“I could still see her in my mind’s eye”: Water and Maternal Imagery in Uwe Johnson’s Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl

This article analyzes the writings of East German author Uwe Johnson (1934-84) in terms of his experimental style—specifically transitions between descriptive passages—in conjunction with maternal imagery, as discussed through reference to Susan Suleiman’s concept of a “1.5 generation” of Holocaust survivors. A non-Jewish German author, Johnson addresses German history from the position of the perpetrators, yet born in 1934, he experienced National Socialism from the point of view of a child. In his tetralogy, Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl (1970-83), feelings of guilt and attempts to understand the German past are negotiated through the maternal figure. This figure is linked, in turn, to water as both a structural and symbolic element throughout the novel. As this article demonstrates, the effect of “blurred boundaries” is achieved through water, which functions as paradigm for the mother-daughter relationship: the narrator-protagonist Gesine’s memory is shaped by the experience of near-drowning before the eyes of her mother, Lisbeth, who commits suicide via self-immolation during Reichskristallnacht. As this article concludes, the author himself seems caught in the predicament of Suleiman’s 1.5 Generation, where perception is blurred, and immersing oneself in (imaginary) bodies of water becomes a response to the madness of fascism

“I Could Still See Her in My Mind’s Eye”: Water and Maternal Imagery in Uwe Johnson’s Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl

This article analyzes the writings of East German author Uwe Johnson (1934-84) in terms of his experimental style—specifically transitions between descriptive passages—in conjunction with maternal imagery, as discussed through reference to Susan Suleiman’s concept of a “1.5 generation” of Holocaust survivors. A non- Jewish German author, Johnson addresses German history from the position of the perpetrators, yet born in 1934, he experienced National Socialism from the point of view of a child. In his tetralogy, Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl (1970-83), feelings of guilt and attempts to understand the German past are negotiated through the maternal figure. This figure is linked, in turn, to water as both a structural and symbolic element throughout the novel. As this article demonstrates, the effect of “blurred boundaries” is achieved through water, which functions as paradigm for the mother-daughter relationship: the narrator-protagonist Gesine’s memory is shaped by the experience of near-drowning before the eyes of her mother, Lisbeth, who commits suicide via self-immolation during Reichskristallnacht. As this article concludes, the author himself seems caught in the predicament of Suleiman’s 1.5 Generation, where perception is blurred, and immersing oneself in (imaginary) bodies of water becomes a response to the madness of fascism

Identification of a Domain which Affects Kinetics and Antagonistic Potency of Clozapine at 5-HT3 Receptors

The widely used atypical antipsychotic clozapine is a potent competitive antagonist at 5-HT3 receptors which may contribute to its unique psychopharmacological profile. Clozapine binds to 5-HT3 receptors of various species. However, the structural requirements of the respective binding site for clozapine remain to be determined. Differences in the primary sequences within the 5-HT3A receptor gene in schizophrenic patients may result in an alteration of the antipsychotic potency and/or the side effect profile of clozapine. To determine these structural requirements we constructed chimeras with different 5-HT3A receptor sequences of murine and human origin and expressed these mutants in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. Clozapine antagonises recombinant mouse 5-HT3A receptors with higher potency compared to recombinant human 5-HT3A receptors. 5-HT activation curves and clozapine inhibition curves yielded the parameters EC50 and IC50 for all receptors tested in the range of 0.6–2.7 µM and 1.5–83.3 nM, respectively. The use of the Cheng-Prusoff equation to calculate the dissociation constant Kb values for clozapine revealed that an extracellular sequence (length 86 aa) close to the transmembrane domain M1 strongly determines the binding affinity of clozapine. Kb values of clozapine were significantly lower (0.3–1.1 nM) for receptors containing the murine sequence and higher when compared with receptors containing the respective human sequence (5.8–13.4 nM). Thus, individual differences in the primary sequence of 5-HT3 receptors may be crucial for the antipsychotic potency and/or the side effect profile of clozapine

