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Metabolic uncoupling has been well-characterized during the first minutes-to-days after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet mitochondrial bioenergetics during the weeks-to-months after a brain injury is poorly defined, particularly after a mild TBI. We hypothesized that a closed head injury (CHI) would be associated with deficits in mitochondrial bioenergetics at one month after the injury. A significant decrease in state-III (adenosine triphosphate production) and state-V (complex-I) driven mitochondrial respiration was found at one month post-injury in adult C57Bl/6J mice. Isolation of synaptic mitochondria demonstrated that the deficit in state-III and state-V was primarily neuronal. Injured mice had a temporally consistent deficit in memory recall at one month post-injury. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) at 7-Tesla, we found significant decreases in phosphocreatine, N-Acetylaspartic acid, and total choline. We also found regional variations in cerebral blood flow, including both hypo- and hyperperfusion, as measured by a pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling MR sequence. Our results highlight a chronic deficit in mitochondrial bioenergetics associated with a CHI that may lead toward a novel approach for neurorestoration after a mild TBI. MRS provides a potential biomarker for assessing the efficacy of candidate treatments targeted at improving mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Sleep disturbances are a common early symptom of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other age-related dementias, and emerging evidence suggests that poor sleep may be an important contributor to development of amyloid pathology. Of the causes of sleep disturbances, it is estimated that 10% - 20% of adults in the United States have sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) disorder, with obstructive sleep apnea accounting for the majority of the SBD cases. The clinical and epidemiological data clearly support a link between sleep apnea and AD; yet, almost no experimental research is available exploring the mechanisms associated with this correlative link. Therefore, we exposed an AD-relevant mouse model (APP/PS1 KI) to chronic intermittent hypoxia (an experimental model of sleep apnea) to begin to describe one of the potential mechanisms by which SDB could increase the risk of dementia. Previous studies have found that astrogliosis is a contributor to neuropathology in models of chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) and AD; therefore, we hypothesized that a reactive astrocyte response might be a contributing mechanism in the neuroinflammation associated with sleep apnea. To test this hypothesis, 10-11-month-old wild type (WT) and APP/PS1 KI mice were exposed to 10 hours of IH, daily for four weeks. At the end of four weeks brains were analyzed from amyloid burden and astrogliosis. No effect was found for chronic IH exposure on amyloid-beta levels or plaque load in the APP/PS1 KI mice. A significant increase in GFAP staining was found in the APP/PS1 KI mice following chronic IH exposure, but not in the WT mice. Profiling of genes associated with different phenotypes of astrocyte activation identified GFAP, CXCL10, and Ggta1 as significant responses activated in the APP/PS1 KI mice exposed to chronic IH.

One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies is memory loss. The exact mechanisms leading to memory loss in tauopathies are not yet known; however, decreased translation due to ribosomal dysfunction has been implicated as a part of this process. Here we use a proteomics approach that incorporates subcellular fractionation and coimmunoprecipitation of tau from human AD and non-demented control brains to identify novel interactions between tau and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We show that ribosomes associate more closely with tau in AD than with tau in control brains, and that this abnormal association leads to a decrease in RNA translation. The aberrant tau–ribosome association also impaired synthesis of the synaptic protein PSD-95, suggesting that this phenomenon contributes to synaptic dysfunction. These findings provide novel information about tau-protein interactions in human brains, and they describe, for the first time, a dysfunctional consequence of tau–ribosome associations that directly alters protein synthesis.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTDespite the identification of abnormal tau–ribosomal interactions in tauopathies >25 years ago, the consequences of this association remained elusive until now. Here, we show that pathological tau associates closely with ribosomes in AD brains, and that this interaction impairs protein synthesis. The overall result is a stark reduction of nascent proteins, including those that participate in synaptic plasticity, which is crucial for learning and memory. These data mechanistically link a common pathologic sign, such as the appearance of pathological tau inside brain cells, with cognitive impairments evident in virtually all tauopathies.

