Acid-sensing ion channels and migraine

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are ligand-gated ion channels that are activated by extracellular protons (H+), which belong to epithelial sodium channels/degenerin (ENaC/DEG) superfamily. ASICs are widely distributed in central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, digestive system and some tumor tissues. Different ASIC subunits play important roles in various pathophysiological processes such as touch, sour taste, learning and memory, including inflammation, ischemic stroke, pain, learning and memory decline, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), migraine, irritable bowel syndrome and tumor. Research over the last 2 decades has achieved substantial advances in migraine pathophysiology. It is now largely accepted that inflammatory pathways play a key role and three main events seem to take place: cortical spreading depression (CSD), activation of the trigeminovascular system (i.e. dural nociceptors), peripheral and central sensitization of this pain pathway. However, the exact mechanisms that link these three events to each other and to inflammation have so far remained to be studied. This article takes an overview of newly research advances in structure, distribution and the relationship with migraine of ASICs.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2015.09.01

Elevated IL-6 and IL-1β are associated with temporal lobe epilepsy: A study in Chinese patients

Activation of proinflammatory cytokines in seizures has been well characterized. However, role of cytokines in epilepsy and association with different clinical phenotype has not been well investigated. Reports on possible link between proinflammatory molecules and epilepsy are very limited. In this study, we performed a hospital-based case control study to investigate the association of plasma cytokines and their expression with different clinical categories of epilepsy. Patients admitted to Neurology Department of Renmin Hospital were enrolled in this study after clinical investigations. In all, 92 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and 45 with extra-temporal lobe epilepsy (XTLE) were included in this study. Furthermore, we included 86 healthy controls from the similar geographical population. Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-1β were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All plasma cytokines were elevated in TLE and XTLE compared to healthy controls ( P  < 0.0001). Furthermore, IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly higher in TLE when compared to extra-temporal epilepsy. Incidentally, no difference in mean plasma TNF-α levels was noticed among TLE and XTLE. Positive correlations were observed between all plasma proinflammatory molecules (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) investigated in this study. Epilepsy patients displayed higher proinflammatory molecules, namely, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. Plasma IL-6 and IL-1β can be use as biomarkers for differentiation of TLE from XTLE

Ankfy1 is dispensable for neural stem/precursor cell development

There are few studies on the membrane protein Ankfy1. We have found Ankfy1 is specifically expressed in neural stem/precursor cells during early development in mice (murine). To further explore Ankfy1 function in neural development, we developed a gene knockout mouse with a mixed Balb/C and C57/BL6 genetic background. Using immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization, neural defects were absent in mixed genetic Ankfy1 null mice during development and in adults up to 2 months old. However, Ankfy1 gene knockout mice with a pure genetic background were found to be lethal in the C57/BL6 inbred mice embryos, even after seven generations of backcrossing. Polymerase chain reaction confirmed homozygotes were unattainable as early as embryonic day 11.5. We conclude that Ankfy1 protein is dispensable in neural stem/precursor cells, but could be critical for early embryonic murine development, depending on the genetic background

Bow shocks formed by a high-speed laser-driven plasma cloud interacting with a cylinder obstacle

A bow shock is formed in the interaction of a high-speed laser-driven plasma cloud with a cylinder obstacle. Its temporal and spatial structures are observed by shadowgraphy and interferometry. The width of the shock transition region is ∼ 50 μm, comparable to the ionion collision mean free path, which indicates that collision is dominated in the shock probably. The Mach-number of the ablating plasma cloud is ∼ 15 at first, and decreases with time resulting in a changing shock structure. A two-dimension hydrodynamics code, USim, is used to simulate the interaction process. The simulated shocks can well reproduce the observed. © 2017 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd111sciescopu

Laboratory Study on Disconnection Events in Comets

When comets interacting with solar wind, straight and narrow plasma tails will be often formed. The most remarkable phenomenon of the plasma tails is the disconnection event, in which a plasma tail is uprooted from the comet&apos;s head and moves away from the comet. In this paper, the interaction process between a comet and solar wind is simulated by using a laser-driven plasma cloud to hit a cylinder obstacle. A disconnected plasma tail is observed behind the obstacle by optical shadowgraphy and interferometry. Our particle-in-cell simulations show that the difference in thermal velocity between ions and electrons induces an electrostatic field behind the obstacle. This field can lead to the convergence of ions to the central region, resulting in a disconnected plasma tail. This electrostatic-field-induced model may be a possible explanation for the disconnection events of cometary tails. © 2017 The Author(s)101sciescopu