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Compartmentalized microfluidic neural cell culture platforms, which physically separate axons from the neural soma using a series of microchannels, have been used for studying a wide range of pathological conditions and basic neuroscience questions. While each study has different experimental needs, the fundamental design of these devices has largely remained unchanged and a systematic study to establish long-term neural cultures in this format is lacking. Here, we investigate the influence of microchannel geometry and cell seeding density on device performance particularly in the context of long-term studies of synaptically-connected, yet fluidically-isolated neural populations of neurons and glia. Of the different experimental parameters, the microchannel height was the principal determinant of device performance, where the other parameters offer additional degrees of freedom in customizing such devices for specific applications. We condense the effects of these parameters into design rules and demonstrate their utility in engineering a microfluidic neural culture platform with integrated microelectrode arrays. The engineered device successfully recorded from primary rat cortical cells for 59 days in vitro with more than on order of magnitude enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio in the microchannels.

What is the central question of this study? How does the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease model affect the respiratory response in female rats? What effect does ovariectomy have on that response? What is the main finding and its importance? The results suggest a protective effect of ovarian hormones in maintaining normal neuroanatomical integrity of the medullary respiratory nucleus in females. It was observed that ovariectomy alone reduced neurokinin-1 density in the pre-Bötzinger complex and Bötzinger complex, and there was an incremental effect of 6-OHDA and ovariectomy on retrotrapezoid nucleus neurons.Emerging evidence indicates that the course of Parkinson's disease (PD) includes autonomic and respiratory deficiencies in addition to the classical motor symptoms. The prevalence of PD is lower in women, and it has been hypothesized that neuroprotection by ovarian hormones can explain this difference. While male PD animal models present changes in the central respiratory control areas, as well as ventilatory parameters under normoxia and hypercapnia, little is known about sex differences regarding respiratory deficits in this disease background. This study aimed to explore the neuroanatomical and functional respiratory changes in intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats subjected to chemically induced PD via a bilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The respiratory parameters were evaluated by whole-body plethysmography, and the neuroanatomy was monitored using immunohistochemistry. It was found that dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and neurokinin-1 receptor density in the rostral ventrolateral respiratory group, Bötzinger and pre-Bötzinger complex were reduced in the chemically induced PD animals. Additionally, reduced numbers of Phox2b neurons were only observed in the retrotrapezoid nucleus of PD-OVX rats. Concerning respiratory parameters, in OVX rats, the resting and hypercapnia-induced tidal volume (V

