2010 Targeting Trends Review

Akasaka E, Watanabe S, Himaki T, Ohtsuka M, Yoshida M, Miyoshi K, Sato M (2010) Enrichment of xenograft-competent genetically modified pig cells using a targeted toxin, isolectin BS-I-B4 conjugate. Xenotransplantation 17:81-89. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3089.2010.00568.x

Summary: Genetically modified pigs lacking the gala1-3gal epitope may be suitable for production of organs that could be transplanted to humans. The ability to select for a homozygous population of donor somatic cells would accelerate the process of generating these animals, which would otherwise take approximately 2 years. The authors incubated a heterozygous population of 107 porcine embryonic fibroblasts with 1.6 µg of IB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10). Even after 6 months the treated cells were negative for the agal epitope.

Related Products: IB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10)

Thomsen MS, Hay-Schmidt A, Hansen HH, Mikkelsen JD (2010) Distinct neural pathways mediate alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-dependent activation of the forebrain. Cereb Cortex 20(9):2092-2102. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhp283

Summary: a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists are potential treatments for some aspect of schizophrenia. The authors examine whether cholinergic neurons in the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB) are a target for this treatment. Rats received 300 ng injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the HDB. The results demonstrate that cholinergic neurons in the HDB are essential for a7 nAChR agonist activation of the medial prefrontal cortex.

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

Gibbs RB (2010) Estrogen therapy and cognition: a review of the cholinergic hypothesis. Endocr Rev 31(2):224-253. doi: 10.1210/er.2009-0036

Summary: This review discusses estrogen therapy for use in postmenopausal women. In this context the issues revolve around benefits vs. harm of such therapy on the brain and cognitive impairment associated with aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Use of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) to investigate this paradigm is described.

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

Robertson RT, Baratta J, Yu J, LaFerla FM (2009) Amyloid-beta expression in retrosplenial cortex of triple transgenic mice: relationship to cholinergic axonal afferents from medial septum. Neuroscience 164:1334-1346. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.09.024

Summary: In this work the authors developed a model to examine the relationship between afferent projections and the formation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposits. Mice received 1.86 µg unilateral injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the lateral ventricle. Lesioned animals had persistent Aβ immunoreactivity in layer III of the granular division of retrosplenial cortex (RSg). This data indicates that septal cholinergic axonal projections transport Aβ or amyloid precursor protein to layer III of the RSg.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), mu p75-SAP (Cat. #IT-16)

Marshall AM, Nommsen-Rivers LA, Hernandez LL, Dewey KG, Chantry CJ, Gregerson KA, Horseman ND (2010) Serotonin transport and metabolism in the mammary gland modulates secretory activation and involution. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95(2):837-846. doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-1575 PMID: 19965920

Summary: Serotonin is known to be a local regulator of lactation homeostasis. This work examined  the roles of the serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT) and monoamine oxidase in this system. Immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical staining was done on human primary mammary epithelial cells and mouse tissue with an anti-SERT antibody (Cat. #AB-N09). Additional data included epidemiological studies and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment of mice. The results suggest that women taking SSRI inhibitor medications were more likely to experience delayed secretory activation.

Related Products: Antibody to Serotonin Transporter (SERT, Cat. #AB-N09)

Wilson RE, Coons KD, Sengelaub DR (2009) Neuroprotective effects of testosterone on dendritic morphology following partial motoneuron depletion: efficacy in female rats. Neurosci Lett 465:123-127. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.09.007

Summary: Previous work has demonstrated a protective effect from testosterone in a motoneuron nerve injury model for male rats. This work investigated whether testosterone has the same effect in females. Female rats received 2 µg of CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14) into the left vastus medialis muscle. 4 weeks later surviving motoneurons were visualized with CTB conjugated to HRP. Testosterone treatment greatly attenuated the atrophy seen in control animals, suggesting that testosterone is also a neurotherapeutic agent in females.

Related Products: CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14)

Riedl MS, Braun PD, Kitto KF, Roiko SA, Anderson LB, Honda CN, Fairbanks CA, Vulchanova L (2009) Proteomic analysis uncovers novel actions of the neurosecretory protein VGF in nociceptive processing. J Neurosci 29:13377-13388. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1127-09.2009 PMID: 19846725

Summary: Peripheral tissue injury can alter protein expression in sensory neurons, which may contribute to abnormal nociceptive processing. The authors used cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons as a model for axotomized neurons to examine early changes in protein expression after nerve injury. Several different parameters were measured, including immunohistochemistry using anti-TrkA (Cat. #AB-N03). The data show an increased level of a putative neuropeptide precursor, VGF, as a result of nerve injury.

Related Products: trkA Rabbit Polyclonal (Cat. #AB-N03)

Jinks SL, Carstens E, Antognini JF (2009) Nitrous oxide-induced analgesia does not influence nitrous oxide’s immobilizing requirements. Anesth Analg 109:1111-1116. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181b5a2a7

Summary: Noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) are involved with the analgesic action of nitrous oxide (N2O). In order to examine whether these neurons are also involved with the immobilizing effects of N2O, rats received 4 µg intracerebroventricular injections of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03). Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as a control. Lesioned animals did not experience the analgesic effects of N2O, but the immobilizing effects were still present. The data demonstrate that the immobilizing mechanism of N2O is independent from its analgesic effects.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Dashniani M, Burjanadze M, Beselia G, Maglakelidze G, Naneishvili T (2009) Spatial memory following selective cholinergic lesion of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis. Georgian Med News 174:77-81.

Summary: This study investigated the role of cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) cells in learning and memory. Rats received bilateral 200 ng injections of 192 IgG-SAP (Cat. IT-01) into the NBM. Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as a control. The results indicate that the NBM is important in accurate spatial learning and the processing of information about the spatial environment. Deficits in rats with the cholinergic lesion may be due to lowered attentional function.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Arias-Carrion O, Murillo-Rodriguez E (2009) Cell transplantation: a future therapy for narcolepsy?. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 8:309-314. doi: 10.2174/187152709788921681

Summary: This review covers the current understanding of narcolepsy and discusses the potential for transplants as a therapeutic treatment. Animal models are summarized, including the use of orexin-SAP (Cat. #IT-20) in rats. The review goes on to suggest that production of orexigenic neuroblasts from stem cells may be a useful therapy.

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