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Microglia play a vital role in maintaining brain homeostasis. Their continuous sensing of surrounding micro‐environments is crucial for their activity. Cross talk between specific neurons and microglia might occur through specific neurotransmitter receptors on microglia. Impairment with this interaction might result in pathological activity of microglia against potential insults. The reason for this activity in many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not known. However, several papers report of the effects of different neurotransmitter agonists on microglial cells function that relate to their activity in AD. This review aims to summarize those works and to raise potential fundamental questions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) and purine nucleosides adenosine and inosine are critical mediators of physiological responses to acute and chronic hypoxia. The specific aim of this paper was to evaluate the potential role of HIF-1α in purine-mediated neuroprotection. We show that adenosine and inosine efficiently rescued clonal rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells (up to 43.6%) as well as primary cerebellar granule neurons (up to 25.1%) from hypoxic insult, and furthermore, that HIF-1α is critical for purine-mediated neuroprotection. Next, we studied hypoxia or purine nucleoside increased nuclear accumulation of HIF-1α in PC12 cells. As a possible result of increased protein stabilization or synthesis an up to 2.5-fold induction of HIF-1α accumulation was detected. In cerebellar granule neurons, purine nucleosides induced an up to 3.1-fold HIF-1α accumulation in cell lysates. Concomitant with these results, small interfering RNA-mediated reduction of HIF-1α completely abolished adenosine- and inosine-mediated protection in PC12 cells and severely hampered purine nucleoside-mediated protection in primary neurons (up to 94.2%). Data presented in this paper thus clearly demonstrate that HIF-1α is a key regulator of purine nucleoside-mediated rescue of hypoxic neuronal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to the metabolism of proteins. The papers were presented at a meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. The abstracts include "Effect of diabetes on acetyl-CoA metabolism in neurons and blood platelets," "Mapping of a novel member of chromogranin family, NESP55, in the rat central nervous system," and "Novel mechanism of light-induced degradation of melatonin in the retina."

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to cell death. The papers were presented at a poster session held at the joint meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry, in Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 26-31, 2001. They include "Caspase-3 in brain: role in adaptive plasticity," "ICER-evoked cell death of different types of neurons," and "Incidence of different cell death types in the newborn rat retina."

Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) are essential enzymes in cells. They are not only responsible for maintaining the structural organization of cell membranes, but also play a pivotal role in the regulation of cell functions. Activation of PLA2s results in the release of fatty acids and lysophospholipids, products that are lipid mediators and compounds capable of altering membrane microdomains and physical properties. Although not fully understood, recent studies have linked aberrant PLA2 activity to oxidative signaling pathways involving NADPH oxidase that underlie the pathophysiology of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. In this paper, we review studies describing the involvement of cytosolic PLA2 in oxidative signaling pathways leading to neuronal impairment and activation of glial cell inflammatory responses. In addition, this review also includes information on the role of cytosolic PLA2 and exogenous secretory PLA2 on membrane physical properties, dynamics, and membrane proteins. Unraveling the mechanisms that regulate specific types of PLA2s and their effects on membrane dynamics are important prerequisites towards understanding their roles in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, and in the development of novel therapeutics to retard progression of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of research papers about neural cell death and survival. They include "Haloperidol induces neurotoxicity by the nmda receptor downstream signalling pathway, alternative from glutamate excitotoxicity," "Minor role for caspase-12 in animal models of neurodegenerative disease," "Temporal correlation between cellular death and activation of apoptotic pathways in a prenatal acute hypoxia model," and "Dual effect of thapsigargin on cell death and cell survival in porcine aortic smooth muscle cells."

