Neurotrophins and neuronal differentiation in the central nervous system

The central nervous system requires the proper formation of exquisitely precise circuits to function properly. These neuronal circuits are assembled during development by the formation of synaptic connections between hundreds of thousands of differentiating neurons. For these circuits to form correctly, neurons must elaborate precisely patterned axonal and dendritic arbors. Although the cellular and molecular mechanisms that guide neuronal differentiation and formation of connections remain mostly unknown, the neurotrophins have emerged recently as attractive candidates for regulating neuronal differentiation in the developing brain. The experiments reviewed here provide strong support for a bifunctional role for the neurotrophins in axonal and dendritic growth and are consistent with the exciting possibility that the neurotrophins might mediate activity-dependent synaptic plasticity.     

Heat shock response in the central nervous system

The heat shock response is induced in nervous tissue in a variety of clinically significant experimental models including ischemic brain injury (stroke), trauma, thermal stress and status epilepticus. Excessive excitatory neurotransmission or the inability to metabolically support normal levels of excitatory neurotransmission may contribute to neuronal death in the nervous system in many of the same pathophysiologic circumstances. We demonstrated that in vitro glutamate-neurotransmitter induced excitotoxicity is attenuated by the prior induction of the heat shock response. A short thermal stress induced a pattern of protein synthesis characteristic of the highly conserved heat shock response and increased the expression of heat shock protein (HSP) mRNA. Protein synthesis was necessary for the neuroprotective effect. The study of the mechanisms of heat shock mediated protection may lead to important clues as to the basic mechanisms underlying the molecular actions of the HSP and the factors important for excitotoxic neuronal injury. The clinical relevance of these findings in vitro is suggested by experiments performed by others in vivo demonstrating that pretreatment of animals with a submaximal thermal or ischemis stress confers protection from a subsequent ischemic insult.     

Multitasking with neurotensin in the central nervous system

The 13-amino acid peptide neurotensin (NT) was discovered over 30 years ago and has been implicated in a wide variety of neurotransmitter and endocrine functions. This review focuses on four areas where there has been substantial recent progress in understanding NT signaling and several functions of the endogenous peptide. The first area concerns the functional activation of the high-affinity NT receptor, NTR-1, including the delineation of the NT binding pocket and receptor domains involved in functional coupling to intracellular signaling pathways. The development of NT receptor antagonists and the application of genetic and molecular genetic approaches have accelerated progress in understanding NT function in several areas, including the involvement of NT in antipsychotic drug actions, psychostimulant sensitization and the modulation of pain, and these are reviewed in that order. There is now substantial evidence indicating that NT is required for certain antipsychotic drug actions and that the peptide plays a key role in stress-induced analgesia.Received 18 March 2005; received after revision 9 May 2005; accepted 23 May 2005     

Neuronal and glial markers of the central nervous system

Summary This brief review evaluates the expression of cell-specific markers on differentiated neural cells and, where necessary, on their developing precursors. Within these limitations only the commonly used markers are discussed and those deemed unequivocal are only briefly appraised.     

Neuronal and glial markers of the central nervous system

This brief review evaluates the expression of cell-specific markers on differentiated neural cells and, where necessary, on their developing precursors. Within these limitations only the commonly used markers are discussed and those deemed unequivocal are only briefly appraised.     

Relaxin family peptide systems and the central nervous system

Since its discovery in the 1920s, relaxin has enjoyed a reputation as a peptide hormone of pregnancy. However, relaxin and other relaxin family peptides are now associated with numerous non-reproductive physiologies and disease states. The new millennium bought with it the sequence of the human genome and subsequently new directions for relaxin research. In 2002, the ancestral relaxin gene RLN3 was identified from genome databases. The relaxin-3 peptide is highly expressed in a small region of the brain and in species from teleost to primates and has both conserved sequence and sites of expression. Combined with the discovery of the relaxin family peptide receptors, interest in the role of the relaxin family peptides in the central nervous system has been reignited. This review explores the relaxin family peptides that are expressed in or act upon the brain, the receptors that mediate their actions, and what is currently known of their functions.     

A central nervous system depressant-antidepressant.

A new tricyclic agent with an allenyl side chain experimentally shows antidepressant activity similar to amitriptyline and imipramine but also exerts marked CNS depression. Such dual activity should be of clinical interest for treatment of mixed anxiety and depression.     