O Glioblastoma (GBM) é um astrocitoma grau IV, representando o glioma de maior malignidade e o tumor cerebral primário mais frequente em humanos. A terapia indicada para o GBM é a ressecção cirúrgica, quimioterapia e radioterapia, todas com baixíssima eficiência devido a agressividade e as características do GBM. Consequentemente, a sobrevida dos pacientes indicados aos tratamentos convencionais é pouco mais de um ano. A inflamação é, sabidamente, uma das características que participa de modo decisivo do desenvolvimento tumoral, incluindo do GBM, e as relações entre mediadores inflamatórios e câncer são alvos de pesquisa nos últimos anos. Diversos estudos apontam um papel da via dos eicosanoides na modulação de processos patológicos envolvidos na inflamação e no câncer. Os eicosanoides são mediadores lipídicos bioativos, envolvidos em diversos processos fisiológicos e patológicos, em especial os associados à resposta inflamatória. As principais vias de produção de eicosanoides (ciclooxigenases, lipoxigenases, e citocromo P450), assim como seus produtos, são frequentemente alterados em diversos tipos de tumor, associados ao crescimento e a progressão tumoral. Contudo, o perfil dessas vias é consideravelmente pouco compreendido em GBM. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar in vitro o perfil e o papel das três vias de eicosanoides e seus produtos (eicosanoides ou não) nas linhagens de GBM (U251-MG, U87-MG, A172, T98G e U138-MG), modulando a atividade de enzimas chaves com drogas especificas para, então, analisar parâmetros de proliferação, migração e morte celular. Nossos resultados mostram, em todas as linhagens analisadas, um perfil heterogêneo das enzimas e receptores chaves das três vias. O perfil lipídico evidencia a produção de 13-HODE, produto de 15-lipoxigenase-1 em todas as linhagens, bem como ausência de leucotrienos e 5-HETE do eixo de 5-lipoxigenase. Os inibidores farmacológicos para 15-LOX e 12-LOX/15-LOX foram capazes de reduzir o crescimento, modular o ciclo celular e a migração celular das linhagens U251-MG, U87-MG e A172. O mesmo é visto com a inibição de mPGES-1. A inibição de 5-LOX por outro lado não afetou nenhum parâmetro nas mesmas linhagens. Todos os resultados apontam, portanto, para um papel do eixo de 15-LOX e COX no crescimento e na migração das células de GBM humano. Glioblastoma (GBM) is a grade IV astrocytoma, the most malignant and the most frequent primary brain tumour in humans. Standard therapies for treating GBM are surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all with low efficiency due to GBM aggressiveness and characteristics. Therefore, patient survival after conventional treatments is about one year. Inflammation is one of the main characteristics that plays a decisive role in tumour development, including in GBM. The relationships between inflammatory mediators and cancer have been the subject of research in recent years. Several studies point to the eicosanoid pathways as modulators of pathological processes between inflammation and cancer. Eicosanoids are bioactive lipid mediators, involved in various physiological and pathological processes, especially those associated with the inflammatory response. The major eicosanoid pathways (cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases, and cytochrome P450) as well as their products, are frequently altered in several tumours, associated with tumour growth and progression. However, the profile of these pathways is poorly understood in GBM. The objective of this study was to analyse, in vitro, the profile and role of eicosanoid pathways and their products (eicosanoids or not) in GBM cell lines (U251-MG, U87-MG, A172, T98G and U138-MG), modulating the key enzymes with inhibitors, analysing proliferation, migration and cell death. Our results show, in all analysed cell lines, a heterogeneous profile for the key enzymes and receptors of the three pathways. The lipid profile shows the production of 13-HODE, a product of 15-lipoxygenase-1, as well the absence of leukotrienes and 5-HETE of the 5-lipoxygenase axis. The pharmacological inhibitors for 15-LOX and 12-LOX / 15-LOX led to changes in cell cycle, reduced growth, reduced migration of U251-MG, U87-MG and A172 cell lines. The same was seen with the inhibition of mPGES-1. Inhibition of 5-LOX, on the other hand, did not affect any of these parameters in the same cell lines. All results, therefore, point to an important role of 15-LOX and COX pathways in the growth and migration of human GBM cells.

A destruição funcional das vias de controle do ciclo celular constituem um evento comuns em todos os tumores humanos. Muitos estudos associam mutações em p53 com mau prognostico no tratamento do câncer. Nesse trabalho, visamos a geração e caracterização de linhagens isogênicas portando diferentes mutantes de p53 como modelo de estudo para remediação simultânea de p53 e p16 na presença de mutantes hotspots específicos. Os mutantes R175H e R248Q não geraram alterações na cinética de proliferação da linhagem H358, mas levaram a um aumento de 27,5% na eficiência de plaqueamento e, no caso de R248Q, ao dobro de eficiência na formação de colônias em suspensão. Os resultados do tratamento das linhagens isogênicas com adenovírus Adp16 e Adp53 mostraram que os mutantes não interferiram no parada do ciclo celular em G1 induzida por p16. Alterations of the cell cycle pathway are a common event in all human tumors. Several studies have shown a correlation between hotspot mutations and an unfavorable profile for cancer therapies. Hence, this study aims the generation and characterization of isogenic cell lines, harboring p53 mutants, as model to investigate the replacement of p53 and p16 genes on these mutant H358 cell lines. Our data identified that neither p53R175H nor p53R248Q mutants accelerated cell cycle progression. However, both leads to a 27,5% increased plate efficiency while R248Q leads to a two-fold increases in the number of colonies formed in soft agar. Our data also showed that the mutants did not affect the efficiency of p16 replacement.