NMDA receptors interact with a variety of intracellular proteins at excitatory synapses. In this paper we show that myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) isolated from mouse brain is a NMDA receptor-interacting protein. Myosin RLC bound directly to the C-termini of both NMDA receptor 1 (NR1) and NMDA receptor 2 (NR2) subunits, rendering the interaction of myosin RLC with NMDA receptors distinct from that of calmodulin which is considered a NR1-interacting protein. Myosin RLC co-localized with NR1 in the dendritic spines of isolated hippocampal neurons, and was co-immunoprecipitated from brain extracts in a complex with NR1, NR2A, NR2B, PSD-95, Adaptor protein-2and myosin II heavy chain. The C0 region of NR1 was necessary and sufficient for binding myosin RLC. Ca2+/calmodulin, but not calmodulin alone, displaced recombinant myosin RLC from the carboxy tail of NR1 indicating that myosin RLC and Ca2+/calmodulin can compete for a common binding site on NR1in vitro. Myosin RLC is the only known substrate for myosin regulatory light chain kinase, which has recently been shown to modulate NMDA receptor function in isolated hippocampal neurons. Our results suggest that an additional level of NMDA receptor regulation may be mediated via a direct interaction with a light chain of myosin II. Thus, myosin RLC–NMDA receptor interactions may contribute to the contractile and motile forces that are placed upon NMDA receptor subunits during changes associated with synaptic plasticity and neural morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis is an active process that is regulated by different signalling pathways. One of the more important organelles involved in apoptosis regulation is the mitochondrion. Electron chain transport disruption increases free radical production leading to multiple conductance channel opening, release of cytochrome c and caspase activation. This death pathway can be blocked by anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family that might shift redox potential to a more reduced state, preventing free radical-mediated damage. 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) has been widely used to generate Parkinson's disease-like models. It is able to generate free radicals and to induce catecholaminergic cell death. In this paper we have used the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y overexpressing Bcl-xL as a model to gain insights into the mechanisms through which Bcl-xL blocks 6-OHDA-induced cell death and to identify the molecular targets for this action. Herein, we present evidence supporting that the Bcl-xL –anti-apoptotic signal pathway seems to prevent mitochondrial multiple conductance channel opening, cytochrome c release and caspase-3 like activity following 6-OHDA treatment in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many models of Parkinson's disease (PD) have succeeded in replicating dopaminergic neuron loss or α-synuclein aggregation but not the formation of classical Lewy bodies, the pathological hallmark of PD. Our cybrid model of sporadic PD was created by introducing the mitochondrial genes from PD patients into neuroblastoma cells that lack mitochondrial DNA. Previous studies using cybrids have shown that information encoded by mitochondrial DNA in patients contributes to many pathogenic features of sporadic PD. In this paper, we report the generation of fibrillar and vesicular inclusions in a long-term cybrid cell culture model that replicates the essential antigenic and structural features of Lewy bodies in PD brain without the need for exogenous protein expression or inhibition of mitochondrial or proteasomal function. The inclusions generated by PD cybrid cells stained with eosin, thioflavin S, and antibodies to α-synuclein, ubiquitin, parkin, synphilin-1, neurofilament, β-tubulin, the proteasome, nitrotyrosine, and cytochrome c . Future studies of these cybrids will enable us to better understand how Lewy bodies form and what role they play in the pathogenesis of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with development and plasticity of neurons, stem cell biology, axonal growth and guidance. "Expression of prox1 mRNA and protein localization in regions of adult rat and mouse brains"; "Functional consequences of the deficiency in extracellular matrix proteoglycans in the mouse brain".

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with proliferation, survival and differentiation processes in cells. "Influence of prenatal irradiation by 131-I on the heparin-binding activity of newborn rat brain proteins"; Cannabinoid inhibition of neuronal differentiation".

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to neuronal-glial interaction, which were presented at a meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. They include "Changes of total heparin-binding activity of the rat brain proteins after low dose irradiation," "The myelin sheath organizes membrane compartments of the axon," and "The role of acetylcholine in axon-glial interaction regulation during nerve excitation."

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to cell lineage and differentiation. They include "A novel role of carnitine derivatives in the nervous system," "Neurons differentiated from embryonic stem cells migrate along both glial and neuronal processes in vitro," and "The Alzheimer-related gene presenilin-1 facilitates sonic hedgehog signaling in Xenopus primary neurogenesis."

The article presents abstracts of papers related to biological transporters. They include "Neurotoxin isolated from social wasp Agelaia vicina venom inhibits the γ-aminobutyric acid and glutamate uptake in synaptosomes from rat cerebral cortex," "Stress and glutamate uptake during the in vitro development of hippocampal neurons," and "Expression of a monocarboxylate transporter MCT4 in the neuromuscular junction of the rat."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about astrocyte biology and neuronal-glial interactions. They include "Connexin 43 regulates contact-directed distribution of exocytotic fusion sites on astrocytes," "Monitoring of exocytosis in astrocytes using synapto-pHluorins and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy," "Effect of monocarboxylate transporter inhibition on NADH biphasic response and oxygen utilization after neuronal stimulation," and "Involvement of PI3-K/Akt signal pathway in acquired resistance against 6-OHDA in SH-SY5Ycell following interaction with astrocytes."

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to molecular and cellular mechanisms. The papers were presented at a meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry. The abstracts include "Roles of glutamate transporters in the brain," "Neuron glia cross-talk by glutamate transporter in the retina," and "Neuronal regulation of glutamate transporters: molecular and cellular mechanisms."