The study aim was to determine how peripheral trigeminal nerve injury affects mitochondrial respiration and to test efficacy of combined treatment with 2 Federal Drug Administration approved drugs with potential for improving mitochondrial bioenergetics, pain and anxiety-related behaviors in a chronic orofacial neuropathic pain mouse model.Efficacy of (R)-(+)-4-amino-3-isoxazolidinone (D-cycloserine, DCS), an N-Methyl-D-aspartate antagonist/agonist, and Pioglitazone (PIO), a selective agonist of nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma was investigate in the trigeminal inflammatory compression (TIC) neuropathic nerve injury mouse model. Combined low doses of these drugs (80 mg/kg DCS and 100 mg/kg PIO) were given as a single bolus or daily for 7 days post-TIC to test ability to attenuate neuropathic nociceptive and associated cognitive dependent anxiety behaviors. In addition, beneficial effects of the DCS/PIO drug combination were explored ex vivo in isolated cortex/brainstem mitochondria at 28 weeks post-TIC.The DCS/PIO combination not only attenuated orofacial neuropathic pain and anxiety-related behaviors associated with trigeminal nerve injury, but it also improved mitochondrial bioenergetics.The DCS/PIO combination uncoupled mitochondrial respiration in the TIC model to improve cortical mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as reduced nociceptive and anxiety behaviors present in mice with centralized chronic neuropathic nerve injury. Combining these drugs could be a beneficial treatment for patients with depression, anxiety, or other psychological conditions due to their chronic pain status.

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma isoform (PPARγ), in trigeminal neuropathic pain utilizing a novel mouse trigeminal inflammatory compression (TIC) injury model. The study determined that the PPARγ nuclear receptor plays a significant role in trigeminal nociception transmission, evidenced by: 1) Intense PPARγ immunoreactivity is expressed 3 weeks after TIC nerve injury in the spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (spV), the termination site of trigeminal nociceptive nerve fibers. 2) Systemic administration of a PPARγ agonist, pioglitazone (PIO), attenuates whisker pad mechanical allodynia at doses of 300 mg/kg i.p. and 600 mg/kg p.o. 3) Administration of a PPARγ antagonist, GW9662 (30 mg/kg i.p.), prior to providing the optimal dose of PIO (300 mg/kg i.p.) blocked the analgesic effect of PIO. This is the first study localizing PPARγ immunoreactivity throughout the brainstem trigeminal spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (spV) and its increase three weeks after TIC nerve injury. This is also the first study to demonstrate that activation of PPARγ attenuates trigeminal hypersensitivity in the mouse TIC nerve injury model. The findings presented here suggest the possibility of utilizing the FDA approved diabetic treatment drug, PIO, as a new therapeutic that targets PPARγ for treatment of patients suffering from orofacial neuropathic pain.

Tauopathies, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), constitute the most crippling neurodegenerative threat to our aging population. Tauopathic patients have significant cognitive decline accompanied by irreversible and severe brain atrophy, and it is thought that neuronal dysfunction begins years before diagnosis. Our current understanding of tauopathies has yielded promising therapeutic interventions but have all failed in clinical trials. This is partly due to the inability to identify and intervene in an effective therapeutic window early in the disease process. A major challenge that contributes to the definition of an early therapeutic window is limited technologies. To address these challenges, we modified and adapted a manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) approach to provide sensitive and quantitative power to detect changes in broad neuronal function in aging mice. Considering that tau tangle burden correlates well with cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s patients, we performed our MEMRI approach in a time course of aging mice and an accelerated mouse model of tauopathy. We measured significant changes in broad neuronal function as a consequence of age and, in transgenic mice, before the deposition of bona fide tangles. This MEMRI approach represents the first diagnostic measure of neuronal dysfunction in mice. Successful translation of this technology in the clinic could serve as a sensitive diagnostic tool for the definition of effective therapeutic windows.