The chemokine CXCL13 is a key regulator of B cell recruitment to the cerebrospinal fluid in acute Lyme neuroborreliosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The chemokine CXCL13 is known to dictate homing and motility of B cells in lymphoid tissue and has been implicated in the formation of ectopic lymphoid tissue in chronic inflammation. Whether it influences B cell trafficking during acute infection, is largely unclear. In previous studies, we showed that (I) CXCL13 levels are markedly increased in the B cell-rich cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with acute Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), and (II) CXCL13 is released by monocytes upon recognition of borrelial outer surface proteins by Toll-like receptor 2. Here, we assessed the role of CXCL13 - in comparison to other chemokines - in the recruitment of B cells to the CSF of patients with acute LNB.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Measurement of chemokines was done by ELISA. B cells were isolated from whole blood using magnetic cell separation (MACS). For migration experiments, a modified Boyden chamber assay was used and the migrated B cells were further analysed by FACS. The migration was inhibited either by preincubation of the CSF samples with neutralizing antibodies, heating to 60°C, removal of proteins >3 kDa, or by pre-treatment of the B cells with pertussis toxin. The principal statistical tests used were one-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni test (chemokine measurements) as well as paired Student's t-test (migration experiments).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Measurements of chemokine levels revealed an increase in three of the four known major B cell chemoattractants CXCL13, CCL19 and CXCL12 in LNB CSF. The CXCL13 CSF:serum ratio, as a measure of the chemotactic gradient, was substantially higher than that of CCL19 and CXCL12. Moreover, the chemotactic activity of LNB CSF was reduced up to 56% after preincubation with a neutralizing CXCL13 antibody, while combined preincubation with antibodies against CXCL13, CCL19, and CXCL12 did not lead to further reduction. Since treatment with pertussis toxin, heating to 60°C, and removal of proteins >3 kDa abrogated the chemotactic activity, further not yet identified chemokines seem to be involved in B cell recruitment to LNB CSF.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combined, our study suggests a key role of CXCL13 in B cell migration to sites of infection as shown here for the CSF of LNB patients.</p

Rabies Virus in Raccoons, Ohio, 2004

In 2004, the raccoon rabies virus variant emerged in Ohio beyond an area where oral rabies vaccine had been distributed to prevent westward spread of this variant. Our genetic investigation indicates that this outbreak may have begun several years before 2004 and may have originated within the vaccination zone

Impact of Translocator Protein 18 kDa (TSPO) Deficiency on Mitochondrial Function and the Inflammatory State of Human C20 Microglia Cells

Abstract Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. Upon stimulus presentation, microglia polarize from a resting to an activated state. Microglial translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) is considered a marker of inflammation. Here, we characterized the role of TSPO by investigating the impact of TSPO deficiency on human microglia. We used TSPO knockout (TSPO−/−) variants of the human C20 microglia cell line. We found a significant reduction in the TSPO-associated protein VDAC1 in TSPO−/− cells compared to control cells. Moreover, we assessed the impact of TSPO deficiency on calcium levels and the mitochondrial membrane potential. Cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium concentrations were increased in TSPO−/− cell lines, whereas the mitochondrial membrane potential tended to be lower. Assessment of the mitochondrial DNA copy number via RT-PCR revealed a decreased amount of mtDNA in the TSPO−/− cells when compared to controls. Moreover, the metabolic profiles of C20 cells were strongly dependent on the glycolytic pathway. However, TSPO depletion did not affect the cellular metabolic profile. Measurement of the mRNA expression levels of the pro-inflammatory mediators revealed an attenuated response to pro-inflammatory stimuli in TSPO-depleted cells, implying a role for the TSPO protein in the process of microglial polarization

Effects of genetic variants in the TSPO gene on protein structure and stability

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is an evolutionary conserved cholesterol binding protein localized in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Expression of TSPO is upregulated in activated microglia in various neuroinflammatory, neurodegenerative, and neoplastic disorders. Therefore, TSPO radioligands are used as biomarkers in positron emission tomography (PET) studies. In particular, a common A147T polymorphism in the TSPO gene affects binding of several high affinity TSPO radioligands. Given the relevance of TSPO as a diagnostic biomarker in disease processes, we systematically searched for mutations in the human TSPO gene by a wide array of evolution and structure based bioinformatics tools and identified potentially deleterious missense mutations. The two most frequently observed missense mutations A147T and R162H were further analysed in structural models of human wildtype and mutant TSPO proteins. The effects of missense mutations were studied on the atomic level using molecular dynamics simulations. To analyse putative effects of A147T and R162H variants on protein stability we established primary dermal fibroblast cultures from wt and homozygous A147T and R162H donors. Stability of endogenous TSPO protein, which is abundantly expressed in fibroblasts, was studied using cycloheximide protein degradation assay. Our data show that the A147T mutation significantly alters the flexibility and stability of the mutant protein. Furthermore both A147T and R162H mutations decreased the half-life of the mutant proteins by about 25 percent, which could in part explain its effect on reduced pregnenolone production and susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders. The present study is the first comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of genetic variants in the TSPO gene, thereby extending the knowledge about the clinical relevance of TSPO nsSNPs

