during early postnatal development (p5–p16), on the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LP) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione disulfide reductase (GR) in peripheral tissues (liver, kidney) and selected brain structures (prefrontal cortex, PFC; hippocampus, HIP; and striatum, STR) of 16-day-old rats. The studied parameters were analyzed with reference to the content of GSH and sulfur amino acids, methionine (Met) and cysteine (Cys) described in our previous study. This analysis showed that treatment with a BSO + GBR 12909 combination caused significant decreases in the lipid peroxidation levels in the PFC and HIP, in spite of there being no changes in ROS. The reduction of lipid peroxidation indicates a weakening of the oxidative power of the cells, and a shift in balance in favor of reducing processes. Such changes in cellular redox signaling in the PFC and HIP during early postnatal development may result in functional changes in adulthood

Glutathione deficiency and alterations in the sulfur amino acid homeostasis during early postnatal development as potential triggering factors for schizophrenia-like behavior in adult rats

Impaired glutathione (GSH) synthesis and dopaminergic transmission are important factors in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Our research aimed to assess the effects of l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO), a GSH synthesis inhibitor, and GBR 12909, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, administered alone or in combination, to Sprague-Dawley rats during early postnatal development (p5-p16), on the levels of GSH, sulfur amino acids, global DNA methylation, and schizophrenia-like behavior. GSH, methionine (Met), homocysteine (Hcy), and cysteine (Cys) contents were determined in the liver, kidney, and in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP) of 16-day-old rats. DNA methylation in the PFC and HIP and schizophrenia-like behavior were assessed in adulthood (p90-p93). BSO caused the tissue-dependent decreases in GSH content and alterations in Met, Hcy, and Cys levels in the peripheral tissues and in the PFC and HIP. The changes in these parameters were accompanied by alterations in the global DNA methylation in the studied brain structures. Parallel to changes in the global DNA methylation, deficits in the social behaviors and cognitive functions were observed in adulthood. Only BSO + GBR 12909-treated rats exhibited behavioral alterations resembling positive symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Our results suggest the usefulness of this neurodevelopmental model for research on the pathomechanism of schizophrenia

N-Acetylcysteine and Aripiprazole Improve Social Behavior and Cognition and Modulate Brain BDNF Levels in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia

Treatment of negative symptoms and cognitive disorders in patients with schizophrenia is still a serious clinical problem. The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of chronic administration of the atypical antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (7-{4-[4-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1-piperazinyl] butoxy}-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone; ARI) and the well-known antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) both in alleviating schizophrenia-like social and cognitive deficits and in reducing the decreases in the levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP) of adult Sprague-Dawley rats, that have been induced by chronic administration of the model compound L-buthionine-(S, R)-sulfoximine (BSO) during the early postnatal development (p5–p16). ARI was administered at doses of 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg while NAC at doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg, alone or in combination. Administration of higher doses of ARI or NAC alone, or co-treatment with lower, ineffective doses of these drugs significantly improved social and cognitive performance as assessed in behavioral tests. Both doses of NAC and 0.3 mg/kg of ARI increased the expression of BDNF mRNA in the PFC, while all doses of these drugs and their combinations enhanced the levels of BDNF protein in this brain structure. In the HIP, only 0,3 mg/kg ARI increased the levels of both BDNF mRNA and its protein. These data show that in the rat BSO-induced neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, ARI and NAC differently modulated BDNF levels in the PFC and HIP

N-Acetylcysteine and Aripiprazole Improve Social Behavior and Cognition and Modulate Brain BDNF Levels in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia

Treatment of negative symptoms and cognitive disorders in patients with schizophrenia is still a serious clinical problem. The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of chronic administration of the atypical antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (7-{4-[4-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1-piperazinyl] butoxy}-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone; ARI) and the well-known antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) both in alleviating schizophrenia-like social and cognitive deficits and in reducing the decreases in the levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP) of adult Sprague-Dawley rats, that have been induced by chronic administration of the model compound L-buthionine-(S, R)-sulfoximine (BSO) during the early postnatal development (p5–p16). ARI was administered at doses of 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg while NAC at doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg, alone or in combination. Administration of higher doses of ARI or NAC alone, or co-treatment with lower, ineffective doses of these drugs significantly improved social and cognitive performance as assessed in behavioral tests. Both doses of NAC and 0.3 mg/kg of ARI increased the expression of BDNF mRNA in the PFC, while all doses of these drugs and their combinations enhanced the levels of BDNF protein in this brain structure. In the HIP, only 0,3 mg/kg ARI increased the levels of both BDNF mRNA and its protein. These data show that in the rat BSO-induced neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, ARI and NAC differently modulated BDNF levels in the PFC and HIP

From Light-Powered Motors, to Micro-Grippers, to Crawling Caterpillars, Snails and Beyond—Light-Responsive Oriented Polymers in Action

“How would you build a robot, the size of a bacteria, powered by light, that would swim towards the light source, escape from it, or could be controlled by means of different light colors, intensities or polarizations?” This was the question that Professor Diederik Wiersma asked PW on a sunny spring day in 2012, when they first met at LENS—the European Laboratory of Nonlinear Spectroscopy—in Sesto Fiorentino, just outside Florence in northern Italy. It was not just a vague question, as Prof. Wiersma, then the LENS director and leader of one of its research groups, already had an idea (and an ERC grant) about how to actually make such micro-robots, using a class of light-responsive oriented polymers, liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), combined with the most advanced fabrication technique—two-photon 3D laser photolithography. Indeed, over the next few years, the LCE technology, successfully married with the so-called direct laser writing at LENS, resulted in a 60 micrometer long walker developed in Prof. Wiersma’s group (as, surprisingly, walking at that stage proved to be easier than swimming). After completing his post-doc at LENS, PW returned to his home Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, and started experimenting with LCE, both in micrometer and millimeter scales, in his newly established Photonic Nanostructure Facility. This paper is a review of how the ideas of using light-powered soft actuators in micromechanics and micro-robotics have been evolving in Warsaw over the last decade and what the outcomes have been so far

Państwo i Społeczeństwo 2022, nr 1 Medycyna i zdrowie publiczne

Z wprowadzenia: "Oddajemy w Państwa ręce kolejny numer czasopisma „Państwo i Społeczeństwo – Medycyna i Zdrowie Publiczne”. W numerze znalazły się prace oryginalne, poglądowe oraz opis przypadku. Zakres tematyczny artykułów obejmuje nauki medyczne i nauki o zdrowiu. Prace oryginalne to w większości wyniki badań prowadzonych przez pracowników Wydziału Lekarskiego i Nauk o Zdrowiu Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Artykuł Agnieszki Fusińskiej-Korpik i wsp. stanowi refleksję na temat możliwości i ograniczeń aplikacji mobilnych wspierających procesy automotywacyjne w zakresie zmiany zachowań zdrowotnych. Publikacja zawiera przegląd podstawowych informacji dotyczących potencjału tych aplikacji w obszarze zdrowia, a także jakościowy opis badań fokusowych użytkowników testujących aplikację Walk4Change. Kolejny artykuł autorstwa Grażyny Dębskiej i wsp. przedstawia ocenę poziomu wsparcia społecznego i jakości życia matek i ojców dzieci z niepełnosprawnością fizyczną. Z kolei Anna Goździalska i wsp. prezentują wyniki badań markerów molekularnych, które pozwalają na wyznaczenie granicy między guzem a tkanką prawidłową w przypadku raka podstawnokomórkowego skóry."(...