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Table of Content

    15 December 2013, Volume 8 Issue 35 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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    Nanomolar concentration of alpha-synuclein enhances dopaminergic neuronal survival via Akt pathway
    Ji-Young Kim, Beom Seok Jeon, Han-Joon Kim, Tae-Beom Ahn
    2013, 8 (35):  3269-3274.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.001
    Abstract ( 217 )   PDF (275KB) ( 1154 )   Save

    Although alpha-synuclein is generally thought to have a pathological role in Parkinson’s disease, accumulative evidence exists that alpha-synuclein has a neuroprotective effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of extracellular alpha-synuclein on dopaminergic cell survival. We assessed cell viability using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltertazolium bromide (MTT) assay both in undifferentiated SH-SY5Y (SHSY) cells and neuronally-differentiated SH-SY5Y (ndSHSY) cells after 24 hour treatment with monomeric alpha-synuclein at various concentrations (0 [control], 50, 100 nmol/L, 1 μmol/L). To determine whether cell viability assessed by MTT assay was affected by cell proliferation, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay was per-formed. Level of both Akt and phosphorylated Akt was measured using western blot method in ndSHSY cells with or without 24 hour alpha-synuclein treatment. Cell viability was increased in ndSHSY cells at the nanomolar concentration of alpha-synuclein, but not in SHSY cells. Proportion of BrdU-positive ndSHSY cells was decreased in alpha-synuclein-treated group compared with control group. Level of phosphorylated Akt in alpha-synuclein-treated group was higher compared with the control group. Our study shows that extracellular alpha-synuclein at nanomolar concentra-tion benefits dopaminergic cell survival via Akt pathway.

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    Downregulation of thioredoxin reductase 1 expression in the substantia nigra pars compacta of Parkinson’s disease mice
    Zihua Liu, Yuhong Jing, Jie Yin, Jiying Mu, Tingting Yao, Liping Gao
    2013, 8 (35):  3275-3283.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.002
    Abstract ( 354 )   PDF (344KB) ( 1050 )   Save

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    Nuclear TAR DNA-binding protein 43: a new target for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis treatment
    Mei Zheng, Yujie Shi, Dongsheng Fan
    2013, 8 (35):  3284-3295.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.003
    Abstract ( 220 )   PDF (507KB) ( 706 )   Save

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    PD-L1 is increased in the spinal cord and infiltrating lymphocytes in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
    Min Li, Jiandong Jiang, Bing Fu, Jiechun Chen, Qun Xue, Wanli Dong, Yanzheng Gu, Lingtao Tang, Limin Xue, Qi Fang, Mingyuan Wang, Xueguang Zhang
    2013, 8 (35):  3296-3305.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.004
    Abstract ( 296 )   PDF (410KB) ( 1226 )   Save

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    Bushen Yisui Capsule ameliorates axonal injury in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
    Ling Fang, Qi Zheng, Tao Yang, Hui Zhao, Qiuxia Zhang, Kangning Li, Li Zhou, Haiyang Gong, Yongping Fan, Lei Wang
    2013, 8 (35):  3306-3315.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.005
    Abstract ( 479 )   PDF (390KB) ( 643 )   Save

    A preliminary clinical study by our group demonstrated Bushen Yisui Capsule (formerly called Erhuang Formula) in combination with conventional therapy is an effective prescription for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. However, its effect on axonal injury during early multiple sclerosis remains unclear. In this study, a MOG35–55-immunized C57BL/6 mouse model of experimental au-toimmune encephalomyelitis was intragastrically administered Bushen Yisui Capsule. The results showed that Bushen Yisui Capsule effectively improved clinical symptoms and neurological function of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In addition, amyloid precursor protein expression was down-regulated and microtubule-associated protein 2 was up-regulated. Experimental findings indicate that the disease-preventive mechanism of Bushen Yisui Capsule in experimental autoim-mune encephalomyelitis was mediated by amelioration of axonal damage and promotion of regen-eration. But the effects of the high-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group was not better than that of the medium-dose and low-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group in preventing neurological dysfunction.

