alzheimers-disease

Kolasa K, Harrell LE (2002) Apoptotic affect of cholinergic denervation and hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth following selective immunolesioning with 192-IgG-saporin in rat hippocampus. Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 295.16. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.

Summary: In rat, injection of specific cholinotoxin, 192IgG-saporin, into the medial septum (MS) results not only in a selective denervation of hippocampus(CD), but in an ingrowth of peripheral sympathetic fibers, originating from the superior cervical ganglion, into the hippocampus(HSI). A similar process, in which sympathetic axons invade hippocampus, may also occur in Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Our previous studies using MS electrolytic lesions suggested that HSI and CD appear to induce opposite effect on apoptotic markers. Apoptosis has also been implicated in some aspects of AD. By using 192IgG-saporin we have been able to more specifically and precisely study the affect of apoptosis on HSI and CD. Thus, 12 weeks after injection we measured apoptotic protein expression and DNA degradation using Western blot and in situ techniques e.x. TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL). Choline acetyltransferase activity (ChAT) and norepinephrine (NE) level was also detected. Like the previous results, we have found increase in apoptotic markers in CD group, while HSI reduced or normalized apoptotic effect to the control group level. We also found decrease in ChAT activity in HSI and CD groups of dorsal hippocampus.The results of the study suggest that cholinergic denervation is responsible for most of the proapoptotic responses, while hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth produced protective effect in the process of programmed cell death in rat dorsal hippocampus.

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

Helm KA, Ziegler DR, Gallagher M (2002) Habituation and dexamethasone (DEX) suppression of the stress response following selective lesions of cholinergic input to hippocampus in rats. Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 370.1. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.

Summary: Hippocampal neurons have been identified as targets for glucocorticoids that exert inhibitory control over hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity. Prior research has shown that selective removal of cholinergic input to the hippocampus reduces mRNA expression for low-affinity glucocorticoid receptors, while leaving unaffected both mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA and basal levels of circulating corticosterone (CORT). The current study investigated the possibility that loss of cholinergic support from cells in the basal forebrain alters the CORT response to stress. Cholinergic lesions were made by microinjections of the immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin into the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band, and 3 weeks later rats were subjected to six daily sessions of 30 min restraint stress. Blood samples taken before, during and after stress on Day 1 revealed a prolonged elevation of CORT in response to acute stress in cholinergic lesioned rats. After 5 days of chronic stress, however, both groups significantly habituated to the stressor, as indicated by similarly low CORT profiles throughout both the response and recovery period. Against this similar background, rats were administered a Dexamethasone (DEX) challenge on Day 6, and DEX-induced suppression of endogenous CORT before, during and after stress was attenuated in lesioned rats. These results indicate a mechanism whereby loss of cholinergic function (e.g. in aging and Alzheimer’s Dementia) may compromise the dynamic range of sensitivity to glucocorticoid mediated stress pathways in the brain.

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

Bradley QR, Borowski TB, de Lacalle S (2002) The effects of 17ß-estradiol on odor discrimination of ovariectomized and intact young and aged rats following unilateral lesions of the nucleus of the horizontal diagonal band of broca (HDB). Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 385.3. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.

Summary: Estradiol exerts beneficial effects on cognitive performance. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of estradiol on learning and memory following the destruction of cholinergic neurons of the HDB, a basal forebrain region that exhibits significant neuronal loss during aging and may underlie the cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimers disease. Young (3 months old) and aged (20 months old) ovariectomized and gonadally intact Fisher 344 female rats were given unilateral lesions of the HDB with the cholinergic immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin (.075mg/ml). Starting one week after surgery rats were tested on an odor discrimination task whereby rats were trained to associate a food reward buried within a scented cup of sand relative to a dissimilar scented cup of sand that contained no reward. Following stable levels of acquisition and retention, subjects were exposed to a reversal procedure where the previously unrewarded cup was now baited. Odor discrimination acquisition, retention and reversal were assessed before and after one month of 17β-estradiol exposure or placebo. Analysis of learning curves revealed that young rats performed better than the aged animals independent of estradiol treatment during the reversal component of the task. However, within each age group 17β-estradiol treatment facilitated performance in ovariectomized rats relative to placebo controls. These findings shed new light on the cognitive enhancing properties of estradiol in age-related cholinergic neurodegenerative disorders.

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

Ricceri L, Moles A, Pezzola A, Popoli P, Calamandrei G (2002) Neonatal basal forebrain cholinergic lesions disrupt retention of socially transmitted food preferences and alter EEG activity in adult rats. Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 82.9. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.

Summary: Previous studies using selective neonatal lesions of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons showed mild long-term effects on spatial discrimination capabilities, whereas water maze learning appeared intact. In the present study we examined long-term effects of icv injections of 192 IgG saporin performed in 7-day-old rats on the social transmission of food preferences (a form of non-spatial associative memory) at adulthood. In 6-month-old rats the neonatal cholinergic lesion impaired 4-h and 24-h retention of a learned social food preference relative to controls, despite performance on an immediate retention trial was indistinguishable from controls. A second experiment excluded alterations in neophobia towards unfamiliar scented food after neonatal cholinergic lesions: level of novel food consumption did not differ between neonatally saporin-lesioned and control rats. Computerized EEG spectral analysis (FFT transform) performed in 6-month-old rats revealed that the neonatal cholinergic lesions increased δ power and reduced β power in both fronto-parietal and parieto-occipital cortex. Effectiveness of the neonatal lesion was confirmed by a marked cholinergic loss in both hippocampal and cortical regions. Altogether, behavioral and electrophysiological data suggest that the neonatal cholinergic lesion of the basal forebrain – more than the adult one – could represent a useful experimental model of Alzheimer-like memory dysfunctions.

