Objective: To study the sequence and function of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) transcript in subjects of Han nationality. Methods: The Han nationality GDNF transcript was amplified by RT-PCR a...Objective: To study the sequence and function of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) transcript in subjects of Han nationality. Methods: The Han nationality GDNF transcript was amplified by RT-PCR and expressed by baculovirus expression system. Biological activity of the expressed product was measured by the primary culture of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Results: There only existed the shorter GDNF transcript of 555 bp in the Han nationality. The secretory expression product of the shorter transcript in insect cells promoted the survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion: It is found that there is a 78 bp deletion in the Han nationality GDNF transcript compared with the reported 633 bp GDNF transcript. The 78 bp deletion does not affect the secretory expression and biological activity of GDNF mature protein.展开更多
Spinal cord injury(SCI),which is much in the public eye,is still a refractory disease compromising the well-being of both patients and society.In spite of there being many methods dealing with the lesion,there is stil...Spinal cord injury(SCI),which is much in the public eye,is still a refractory disease compromising the well-being of both patients and society.In spite of there being many methods dealing with the lesion,there is still a deficiency in comprehensive strategies covering all facets of this damage.Further,we should also mention the structure called the corticospinal tract(CST)which plays a crucial role in the motor responses of organisms,and it will be the focal point of our attention.In this review,we discuss a variety of strategies targeting different dimensions following SCI and some treatments that are especially efficacious to the CST are emphasized.Over recent decades,researchers have developed many effective tactics involving five approaches:(1)tackle more extensive regions;(2)provide a regenerative microenvironment;(3)provide a glial microenvironment;(4)transplantation;and(5)other auxiliary methods,for instance,rehabilitation training and electrical stimulation.We review the basic knowledge on this disease and correlative treatments.In addition,some well-formulated perspectives and hypotheses have been delineated.We emphasize that such a multifaceted problem needs combinatorial approaches,and we analyze some discrepancies in past studies.Finally,for the future,we present numerous brand-new latent tactics which have great promise for curbing SCI.展开更多
Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA) contributes substantially to neurocognitive function as an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human cerebral cortex. However, the pathophysiology of disorders such as epilepsy a...Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA) contributes substantially to neurocognitive function as an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human cerebral cortex. However, the pathophysiology of disorders such as epilepsy are not well understood, since GABA agonists are not quite effective in treating epilepsy. Knowledge of the mechanism of action of GABA would contribute to review previously proposed anti-epileptic processes by GABA agonists. In this study based on recent experiments on GABAergic astrocytes, we developed a modified GABAergic astrocyte model, and successfully simulated a long-lasting Ca^(2+) oscillation in astrocytes after 0.5-s stimulation of GABAergic transmission. We then incorporated this GABAergic astrocyte model into a classical Ullah-Schiff seizure model and surprisingly found that this GABAergic astrocyte model functions to hinder the anti-epileptic action of GABA agonists, thereby explaining their low efficiency in previous experiments. These results also update our knowledge of the mechanism of action of GABA and the effects of astrocytes on physiological and pathological functions of the brain.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.30000048) National Basic Research Program of China (G1999054000)
文摘Objective: To study the sequence and function of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) transcript in subjects of Han nationality. Methods: The Han nationality GDNF transcript was amplified by RT-PCR and expressed by baculovirus expression system. Biological activity of the expressed product was measured by the primary culture of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Results: There only existed the shorter GDNF transcript of 555 bp in the Han nationality. The secretory expression product of the shorter transcript in insect cells promoted the survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion: It is found that there is a 78 bp deletion in the Han nationality GDNF transcript compared with the reported 633 bp GDNF transcript. The 78 bp deletion does not affect the secretory expression and biological activity of GDNF mature protein.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81472504,81401822,and 81572177)the Science and Technology Foundation of Zhejiang Province(No.2016C33151)+1 种基金the Medical Science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province of China(Nos.2016146428,2016KYA096,and 2017KY071)the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.Y17H160033,LQ14H060002,and LY14H060004)
文摘Spinal cord injury(SCI),which is much in the public eye,is still a refractory disease compromising the well-being of both patients and society.In spite of there being many methods dealing with the lesion,there is still a deficiency in comprehensive strategies covering all facets of this damage.Further,we should also mention the structure called the corticospinal tract(CST)which plays a crucial role in the motor responses of organisms,and it will be the focal point of our attention.In this review,we discuss a variety of strategies targeting different dimensions following SCI and some treatments that are especially efficacious to the CST are emphasized.Over recent decades,researchers have developed many effective tactics involving five approaches:(1)tackle more extensive regions;(2)provide a regenerative microenvironment;(3)provide a glial microenvironment;(4)transplantation;and(5)other auxiliary methods,for instance,rehabilitation training and electrical stimulation.We review the basic knowledge on this disease and correlative treatments.In addition,some well-formulated perspectives and hypotheses have been delineated.We emphasize that such a multifaceted problem needs combinatorial approaches,and we analyze some discrepancies in past studies.Finally,for the future,we present numerous brand-new latent tactics which have great promise for curbing SCI.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.11472202)
文摘Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA) contributes substantially to neurocognitive function as an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human cerebral cortex. However, the pathophysiology of disorders such as epilepsy are not well understood, since GABA agonists are not quite effective in treating epilepsy. Knowledge of the mechanism of action of GABA would contribute to review previously proposed anti-epileptic processes by GABA agonists. In this study based on recent experiments on GABAergic astrocytes, we developed a modified GABAergic astrocyte model, and successfully simulated a long-lasting Ca^(2+) oscillation in astrocytes after 0.5-s stimulation of GABAergic transmission. We then incorporated this GABAergic astrocyte model into a classical Ullah-Schiff seizure model and surprisingly found that this GABAergic astrocyte model functions to hinder the anti-epileptic action of GABA agonists, thereby explaining their low efficiency in previous experiments. These results also update our knowledge of the mechanism of action of GABA and the effects of astrocytes on physiological and pathological functions of the brain.
