The ventral tegmental area and the locus coeruleus are associated with psychological and physical dependence of opioid addiction. To date, very little is known about brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） and Bcl-...The ventral tegmental area and the locus coeruleus are associated with psychological and physical dependence of opioid addiction. To date, very little is known about brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） and Bcl-2 gene and protein changes following morphine addiction. The present study utilized immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques, which revealed that there were increased BDNF levels, but decreased Bcl-2 levels in the prefrontal cortex, locus coeruleus, hippocampus, and the ventral tegmental area during morphine-dependence formation and abstinence. However, the levels of BDNF remained unchanged, and Bcl-2 expression was increased in the nucleus accumbens. These results showed that BDNF and Bcl-2 are involved in the development of morphine dependence, and precipitation of abstinence syndrome.展开更多
BACKGROUND： The four measures used to assess the stability of the Wisconsin card sorting test （WCST）, that is, the number of preservative errors, percentage of preservative errors, number of categories completed, a...BACKGROUND： The four measures used to assess the stability of the Wisconsin card sorting test （WCST）, that is, the number of preservative errors, percentage of preservative errors, number of categories completed, and the number of trials to complete the first category, reflect the function of the frontal lobe. OBJECTIVE： This study was designed to investigate the effects of asthma on the stability of WCST measurements through the use of a twin study, and to analyze whether egg-type difference exists. DESIGN： A cohort study. SETTING： Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. PARTICIPANTS： Fifty-nine pairs of twins, aged 6-16 years, were primarily selected from schools between August 2005 and February 2007 and the WCST and Zygosity identification test was applied. Twins with achromatopsia, severe upper limb diseases, somatic diseases, or mental disorders were excluded. According to disease history of asthmatic attack, children were assigned into asthma （n = 16） and non-asthma （n = 43） groups. METHODS： Four WCST measurements were determined in the 59 pairs of twins, and egg-type differences were identified in conjunction. RESULTS： All 59 pairs of twins were included in the final analysis. Among the pairs of twins, 28 （48.5 %） were monozygotic twins, and 31 （52%） were dizygotic twins. Among the monozygotic and dizygotic twins, the number of preservative errors and percentage of preservative errors were significantly higher in the asthma group than in the non-asthma group （P 〈 0.05）. However, there was no significant difference of each corresponding measure between the monozygotic and dizygotic twins （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Asthma may affect the stability of WCST measures, but egg-type differences do not exist.展开更多
Recent studies suggest that Hypocretin (HCRT, Orexin) are involved in stress regulation of depression through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the molecular mechanism by which Hypocretin regulat...Recent studies suggest that Hypocretin (HCRT, Orexin) are involved in stress regulation of depression through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the molecular mechanism by which Hypocretin regulate neurobiological responses is unknown. Herein, the effects of chronic stress on the epigenetic modification of HCRT and its association with depression were explored with regard to a potential role in cancer progression. In the study, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used to establish an animal model of cancer with depression by administrating n-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). RNA-sequencing was used to detect differentially expressed genes in the hippocampus of rats and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the results of RNA-sequencing. The status of HCRT promoter methylation was assessed by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction. Behavioral tests showed that rats exposed to CUMS had significant depressive-like behaviors. The number of liver tumors and tumor load in depressed rats exposed to CUMS was higher than in SD rats without CUMS. RNA-sequencing revealed that HCRT was one of the most siginificantly downregulated gene in the hippocampus of SD rats with CUMS compared to non-stressed group, which was validated by qRT-PCR. HCRT mRNA expression was downregulated and the promoter for HCRT was hyper-methylated in those with depression. These results identified a critical role for chronic psychological stressors in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, via epigenetic HCRT downregulation. Such epigenetic downregulation may be the molecular basis for the association of cancer with depression.展开更多
基金the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, No. 2005(54)
文摘The ventral tegmental area and the locus coeruleus are associated with psychological and physical dependence of opioid addiction. To date, very little is known about brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） and Bcl-2 gene and protein changes following morphine addiction. The present study utilized immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques, which revealed that there were increased BDNF levels, but decreased Bcl-2 levels in the prefrontal cortex, locus coeruleus, hippocampus, and the ventral tegmental area during morphine-dependence formation and abstinence. However, the levels of BDNF remained unchanged, and Bcl-2 expression was increased in the nucleus accumbens. These results showed that BDNF and Bcl-2 are involved in the development of morphine dependence, and precipitation of abstinence syndrome.
基金the National Natural Science Foundationof China, No. 30470607
文摘BACKGROUND： The four measures used to assess the stability of the Wisconsin card sorting test （WCST）, that is, the number of preservative errors, percentage of preservative errors, number of categories completed, and the number of trials to complete the first category, reflect the function of the frontal lobe. OBJECTIVE： This study was designed to investigate the effects of asthma on the stability of WCST measurements through the use of a twin study, and to analyze whether egg-type difference exists. DESIGN： A cohort study. SETTING： Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. PARTICIPANTS： Fifty-nine pairs of twins, aged 6-16 years, were primarily selected from schools between August 2005 and February 2007 and the WCST and Zygosity identification test was applied. Twins with achromatopsia, severe upper limb diseases, somatic diseases, or mental disorders were excluded. According to disease history of asthmatic attack, children were assigned into asthma （n = 16） and non-asthma （n = 43） groups. METHODS： Four WCST measurements were determined in the 59 pairs of twins, and egg-type differences were identified in conjunction. RESULTS： All 59 pairs of twins were included in the final analysis. Among the pairs of twins, 28 （48.5 %） were monozygotic twins, and 31 （52%） were dizygotic twins. Among the monozygotic and dizygotic twins, the number of preservative errors and percentage of preservative errors were significantly higher in the asthma group than in the non-asthma group （P 〈 0.05）. However, there was no significant difference of each corresponding measure between the monozygotic and dizygotic twins （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Asthma may affect the stability of WCST measures, but egg-type differences do not exist.
基金The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No.#81872380)the Opening Foundation of Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics.
文摘Recent studies suggest that Hypocretin (HCRT, Orexin) are involved in stress regulation of depression through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the molecular mechanism by which Hypocretin regulate neurobiological responses is unknown. Herein, the effects of chronic stress on the epigenetic modification of HCRT and its association with depression were explored with regard to a potential role in cancer progression. In the study, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used to establish an animal model of cancer with depression by administrating n-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). RNA-sequencing was used to detect differentially expressed genes in the hippocampus of rats and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the results of RNA-sequencing. The status of HCRT promoter methylation was assessed by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction. Behavioral tests showed that rats exposed to CUMS had significant depressive-like behaviors. The number of liver tumors and tumor load in depressed rats exposed to CUMS was higher than in SD rats without CUMS. RNA-sequencing revealed that HCRT was one of the most siginificantly downregulated gene in the hippocampus of SD rats with CUMS compared to non-stressed group, which was validated by qRT-PCR. HCRT mRNA expression was downregulated and the promoter for HCRT was hyper-methylated in those with depression. These results identified a critical role for chronic psychological stressors in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, via epigenetic HCRT downregulation. Such epigenetic downregulation may be the molecular basis for the association of cancer with depression.