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Varga C, Grosche J, Brauer K, Seeger J, Harkany T, Hartig W (2002) Cholinergic neurons in the rabbit forebrain: Chemoarchitecture, in vivo labeling, immunolesions. Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 35.3. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.

Summary: While the rabbit basal forebrain and its cholinergic components became useful targets for modeling of neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, their neuroanatomical organization is still largely elusive. Hence, we focused on (i) the number of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons (CBFN)in the major nuclei based on choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoperoxidase labeling, (ii) the density of ChAT-immunoreactive fibers in distinct neocortical and hippocampal areas, (iii) mapping of projecting CBFN by low-affinity neurotrophin receptor p75 (p75NTR ) staining and (iv) the double fluorescence labeling of ChAT and the neuronal markers p75NTR, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), calbindin, calretinin, parvalbumin, tyrosine hydroxylase and substance P. While cholinergic interneurons were found in the hippocampus, they were not detectable in the neocortex. CBFN were shown to abundantly co-express p75NTR, except in the substantia innominata and ventral pallidum. Whereas cholinergic neurons were devoid of most investigated markers, a subset also contained calbindin or NOS. The selective in vivo labeling of CBFN was achieved with intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) injected carbocyanine 3-conjugated ME20.4IgG that recognizes an extracellular epitope of p75NTR. Parallel experiments revealed that the i.c.v. injection of ME20.4IgG-saporin conjugates led to the specific immunolesion of cholinergic cells in about one week, whereas long-term effects of the immunotoxin remain to be further elucidated.

Related Products: ME20.4-SAP (Cat. #IT-15)

Zeitschel U, Schliebs R, Rossner S, Bigl V, Eschrich K, Bigl M (2002) Changes in activity and expression of phosphofructokinase in different rat brain regions after basal forebrain cholinergic lesion. J Neurochem 83(2):371-380. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2002.01127.x

Summary: The authors used intraventricular injections of 4 µg of 192-Saporin (Cat. #IT-01) in rats to investigate whether impaired cholinergic transmission may cause metabolic changes. Although the results demonstrate an initial increase in a cortical glucose metabolic marker, this increase was transient. The authors conclude that cholinergic systems do not control cortical glucose metabolic mechanisms affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

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Hyde LA, Crnic LS (2002) Reactivity to object and spatial novelty is normal in older Ts65Dn mice that model Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Res 945:26-30. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(02)02500-3 PMID: 12113948

Summary: The authors hypothesized that a mouse model for Down syndrome may show some of the same cognitive deficits exhibited by rats lesioned with 192-Saporin (Cat. #IT-01), which eliminates cholinergic cells in the basal forebrain. The results suggest that in this Down syndrome model, cell loss has a much greater cognitive effect if it happens early in development as opposed to in adulthood.

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

Bitner RS, Nikkel AL (2002) Alpha-7 nicotinic receptor expression by two distinct cell types in the dorsal raphe nucleus and locus coeruleus of rat. Brain Res 938:45-54. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(02)02485-x

Summary: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are suspected to play a role in neurophysiological disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy. Whereas the molecular and cellular properties of these receptors have been well characterized, the role of nAChRs in the nervous system is as yet unclear. The authors injected rats intracerebroventricularly with 5 µg/5 µl of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) to eliminate the noradrenergic nuclei. Using these data along with data acquired by elimination of serotonergic nuclei with 5,7-DHT, the authors showed that both noradrenergic nuclei in the locus coeruleus and serotonergic nuclei in the dorsal raphe nucleus express the alpha-7 nAChR subunit.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03)

Butt AE, Noble MM, Rogers JL, Rea TE (2002) Impairments in negative patterning, but not simple discrimination learning, in rats with 192 IgG-Saporin lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis. Behav Neurosci 116(2):241-255. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.116.2.241

Summary: 192-Saporin (Cat. #IT-01) administration to the basal forebrain has frequently been used in rats to create a model for Alzheimer’s disease. The authors used 0.2 µl bilateral injections of 0.4 µg/µl 192-SAP into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). Previous studies using non-specific excitotoxic agents have suggested the involvement of the NBM in learning and memory. The authors confirm more recent findings that indicate some of the deficits produced by these excitotoxins are due to the non-specific lesioning caused by these agents. The highly selective cholinergic lesioning produced by 192-Saporin left simple association learning intact but impaired more complicated configural association processes.

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

Himmelheber AM, Sarter M, Bruno JP (2001) The effects of manipulations of attentional demand on cortical acetylcholine release. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 12(3):353-370. doi: 10.1016/s0926-6410(01)00064-7

Summary: Cortical cholinergic afferents from the basal forebrain are suspected to be involved in attentional tasks. Regulatory impairment of these afferents has been hypothesized to contribute to attentional deficits seen in conditions as diverse as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. The authors have previously shown that 192-Saporin (Cat. #IT-01) lesions result in severe impairments in tasks requiring sustained attentional processing. In these experiments the authors suggest that cell response is dependent on the level of demand. They demonstrate that removal of p75+ cells (0.5 µg/µl bilaterally infused into the nucleus basalis region in rat) impairs sustained attentional performance, but does not impact low-demand task performance.

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