The article presents abstracts of research papers related to neural stem cells. The papers were presented at the meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the American Society for Neurochemistry, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 26-31, 2001. The abstracts include "Neural stem cells disguised as glia," "Self-renewal and isolation of neural stem cells," and "Where neural stem cells come from."

The article presents abstracts of research papers that discuss mechanisms of endocytic trafficking in health and neurodegenerative disease. They include "Rab5 guanine nucleotide exchange factors: regulators of receptor trafficking from yeast to neurons," "Altered Rab7 GTPase function in CMT disease," "Endosome function and pathology in Alzheimer's disease," and "The endosomal trafficking machinery and its link to neurodegenerative disease."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about axon growth in a reactive glial environment after spinal cord injury. They include "Variations in the cellular response and recovery after spinal cord injury in the mouse," "Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in a contusion spinal cord injury," "Astrocyte-secreted chondroitinase mitigates axon inhibition by chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans," and "Neuronal adaptation to inhibitory and collapsing factors."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about mitochondrial neuochemistry. They include "Mitochondrial heterogeneity in brain," "Brain mitochondrial dysfunction—the critical event in neurodegeneration?," "Differential responses of astrocyte and neuronal mitochondria to calcium and oxidative stress," and "Proapoptotic mitochondrial signaling: the hows and whens."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about axon growth and the cytoskeleton. They include "Chlorpyrifos inhibits axon outgrowth by disrupting the morphogenic activity of ache," "Substratum dependent affects of myosin ii inhibition on axon extension rate," "Interaction of TRPV1 with the microtubule cytoskeleton," and "Selective patterning of N-cadherin orients the formation of the dendritic arbor in cultured hippocampal neurons."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about the role of astrocytes in disease and regeneration. They include "Intermediate filaments—the key to reactive gliosis?," "Astroglial S100B modulates neuronal activity in vivo," "The Nrf2-are pathway in astrocytes: potential role in neuroprotection," and "GFAP mutations in alexander disease."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about the effects of neuroinflammation on gap junction communication. They include "Connexins and neuroprotection: minding the gap," "Connexins regulate gene expression: how, why, and implications for neuroinflammation," "Astrocyte gap junctions are a target for pro-inflammatory cytokines released from microglial cells," and "The gram-positive bacterium S. aureus differentially modulates gap junction communication in astrocytes and microglia."

The article presents abstracts of research papers about intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of neuronal polarization. They include "Mechanisms of ion channel localization in axons," "Dynamic regulation of neuronal potassium channel Kv2.1," "Microdomain organization in the mammalian brain: a role for spectrin/ankyrin," and "Protein traffic at nascent synapses."

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with dietary and aging influences on neuronal function. "Slowing brain aging by calorie restriction and calorie restriction mimetics"; "Behavioral and neuronal effects of fruit polyphenolics"; "Molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging based on the anti-aging mechanism of calorie restriction".

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "A New Model of In Virto Ischemia in Rat Neuronal Cell Cultures to Study Induction of Immediate Early Gene Expression c-fos and c-jun." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Translocation of PKC Isoforms Towards PSD After Cerebral Ischemia." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. This paper is to discuss the role of PKC in pathological nerve cell function.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Sodium-Dependent Exchangers Crucially Influence Neuronal Damage After Hypoxia/Hypoglycemia in Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Alkyl Glycerol Lipids: Killers of Microbes and Protectors of Oligodendroglia and Neurons." The paper discusses the effects of alkyl glycerol ethers on neurons. Alkyl glycerol ethers have the ability of killing cells of lower forms of life while protecting and promoting the life of cells from animals.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "NMR Study of Muscle and Neuronal-Specific α-Conotoxins." The paper determines the spatial structures of α-conotoxins on the basis of NMR spectroscopy data. Two topologically distinct sets of conformations were revealed in the analysis.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Structure-Activity Relationship in the Effect of Organic Solvents on Nerve Cell Membranes Measured as Alterations of Membrane Functions and Development of Oxidative Stress." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Expression of Novel Antioxidant Thioredoxin-2 in the Rat Brain." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. This paper indicates regulatory and/or protective function of thioredoxin-2 in neurons.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Blood Platelets As Indicator of Disturbances of Acetyl-COA Metabolism in Diabetic Brain Neurons." The paper will be discussed at the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held in Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "An Integrated Neuron-Glia Dialogue in the Processing of Brain Formation." The paper will be discussed at the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held in Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. The paper will discuss the role of astrocytes in the processing of brain formation.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Glial Signals Regulate Autapse Formation in CNS Neurons." The paper will be discussed at the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held in Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. The paper will discuss the signals and mechanisms mediating the influence of glial signals on synapse development.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Regulation of Myelin Protein Gene Expression in Neurons and in the Immune System." The paper will be discussed at the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held in Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. It will discuss the expression patterns of myelin proteins in neurons and in the immune system.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Mouse Brain Neurons and Oligodendrocytes Express a Novel PLP/DM-20-Related Product." This paper is to be discussed in the Seventeenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the Thirteenth General Meeting of the European Society for Neurochemistry (ESN) to be held at Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. This paper informs that PLP/DM-20 gene appears to be expressed in selected neurons.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "Mediation of Neuronal Growth by Radicicol." The paper discusses a study which states that nanomolar concentrations of radicicol enhances the survival and neurite outgrowth of neurons from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sympathetic ganglia.

