Mechanisms by which fibroblast growth factor 20 improves motor performance in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease

Genome-wide studies have reported that Parkinson’s disease is associated with abnormal expression of various growth factors. In this study, male C57 BL/6 mice aged 10 weeks were used to establish Parkinson’s disease models using an intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. 28 days later, 10 or 100 ng fibroblast growth factor 20 was injected intracerebroventricularly. The electrophysiological changes in the mouse hippocampus were recorded using a full-cell patch clamp. Expression of Kv4.2 in the substantia nigra was analyzed using a western blot assay. Serum malondialdehyde levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The motor coordination of mice was evaluated using the rotarod test. The results showed that fibroblast growth factor 20 decreased A-type potassium current in neurons of the substantia nigra, increased long-term potentiation amplitude in the hippocampus, and downregulated Kv4.2 expression. A high dose of fibroblast growth factor 20 reduced serum malondialdehyde levels and enhanced the motor coordination of mice. These findings confirm that fibroblast growth factor 20 has a therapeutic effect on the toxicity induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, and its mechanism of action is associated with the inhibition of A-type K+ currents and Kv4.2 expression. All animal procedures were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, China in 2017(approval No. KYLL-2017-0012).

A Theoretical Investigation on Rectifying Performance of a Single Motor Molecular Device

We report ab initio calculations of the transport behavior of a phenyl substituted molecular motor. The calculated results show that the transport behavior of the device is sensitive to the rotation degree of the rotor part. When the rotor part is parallel with the stator part, a better rectifying performance can be found in the current-voltage curve. However, when the rotor part revolves to vertical with the stator part, the currents in the positive bias region decrease slightly. More importantly, the rectifying performance disappears. Thus this offers us a new method to modulate the rectifying behavior in molecular devices.

The Influence of Selected Somatometric Indicators on Students＇ Aerobic Performance at the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

The aim of our work is to identify the differences in selected somatometric indicators between men and women and their impact on aerobic performance. The research sample consisted of students of first year of Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology in Bratislava in the number of 596 （187 men and 409 women）. Aerobic performance （VO2max） was calculated on the basis of performance in Beep test. Within somatometrie indicators, we measured BMI （body mass index） and body fat using digital scales with body analysis OMRON BF-511. In the first chapter we were looking for differences in the values of body mass index between men and women. We found out statistically significant differences in the categories of underweight, overweight and obesity. In the second chapter, we focused on mutual comparison of maximal aerobic capacity with selected somatometric indicators. As a first somatometric indicator, we used BMI index. Our assumption that VO2max values are significantly lower among students with underweight and normal weight as students with overweight, resp. obesity was not confirmed. As a second somatometric indicator, we used body fat levels. In the mutual comparison we observed statistically significant differences in the category of very poor （P 〈 0.01） and above average （P 〈 0.05） where students with low-normal body fat achieved better values than students with high-very high body fat.

Daily Physical Activity Improves Vascular Function and Motor Skills in Children

The literature is consistent that regular physical activity in children has to be increased in order to compensate the negative health effects resulting from growing sedentary lifestyle. Thus, we analyzed in 45 students （aged 6.6 ± 0.7 years） the effects of a regular exercise intervention, on top of the normal physical education classes, on motor performance （MP） and hemodynamic parameters. The students were randomized either to an intervention （INT） （n = 23） or a control （CON） （n = 22） group. Throughout a 9 months period, INT received additional exercise interventions two days a week for 45 minutes. The main outcome measures were MP, peripheral and central blood pressure （BP）, augmentation index （Alx） and aortic pulse wave velocity （aPWV）. After the exercise intervention, we found significant （P 〈 0.05） positive effects on various test items of MP and significant decreases in peripheral and central systolic BP in INT. In contrast, in CON the respective parameters increased in CON alter the observation period. Moreover, aPWV decreased significantly in INT （P = 0.047） and increased in CON, thus resulting in a significant difference in the mean change （P = 0.043）. There were no considerable changes in AIx in both groups. In conclusion, we demonstrated that an increase in regular physical activity has a positive influence on development of MP and hemodynamic parameters even in early childhood. The findings of this study suggest that an increase in exercise time should be initiated as early as possible to improve motor ability and prevent future cardiovascular risk.

Axonal remodeling of the corticospinal tract during neurological recovery after stroke

Stroke remains the leading cause of long-term disability.Hemiparesis is one of the most common post-stroke motor deficits and is largely attributed to loss or disruption of the motor signals from the affected motor cortex.As the only direct descending motor pathway,the corticospinal tract(CST)is the primary pathway to innervate spinal motor neurons,and thus,forms the neuroanatomical basis to control the peripheral muscles for voluntary movements.Here,we review evidence from both experimental animals and stroke patients,regarding CST axonal damage,functional contribution of CST axonal integrity and remodeling to neurological recovery,and therapeutic approaches aimed to enhance CST axonal remodeling after stroke.The new insights gleaned from preclinical and clinical studies may encourage the development of more rational therapeutics with a strategy targeted to promote axonal rewiring for corticospinal innervation,which will significantly impact the current clinical needs of subacute and chronic stroke treatment.

Alcohol hangover:impairments in behavior and bioenergetics in central nervous system

Alcohol hangover(AH)is defined as the temporary state after alcohol binge-like drinking,starting when EtOH is absent in plasma.Results from our laboratory have shown behavioral impairments and mitochon-drial dysfunction in an experimental model of AH in mice.Our model consisted in a single i.p.injection of EtOH(3.8 g/kg BW)or saline solution in male and female mice,sacrificing the animals 6 hours after injection.Motor and affective behavior together with mitochondrial function and free radical production were evaluated in brain cortex and cerebellum during AH.Results showed that hangover animals exhibited a significant reduction in neuromus-cular coordination,motor strength and locomotion together with a loss of gait stability and walking deficiencies.Moreover,an increment in anxiety-like behavior together with fear-related phenotype and depression signs were observed.In relation to bioenergetics metabolism,AH induced a reduction in oxygen uptake,inhibition of respira-tory complexes,changes in mitochondrial membrane permeability,decrease in transmembrane potential,increase in O2•-and H2O2 production and impairment in nitric oxide metabolism.All together our data suggest that the phys-iopathological state of AH involves behavioral impairments and mitochondrial dysfunction in mouse brain cortex and cerebellum showing the long lasting effects of acute EtOH exposure in CNS.