Major Depressive Disorder is Associated with Impaired Mitochondrial Function in Skin Fibroblasts

Mitochondrial malfunction is supposed to be involved in the etiology and pathology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Here, we aimed to identify and characterize the molecular pathomechanisms related to mitochondrial dysfunction in adult human skin fibroblasts, which were derived from MDD patients or non-depressive control subjects. We found that MDD fibroblasts showed significantly impaired mitochondrial functioning: basal and maximal respiration, spare respiratory capacity, non-mitochondrial respiration and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-related oxygen consumption was lower. Moreover, MDD fibroblasts harbor lower ATP levels and showed hyperpolarized mitochondrial membrane potential. To investigate cellular resilience, we challenged both groups of fibroblasts with hormonal (dexamethasone) or metabolic (galactose) stress for one week, and found that both stressors increased oxygen consumption but lowered ATP content in MDD as well as in non-depressive control fibroblasts. Interestingly, the bioenergetic differences between fibroblasts from MDD or non-depressed subjects, which were observed under non-treated conditions, could not be detected after stress. Our findings support the hypothesis that altered mitochondrial function causes a bioenergetic imbalance, which is associated with the molecular pathophysiology of MDD. The observed alterations in the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) and other mitochondria-related properties represent a basis for further investigations of pathophysiological mechanisms and might open new ways to gain insight into antidepressant signaling pathways

Local and global effects of sedation in resting-state fMRI: a randomized, placebo-controlled comparison between etifoxine and alprazolam

TSPO ligands are promising alternatives to benzodiazepines in the treatment of anxiety, as they display less pronounced side effects such as sedation, cognitive impairment, tolerance development and abuse potential. In a randomized double-blind repeated-measures study we compare a benzodiazepine (alprazolam) to a TSPO ligand (etifoxine) by assessing side effects and acquiring resting-state fMRI data from 34 healthy participants after 5 days of taking alprazolam, etifoxine or a placebo. To study the effects of the pharmacological interventions in fMRI in detail and across different scales, we combine in our study complementary analysis strategies related to whole-brain functional network connectivity, local connectivity analysis expressed in regional homogeneity, fluctuations in low-frequency BOLD amplitudes and coherency of independent resting-state networks. Participants reported considerable adverse effects such as fatigue, sleepiness and concentration impairments, related to the administration of alprazolam compared to placebo. In resting-state fMRI we found a significant decrease in functional connection density, network efficiency and a decrease in the networks rich-club coefficient related to alprazolam. While observing a general decrease in regional homogeneity in high-level brain networks in the alprazolam condition, we simultaneously could detect an increase in regional homogeneity and resting-state network coherence in low-level sensory regions. Further we found a general increase in the low-frequency compartment of the BOLD signal. In the etifoxine condition, participants did not report any significant side effects compared to the placebo, and we did not observe any corresponding modulations in our fMRI metrics. Our results are consistent with the idea that sedation globally disconnects low-level functional networks, but simultaneously increases their within-connectivity. Further, our results point towards the potential of TSPO ligands in the treatment of anxiety and depression

Short-term effects of etifoxine on human gut microbiome in healthy men

BackgroundNeurosteroids have recently gained in interest as a treatment strategy for affective disorders. Etifoxine is known for its dual mode of action, one of which is to stimulate endogenous neurosteroid synthesis. The gut microbiome has been studied in affective disorders, but it has not been investigated in the context of human etifoxine or neurosteroid interventions.MethodsWe performed a crossover study with 36 healthy male volunteers who received etifoxine versus alprazolam and placebo in a balanced Williams design. Participants were randomized into six sequences and went through three 5-day treatments followed by wash-out phases of 9 days. Bacterial compositions in stool samples were determined by high-throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.ResultsGut microbiome analyses revealed no relevant effects between treatments with respect to alpha and beta diversity. Differential abundance analyses yielded etifoxine treatment as the only effect related to changes in microbial features with reductions of Faecalibacterium duncaniae, Roseburia hominis and Lactobacillus rogosae (i.e., Bacteroides galacturonicus).ConclusionHere we report on the first human investigation of the gut microbiome with short-term etifoxine intervention. Differences in diversity and compositional structure of the microbiome were more likely due to between- subject effects rather than medication. However, five-day treatment with etifoxine reduced the abundance of a few bacterial species. These species are currently seen as beneficial components of a healthy intestinal microbiome. This reduction in abundances may be related to elevated endogenous neurosteroids