The article presents an abstract of the medical research paper "RAP-PCR Study on Differentially Expressed Transcripts in Primary Culture of Cerebral Cortical Neurons." The paper states that RAP-PCR is efficient in identifying differentially expressed transcripts and the newly identified genes will be useful in revealing the mechanism of neuronal development and differentiation.

The article presents an abstract of the research paper "Activity-Dependent Long-Term Depression and Synapse Silencing." It will be presented in the joint meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry and the European Society for Neurochemistry that will be held in Berlin, Germany from August 8-14, 1999. The paper examines long-term depression (LTD) in dissociated hippocampal neurons grown in culture to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms of LTD.

The article presents information on an abstract of the paper "In Vitro Myelination in Co-Cultures of Postnatal Rat Drg Neurons And Oligodendrocytes," which will be presented at the 30th meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry. The meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 14-17, 1999. The paper findings highlight that both oligodendrocytes and neurons survive longer when cultured together.

The article presents an abstract of the paper "L- and D- Threo-1-Phenyl-2-Decanoylamino-3-Morpholino-J-Ppropanol (PDMP) Inhibit Neurite Outgrowth From SH-SY5Y Cells," which will be presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry to be held from March 14-17, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper suggests that neurite outgrowth in SH-SY5Y cells were decreased by both an inhibitor and stimulator of ganglioside biosynthesis.

The article presents the abstract of the paper "Mechanisms of Arachidonic Acid-Mediated Secondary Injury to Cultured Spinal Cord Neurons," which will be presented at the 30th meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry. The meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 14-17, 1999. According to the paper, secondary tissue injury and dysfunction of spinal cord neurons are greatly affected by the release of fatty acids during spinal cord trauma.

The article presents an abstract of a paper titled "Nicotine Protects Cultured Spinal Cord Neurons Against Arachidonic Acid-Mediated Injury." The paper will be presented at the 30th meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry. The meeting is scheduled to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 14-17, 1999. The paper discusses that upregulation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase is one of the most significant mechanisms of arachidonic acid induced neuronal dysfunction.

The article presents an abstract of the paper "Involvement of Par-4 and Oxidative Stress in Trophic Factor Withdrawal-induced Apoptosis of Hippocampal Neurons: Protection by Estrogen and Anti-oxidants," which will be presented at the 30th annual meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry to be held from March 14-17, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper discusses the role of Par-4 and oxidative stress in neuronal apoptosis resulting from trophic factor withdrawal.

The article presents an abstract of the paper "Mechanisms of ADNF Peptide Protection Against Oxidative and Excitotoxic Neuronal Death," which will be presented at the 30th annual meeting of the American Society for Neurochemistry to be held from March 14-17, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper discusses how 9 amino acid fragment of activity-dependent neurotrophic factor peptide protects rat hippocampal neurons from oxidative injury and neuronal apoptosis.

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with glial-neuronal interactions. "Proteomics of the regenerating rat sciatic nerve after injury"; "Amino acid exchange between astrocytes and neurons"; "Glutamine transporters involved in the glutamine-glutamate/GABA cycle".

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with protein phosphatases in neuronal death. "Calcineurin: a protein phosphatase under the control of Ca[sup2+] and reactive oxygen species; "Regulation of SAPK signaling pathway by PP2C: implication in the neuronal differentiation"; "Does PP2C play a role in neuronal apoptosis?".

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with extrinsic and intrinsic factors controlling neuronal identity. "Cannabinoid inhibition of neuronal differentiation"; "Functional consequences of the deficiency in extracellular matrix proteoglycans in the mouse brain".

Presents abstracts of papers featured in the "Journal of Neurochemistry" that deal with cellular mechanisms and molecular signaling in cell death/survival in central nervous system (CNS) injuries. "Synaptic damage and plasticity following transient cerebral ischemia"; "Oxidant stress as a molecular switch in neuronal death/survival after CNS injuries".