Axon guidance at the central nervous system midline

A key feature of the central nervous system of most higher organisms is their bilateral symmetry about the midline. The specialised cells that lie at the midline have an essential role in regulating the axon guidance decisions of both neurons that project axons across the midline and those that project on one side. The midline cells produce both attractive and repellent short- and long-range signals to guide axonal growth. The axons themselves express specific receptors that can be dynamically regulated in response to midline-derived signals. In this way, axons extend toward or away from the midline and those that do cross change their behaviour to respond to longitudinal signals on the contralateral side.     

Cholesterol homeostasis and function in neurons of the central nervous system

Cholesterol is a multifaceted molecule. First, it serves as an essential membrane component, as a cofactor for signaling molecules and as a precursor for steroid hormones; second, its synthesis, intercellular transport and intracellular distribution present a logistic tour de force requiring hundreds of cellular components, and third, it plays a crucial role in major human diseases. Despite intense research on this molecule, its metabolism in the central nervous system and its role in neuronal development and function are not well understood. Here I summarize recent results and hypotheses about how neurons maintain their cholesterol level and how cholesterol influences the establishment and maintenance of synaptic connections.     

An antinicotinic action of papaverine in the central nervous system

Zusammenfassung Die Wirkungen von Papaverin auf die kortikale Aktivität des Präparates «encéphalé isolé» der Katzen wurden untersucht. Papaverin rief homogene kortikale Synchronisation für einige Minuten hervor und verminderte kortikale Nikotin-Desynchronisation für einige Stunden.     

Visual responses in the central nervous system of the scallopPecten ziczac

Summary Electrical activity recorded from the lateral lobe of the visceroparietal ganglion in the scallop Pecten ziczac reflects predominatly the visual response to onset of light stimulation, suggesting that shadow reflex mechanisms likely occur elsewhere within the central nervous system.We thank Wolfgang Sterrer and the Bermude Biological Station for their cooperation and the use of their facilities. Support was, in part, from an NSF grant to the BBS (PCM 76.13459) and from an NIH grant (NS 12971). This paper is a contribution from the Bermuda Biological Station (No. 708) and the Tallahassee, Sopchoppy and Gulf Coast Marine Biological Association (No. 84).     

Binucleated neurons in the central nervous system of the laboratory animals

Summary Binucleated neurons were studied in the central nervous system of the rat and the rabbit. They were present in the young as well as the adult animals. The animals injected with thymidine-H³ during their embryonic development showed labelled binucleated neurons. It is suggested that the neurons become binucleated during neuroembryogenesis, and differentiate into normal neurons morphologically and physiologically.Supported by NIH Research grant No. NS-08817-05.     

Targeting NOX enzymes in the central nervous system: therapeutic opportunities

Among the pathogenic mechanisms underlying central nervous system (CNS) diseases, oxidative stress is almost invariably described. For this reason, numerous attempts have been made to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the administration of antioxidants as potential therapies for CNS disorders. However, such treatments have always failed in clinical trials. Targeting specific sources of reactive oxygen species in the CNS (e.g. NOX enzymes) represents an alternative promising option. Indeed, NOX enzymes are major generators of ROS, which regulate progression of CNS disorders as diverse as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, schizophrenia, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and stroke. On the other hand, in autoimmune demyelinating diseases, ROS generated by NOX enzymes are protective, presumably by dampening the specific immune response. In this review, we discuss the possibility of developing therapeutics targeting NADPH oxidase (NOX) enzymes for the treatment of different CNS pathologies. Specific compounds able to modulate the activation of NOX enzymes, and the consequent production of ROS, could fill the need for disease-modifying drugs for many incurable CNS pathologies.     

Ecdysteroid receptors located in the central nervous system of an insect

Summary Using thaw-mount autoradiography for steroid hormones, we obtained direct evidence for a nuclear localization of ecdysteroid binding sites in target organs of blowfly (Calliphora vicina) larvae. The binding sites revealed properties of ecdysteroid receptors. Endocrine cells of the ring gland were found to be target tissues of ecydysteroids. This observation provides morphological evidence for a network of complex interendocrine regulation. In the central nervous system receptorcontaining neurons were identified which include many, if not all, neurosecretory cells of the brain. A map of ecdysteroid sensitive cells of the larval brain is presented.