Status epilepticus alters hippocampal PKAβ and PKAγ expression in mice

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate the localization and progressive changes of cyclic-AMP dependent protein kinase (cPKA) in the mouse hippocampus at acute stages during and after pilocarpine induced status epilepticus.MethodsPilocarpine induced status epilepticus mice were sacrificed 30min, 2h or 1 day after the start of a ∼7h lasting status as assessed by video-electroencephalography. Brains were processed for quantitative immunohistochemistry of hippocampal cPKAβ and cPKAγ, and immunohistochemical co-localization of cPKAβ and cPKAγ with calbindin (CB), calretinin (CR), and parvalbumin (PV).ResultsBased on anatomical and morphological assessment, cPKAβ was primarily expressed by principal cells and cPKAγ by interneurons. In CA1, cPKAβ co-localized with 76% of CB, 41% of CR, and 95% of PV-immunopositive cells, while cPKAγ co-localized with 50% of CB, 29% of CR, and 80% of PV-immunopositive cells. Upon induction of status epilepticus, cPKAβ expression was transiently reduced in CA1, whereas cPKAγ expression was sustainably reduced.ConclusioncPKA may play an important role in neuronal hyperexcitability, death and epileptogenesis during and after pilocarpine induced status epilepticus

Differential measurement of atmospheric refraction with a telescope with double fields of view

For the sake of complete theoretical research of atmospheric refraction, the atmospheric refraction under the condition of lower angles of elevation is still worthy to be analyzed and explored. In some engineering applications, the objects with larger zenith distance must be observed sometimes. Carrying out observational research of the atmospheric refraction at lower angles of elevation has an important significance. It has been considered difficult to measure the atmospheric refraction at lower angles of elevation. A new idea for determining atmospheric refraction by utilizing differential measurement with double fields of view is proposed. Taking the observational principle of HIPPARCOS satellite as a reference, a schematic prototype with double fields of view was developed. In August of 2013, experimental observations were carried out and the atmospheric refractions at lower angles of elevation can be obtained by the schematic prototype. The measured value of the atmospheric refraction at the zenith distance of 78.8 degree is $240.23"\pm0.27"$, and the feasibility of differential measurement of atmospheric refraction with double fields of view was justified. The limitations of the schematic prototype such as inadequate ability of gathering light, lack of accurate meteorological data recording and lower automatic level of observation and data processing were also pointed out, which need to be improved in subsequent work.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Effect of Plasma Viremia on Apoptosis and Immunophenotype of Dendritic Cells Subsets in Acute SIVmac239 Infection of Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques (Ch Rhs) provide good animal models for research on human infectious diseases. Similar to humans, there are two principal subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) in the peripheral blood of Ch Rhs: myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs). In this study, two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analyses were used to identify the main DC subsets, namely CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs from Ch Rhs. Then, the apoptosis and immunophenotype changes of DCs subsets were first described during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection. Both the DCs subsets showed decreased CD4 expression and enhanced CCR5 expression; in particular, those of pDCs significantly changed at most time points. Interestingly, the plasma viral loads were negatively correlated with CD4 expression, but were positively correlated with CCR5 expression of pDCs. During this period, both CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs were activated by enhancing expressions of co-stimulatory molecules, accompanied with increase in CCR7. Either CD80 or CD86 expressed on CD1c+ mDCs and pDCs was positively correlated with the plasma viral loads. Our analysis demonstrates that the pDCs were more prone to apoptosis after infection during the acute phase of SIVmac239 infection, which may be due to their high expressions of CD4 and CCR5. Both DCs subsets activated through elevating the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, which was beneficial in controlling the replication of SIV. However, a mere broad immune activation initiated by activated DCs may lead to tragic AIDS progression