References

Speer C, Sun C, Liets L, Stafford B, Chapman B, Cheng H (2014) Eye-specific retinogeniculate segregation proceeds normally following disruption of patterned spontaneous retinal activity. Neural Dev 9:25. doi: 10.1186/1749-8104-9-25

Summary: The authors administered 0.88-1.66 μg of an Anti-VaChT-SAP custom conjugate to ferrets with an intraocular injection. Although the lesioned animals demonstrated normal eye-specific retinogeniculate development, there were significant abnormalities in spontaneous retinal activity. These differences in activity manifested themselves as eye-specific segregation defects.

Related Products: Custom Conjugates

Kalinchuk A, Porkka-Heiskanen T, McCarley R, Basheer R (2015) Cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain mediate biochemical and electrophysiological mechanisms underlying sleep homeostasis. Eur J Neurosci 41:182-195. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12766

Summary: Previous work has indicated that non-rapid eye movement during recovery sleep after sleep deprivation requires cholinergic neurons in the BF. The authors examined how BF cholinergic neurons affect the levels of HSP markers during sleep deprivation. Rats received 230-ng injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the horizontal limb of the diagonal band/substantia innominata/ magnocellular preoptic area. The results indicate that cholinergic neurons in the BF are important for regulating the biochemical and EEG mechanisms that contribute to HSP.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)

Frankel AE, Nymeyer H, Lappi DA, Higgins D, Ahn C, Noe C (2014) Preliminary results from a phase I study of substance P-saporin in terminal cancer patients with intractable pain. Journal of Clinical Oncology 32:191. doi: 10.1200/jco.2014.32.31_suppl.191

Summary: Existing pain therapies are insufficient to control cancer pain in 10-15% of patients. Substance P (SP) and its receptor, neurokinin-1 (NK-1r) have been determined to play a major role in spinal transmission of chronic pain. Animal studies have demonstrated that disruption of the NK-1r pathway alleviates chronic pain caused by a variety of stimuli. The authors are conducting a Phase I clinical trial in humans (NCT02036281) assessing the ability of SP-SAP (Cat. #IT-07) to treat intractable chronic pain due to cancer. Patients have received intrathecal injections of 1, 2, or 4 µg of SP-SAP with no evidence of toxicity or neurological or cardiac abnormalities. Doses will escalate up to 90 µg.

Related Products: SP-SAP (Cat. #IT-07)

Akiyama T, Tominaga M, Takamori K, Carstens M, Carstens E (2014) Role of spinal bombesin-responsive neurons in nonhistaminergic itch. J Neurophysiol 112:2283-2289. doi: 10.1152/jn.00409.2014

Summary: Recent papers have demonstrated that pruritogen-evoked scratching behavior is reduced or eliminated by intrathecal injection of Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40). In this work the authors build on those data by investigating if spinal neurons that are responsive to pruritogens administered intradermally are also responsive to a spinal infusion of bombesin. Through the use of intradermal chloroquine injections, spinal superfusion of bombesin, and noxious pinch, the overlap of neurons processing itch and nociception was examined. The results demonstrate that chloroquine- and bombesin-sensitive neurons are involved in the transmission of itch, and that these are a separate neuronal population from those involved in nociception.

Related Products: Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40)

Thakkar JP, Dolecek TA, Horbinski C, Ostrom QT, Lightner DD, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Villano JL (2014) Epidemiologic and molecular prognostic review of glioblastoma. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 23(10):1985-1996. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-14-0275 PMID: 25053711

Objective: The authors report on the current epidemiology of glioblastomas (GBM) with data from the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United Stated (CBTRUS) as well as discuss the trends in incidence and survival. They provide a review on molecular markers in GBM that helped distinguish the similar subtypes of GBM and have prognostic and predictive value.

Summary: GBM is the most common brain and CNS malignancy, accounting for 45.2% of malignant primary brain and CNS tumors, 54% of all gliomas, and 16% of all primary brain and CNS tumors. GBMs comprise of primary and secondary subtypes which evolve through different genetic pathways, affect patients at different ages and have differences in outcomes. While many studies have investigated the basis of incidence differences by gender, age, race, and risk factors for GBM, many of these studies had inconclusive findings. The field has invested significant resources on the characterization for the various subclassifications of GBM and is in position to advance therapies specific to the genetic abnormalities of each. The success of m-TOR pathway inhibition for subependymal giant-cell astrocytomas and the possibility of identifying a subtype of GBM sensitive to up-front treatment with bevacizumab are examples. The complex molecular changes associated with GBM will likely make personalized therapy challenging. Although clinical advances in GBM are rare, the authors look to the new era in cancer biology we are in for meaningful advances.

