Explore the vast range of titles available.

Necroptosis is characterized by programmed necrotic cell death and autophagic activation and might be involved in the death process of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson＇s disease. We hypothesized that necrostatin-1 could block necroptosis and give protection to dopaminergic neurons. There is likely to be crosstalk between necroptosis and other cell death pathways, such as apoptosis and autophagy. PC12 cells were pretreated with necroststin-1 1 hour before exposure to 6-hydroxydopamine. We examined cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and expression patterns of apoptotic and necroptotic death signaling proteins. The results showed that the autophagy/lysosomal pathway is involved in the 6-hydroxydopamine-induced death process of PC12 cells. Mitochondrial disability induced overactive autophagy, increased cathepsin B expression, and diminished Bcl-2 expression. Necrostatin-1 within a certain concentration range（5–30 μM） elevated the viability of PC12 cells, stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential, inhibited excessive autophagy, reduced the expression of LC3-II and cathepsin B, and increased Bcl-2 expression. These findings suggest that necrostatin-1 exerted a protective effect against injury on dopaminergic neurons. Necrostatin-1 interacts with the apoptosis signaling pathway during this process. This pathway could be a new neuroprotective and therapeutic target in Parkinson＇s disease.

It remains unclear whether autophagy affects hippocampal neuronal injury in vascular dementia. In the present study, we investigated the effects of autophagy blockade on hippocampal neuro- nal injury in a rat model of vascular dementia. In model rats, hippocampal CA1 neurons were severely damaged, and expression of the autophagy-related proteins beclin-1, cathepsin B and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 was elevated compared with that in sham-operated animals. These responses were suppressed in animals that received a single intraperitoneal injection of wortmannin, an autophagy inhibitor, prior to model establishment. The present results confirm that autophagy and autophagy-related proteins are involved in the pathological changes of vascular dementia, and that inhibition of autophagy has neuroprotective effects.

Aim： Huntingtin protein （Htt） was a neuropathological hallmark in human Huntington＇s Disease. The study aimed to investigate whether the macroautophagy regulator, Beclinl, was involved in the degradation of Htt. Methods PC12 cells and primary cultured brain neurons of rats were examined, pDC316 adenovirus shuttle plasmid was used to mediate the expression of wild-type Htt-18Q-552 or mutant Htt-100Q-552 in PC12 cells. The expression of the autophagy-related pro- teins LC3 II and Beclinl, as well as the lysosome-associated enzymes Cathepsin B and L was evaluated using Western blotting. The locations of Beclinl and Htt were observed with immunofluorescence and confocal microscope. Results： Htt552 expression increased the expression of LC3 II, Beclinl, cathepsin B and L in autophagy/lysosomal degradation path- way. Treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA or the proteasome inhibitors lactacystin and MG-132 increased Htt552 levels in PC12 cells infected with Ad-Htt-18Q-552 or Ad-Htt-100Q-552. The proteasome inhibitor caused a higher accumulation of Htt552-18Q than Htt552-100Q, and the autophagy inhibitor resulted in a higher accumulation of Htt552-100Q than Htt552-18Q. Similar results were observed in primary cultured neurons infected with adenovirus. In Htt552-expressing cells, Beclinl was redistributed from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Htt siRNA prevented Beclinl redistribution in starvation conditions. Blockade of Beclinl nuclear export by leptomycin B or Beclinl deficiency caused by RNA interference induced the formation of mHtt552 aggregates. Conclusion Beclinl regulates the accumulation of Htt via macroautophagy.

Autophagy is involved in neural cell death after cerebral ischemia. Our previous studies showed that rapamycin-induced autophagy decreased the rate of apoptosis, but the rate of apoptosis was in- creased after the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine, was used. In this study, a suture-occluded method was performed to generate a rat model of brain ischemia. Under a transmission electron microscope, autophagic bodies and autophagy lysosomes were markedly accumulated in neurons at 4 hours post brain ischemic injury, with their numbers gradually reducing over time. Western blotting demonstrated that protein levels of light chain 3-11 and cathepsin B were significantly in- creased within 4 hours of ischemic injury, but these levels were not persistently upregulated over time. Confocal microscopy showed that autophagy was mainly found in neurons with positive light chain 3 signal. Injection of rapamycin via tail vein promoted the occurrence of autophagy in rat brain tissue after cerebral ischemia and elevated light chain 3 and cathepsin B expression. However, in- jection of 3-methyladenine significantly diminished light chain 3-11 and cathepsin B expression. Results verified that autophagic and lysosomal activity is increased in ischemic neurons. Abnormal components in cells can be eliminated through upregulating cell autophagy or inhibiting autophagy after ischemic brain injury, resulting in a dynamic balance of substances in cells. Moreover, drugs that interfere with autophagy may be potential therapies for the treatment of brain injury.

To design a releasable PEGylated TNF-α （rPEG-TNF-α, a cathepsin B-sensitive dipeptide （Val-Cit moiety） was inserted into conventional PEG-modified TNF-α（PEG-TNF-α, facilitating its clinical use for anti-tumor therapy. Comparative pharmaco- kinetic and pharmacodynamic studies showed that the half-lives of both PEGylated forms of TNF-α were -60-fold greater than that of unmodified TNF-α. In addition, the in vitro bioactivity of rPEG-TNF-α was greater than that of PEG-TNF-α with the same degree of PEG modification. Release of TNF-αfrom rPEG-TNF-α in vitro was dependent on the presence of cathepsin B and was inhibited by a cathepsin B inhibitor. Despite the potent cytotoxicity of unmodified TNF-α against normal cells, its PEGylated forms at higher TNF-α concentrations showed low cytotoxic activity against these cells. In contrast, both forms of PEGylated TNF-α showed potent cytotoxic activity against the B16 and L929 cell lines, with rPEG-TNF-α being 5- and 9- fold more potent, respectively, than PEG-TNF-α. Moreover, rPEG-TNF-α was a more potent in vivo antitumor agent than PEG-TNF-α.

目的 探讨盐酸小檗碱对牙周炎基质金属蛋白酶/基质金属蛋白酶组织抑制物（MMPs/TIMP）的调控及其机制。方法 采用丝线结扎＋菌液注射法建立大鼠牙周炎模型后,给予150mg/（kg·d）盐酸小檗碱或生理盐水干预。显微X射线断层计算机扫描（μ-CT）和苏木素-伊红（HE）染色观察牙周组织学改变,Western blot检测大鼠牙龈组织MMP-2、MMP-9、TIMP-2的蛋白表达及P38 MAPK/NF-κB磷酸化水平,ELISA测定牙龈组织肿瘤坏死因子-α（tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α）、白介素-1β（interleukin-1β,IL-1β）的含量。结果 牙周检查发现牙周炎组大鼠牙龈红肿明显,触之易出血,牙周袋较深,μ-CT显示牙槽骨吸收明显,牙龈组织TNF-α和IL-1β含量显著增加,MMP-2和MMP-9表达增多,并伴有磷酸化P38 MAPK/NF-κB上调。盐酸小檗碱治疗后可明显改善牙周情况,减少牙槽骨吸收,降低牙龈组织TNF-α和IL-1β含量,抑制P38 MAPK/NF-κB磷酸化,最终降低MMP-2和MMP-9的过度表达并提高TIMP-2的表达。结论 盐酸小檗碱可能通过抑制P38 MAPK/NF-κB磷酸化,降低牙龈组织TNF-α和IL-1β,调节牙龈组织MMPs/TIMP的过量表达而发挥对大鼠牙周炎的治疗作用。