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    Treatment of epilepsy in China: formal or informal?
    Jianming Liu, Zhiliang Liu, Tao Chen, Ruxiang Xu
    2013, 8 (35):  3316-3324.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.006
    Abstract ( 217 )   PDF (141KB) ( 887 )   Save

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    Pain-related mediators underlie incision-induced mechanical nociception in the dorsal root ganglia
    Xiuhong Yuan, Xiangyan Liu, Qiuping Tang, Yunlong Deng
    2013, 8 (35):  3325-3333.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.007
    Abstract ( 326 )   PDF (464KB) ( 1117 )   Save

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    Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves cognitive functioning after brain injury
    Su Liu, Guangyu Shen, Shukun Deng, Xiubin Wang, Qinfeng Wu, Aisong Guo
    2013, 8 (35):  3334-3343.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.008
    Abstract ( 249 )   PDF (325KB) ( 1122 )   Save

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    Brain areas activated by uncertain reward-based decision-making in healthy volunteers
    Zongjun Guo, Juan Chen, Shien Liu, Yuhuan Li, Bo Sun, Zhenbo Gao
    2013, 8 (35):  3344-3352.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.009
    Abstract ( 358 )   PDF (359KB) ( 883 )   Save

    Reward-based decision-making has been found to activate several brain areas, including the ventrolateral prefrontal lobe, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, ventral striatum, and mesolimbic dopaminergic system. In this study, we observed brain areas activated under three de-grees of uncertainty in a reward-based decision-making task (certain, risky, and ambiguous). The tasks were presented using a brain function audiovisual stimulation system. We conducted brain scans of 15 healthy volunteers using a 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner. We used SPM8 to ana-lyze the location and intensity of activation during the reward-based decision-making task, with re-spect to the three conditions. We found that the orbitofrontal cortex was activated in the certain reward condition, while the prefrontal cortex, precentral gyrus, occipital visual cortex, inferior parietal lobe, cerebellar posterior lobe, middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, limbic lobe, and midbrain were activated during the ‘risk’ condition. The prefrontal cortex, temporal pole, inferior temporal gyrus, occipital visual cortex, and cerebellar posterior lobe were activated during ambig-uous decision-making. The ventrolateral prefrontal lobe, frontal pole of the prefrontal lobe, orbito-frontal cortex, precentral gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and cerebellar posterior lobe exhibited greater activation in the ‘risk’ than in the ‘certain’ condition (P < 0.05). The frontal pole and dorsolateral region of the prefrontal lobe, as well as the cerebellar posterior lobe, showed significantly greater activation in the ‘ambiguous’ condition compared to the ‘risk’ condition (P < 0.05). The prefrontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, limbic lobe, midbrain, and posterior lobe of the cerebellum were activated during deci-sion-making about uncertain rewards. Thus, we observed different levels and regions of activation for different types of reward processing during decision-making. Specifically, when the degree of reward uncertainty increased, the number of activated brain areas increased, including greater ac-tivation of brain areas associated with loss.

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    Differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells into neuron-like cells by Radix Angelicae Sinensis
    Qiaozhi Wang, Lile Zhou, Yong Guo, Guangyi Liu, Jiyan Cheng, Hong Yu
    2013, 8 (35):  3353-3358.  doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.35.010
    Abstract ( 306 )   PDF (197KB) ( 788 )   Save

    Human adipose tissues are an ideal source of stem cells. It is important to find inducers that can safely and effectively differentiate stem cells into functional neurons for clinical use. In this study, we investigate the use of Radix Angelicae Sinensis as an inducer of neuronal differentiation. Primary human adipose-derived stem cells were obtained from adult subcutaneous fatty tissue, then pre-induced with 10% Radix Angelicae Sinensis injection for 24 hours, and incubated in serum-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12 containing 40% Radix Angelicae Sinensis to induce its differentiation into neuron-like cells. Butylated hydroxyanisole, a common in-ducer for neuronal differentiation, was used as the control. After human adipose-derived stem cells differentiated into neuron-like cells under the induction of Radix Angelicae Sinensis for 24 hours, the positive expression of neuron-specific enolase was lower than that of the butylated hydroxyanisole-induced group, and the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein was negative. After they were induced for 48 hours, the positive expression of neuron specific enolase in human adi-pose-derived stem cells was significantly higher than that of the butylated hydroxyanisole-induced group. Our experimental findings indicate that Radix Angelicae Sinensis can induce human adi-pose-derived stem cell differentiation into neuron-like cells and produce less cytotoxicity.

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