Mao C, Li H, Zhang Z, Kiyama T, Panda S, Hattar S, Ribelayga C, Mills S, Wang S (2014) T-box transcription regulator Tbr2 is essential for the formation and maintenance of Opn4/melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells. J Neurosci 34:13083-13095. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1027-14.2014 PMID: 25253855

Summary: Opsin 4/melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are responsible for controlling non-image-forming visual functions in the retina. The findings show that opsin 4 is only expressed in Tbr2-positive ipRGCs, no ipRGCs are found if Tbr2 is deleted before RGC specialization, and most ipRGCs are eliminated when Tbr2 is deleted from established ipRGCs. An antibody against melanopsin (Cat. #AB-N39) was used at a 1:1000 dilution for immunohistochemical analyses.

Related Products: Melanopsin Rabbit Polyclonal, affinity-purified (Cat. #AB-N39)

Luo W, Lin B, Wang Y, Zhong J, O’Meally R, Cole R, Pandey A, Levchenko A, Semenza G (2014) PHD3-mediated prolyl hydroxylation of nonmuscle actin impairs polymerization and cell motility. Mol Biol Cell 25:2788-2796. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E14-02-0775 PMID: 25079693

Usage: Western blot

Related Products: Trans-4-Hydroxy-L-Proline Rabbit Polyclonal, Conjugated (Cat. #AB-T044)

Zhao Z, Wan L, Liu X, Huo F, Li H, Barry D, Krieger S, Kim S, Liu Z, Xu J, Rogers B, Li Y, Chen Z (2014) Cross-inhibition of NMBR and GRPR signaling maintains normal histaminergic itch transmission. J Neurosci 34:12402-12414. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1709-14.2014

Summary: After itch detection, the itch pathway moves through an array of G-protein coupled receptors and transient receptor potential channels in dorsal root ganglion neurons into dorsal horn neurons which integrate and transduce these signals, sending them to the somatosensory cortex. The purpose of this work is to clarify whether gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) or B-type natriuretic peptide regulates histaminergic itch. Several strains of knockout mice received 200, 300, or 400 ng intrathecal injections of bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40). Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21) was used as a control. The data further define the respective functions of the neuromedin B receptor and GRP receptor in itch, and reveals a working relationship between the different interneuron populations.

Related Products: Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

Zhang G, Liu Z, Zhang B, Geng W, Song N, Zhou W, Cao Y, Li S, Huang Z, Shen L (2014) Orexin A activates hypoglossal motoneurons and enhances genioglossus muscle activity in rats. Br J Pharmacol 171:4233-4246. doi: 10.1111/bph.12784

Summary: Orexin neurons are restricted to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and are involved in functions such as feeding behavior, energy homeostasis, sleep/wake cycles, and many others. Here the authors investigate orexin control of the genioglossus – the largest upper airway dilator muscle. Rats received bilateral 172 ng injections of orexin-SAP into the LH. Lesioned animals displayed a significant decrease in genioglossus muscle electromyograms, indicating that orexin neurons are vital to the control of this muscle.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Shah M, Vella A (2014) Effects of GLP-1 on appetite and weight. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 15(3):181-187. doi: 10.1007/s11154-014-9289-5 PMID: 24811133

Objective: To determine if the synergistic actions of GLP-1 in the gut and brain, acting on both central and peripheral receptors are responsible for the effects of the hormone on satiety.

Summary: The effect of GLP-1 on satiety is primarily derived from its action on anorexigenic hormones so that when NPY/ AgRP neurons are specifically eliminated by NPY-SAP, the effect of GLP-1 on decreasing satiation persists.

Related Products: NPY-SAP (Cat. #IT-28)

See Also:

• Bugarith K et al. Basomedial hypothalamic injections of neuropeptide Y conjugated to saporin selectively disrupt hypothalamic controls of food intake. Endocrinology 146(3):1179-1191, 2005.