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The amygdala is a limbic structure that is involved in many brain functions, including emotion, learning and memory. It has been reported that melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) innervate the medial amygdala (MeA). However, whether conventional RGCs (cRGCs) project to the MeA remains unknown. The goal of this study was to determine if cRGCs project to the MeA and to determine the morphological properties of MeA-projecting RGCs (MeA-RGCs). Retrogradely labeled RGCs in whole-mount retinas were intracellularly injected to reveal their dendritic morphologies. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to selectively label ipRGCs (MeA-ipRGCs) and cRGCs (MeA-cRGCs). The results showed that 95.7% of the retrogradely labeled cells were cRGCs and that the rest were ipRGCs. Specifically, MeA-cRGCs consist of two morphological types. The majority of them exhibit small but dense dendritic fields and diffuse ramification patterns as previously reported in RGB2 (95%), while the rest exhibit small but sparse dendritic branching patterns resembling those of RGB3 cells (5%). MeA-ipRGCs consist of M1 and M2 subtypes. The MeA-RGCs showed an even retinal distribution patterns. The soma and dendritic field sizes of the MeA-RGCs did not vary with eccentricity. In conclusion, the present results suggest that MeA-RGCs are structurally heterogeneous. These direct RGCs that input to the MeA could be important for regulating amygdala functions.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder linked to the loss of orexin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus. Cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle tone during waking, is an important distinguishing symptom of narcolepsy and it is often triggered by strong emotions. The neural circuit underlying cataplexy attacks is not known, but is likely to involve the amygdala, a region implicated in regulating emotions. In mice models of narcolepsy, transfer of the orexin gene into surrogate neurons has been successful in ameliorating narcoleptic symptoms. However, it is not known whether this method also blocks cataplexy triggered by strong emotions. To examine this possibility, the gene encoding mouse prepro-orexin was transferred into amygdala neurons of orexin-knockout (KO) mice (rAAV-orexin; n = 8). Orexin-KO mice that did not receive gene transfer (no-rAAV; n = 7) or received only the reporter gene (rAAV-GFP; n = 7) served as controls. Three weeks later, the animal's sleep and behaviour were recorded at night (no-odour control night), followed by another recording at night in the presence of predator odour (odour night). Orexin-KO mice given the orexin gene transfer into surrogate amygdala neurons had significantly less spontaneous bouts of cataplexy, and predator odour did not induce cataplexy compared with control mice. Moreover, the mice with orexin gene transfer were awake more during the odour night. These results demonstrate that orexin gene transfer into amygdala neurons can suppress both spontaneous and emotion-induced cataplexy attacks in narcoleptic mice. It suggests that manipulating amygdala pathways is a potential strategy for treating cataplexy in narcolepsy.

BACKGROUND The mechanism of cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is not understood. Here, we hypothesized that apoptosis of endothelial cells induced by p53 and its target gene em dash p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) played an important role in development of cerebral vasospasm. We also observed the effects of a p53 inhibitor, pifithrin-alpha (PFT-alpha), on reducing the expression of p53 and PUMA, consequently decreasing the apoptosis of endothelial cells and alleviating cerebral vasospasm. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-350 g were randomly divided into five groups: a control group (sham surgery), a SAH group, a SAH+dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) group, a SAH + PFT-alpha (0.2 mg/kg) group and a SAH + PFT-alpha (2.0 mg/kg) group. PFT-alpha was injected intraperitoneally immediately after SAH. Rats were sacrificed 24 hours after SAH. Western blot and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect the levels of p53, PUMA and caspase-3 protein. In addition, mortality and neurological scores were assessed for each group. Statistical significance was assured by analysis of variance performed in one way ANOVA followed by the Tukey test. The neurological and mortality scores were analyzed by Dunn's method and Fisher exact test, respectively. RESULTS After SAH, Western blot and immunohistochemical staining showed the levels of p53, PUMA and caspase-3 in the endothelial cells and the numbers of TdT mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) positive endothelial cells were all significantly increased in the basilar arteries (P

Despite 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2) and tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) having multiple effects on cancer cells, mechanistically, both of them down-regulate hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We hypothesize HIF-1alpha plays an essential role in cerebral ischemia as a pro-apoptosis regulator; 2ME2 and D609 decrease the levels of HIF-1alpha and VEGF, that might contribute to protecting brain from ischemia injury. A total of 102 male Sprague-Dawley rats were split into five groups: sham, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), MCAO + dimethyl sulfoxide, MCAO + 2ME2, and MCAO + D609. 2ME2 and D609 were injected intraperitoneally 1 h after reperfusion. Rats were killed at 24 h and 7 days. At 24 h, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the levels of HIF-1alpha and VEGF (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), depress the expression of HIF-1alpha, VEGF, BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) and cleaved caspase 3 (western blot and immunohistochemistry) in the brain infarct area. Double fluorescence labeling shows HIF-1alpha positive immunoreactive materials are co-localized with BNIP3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling inside the nuclei of neurons. At 7 days, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the infarct volume (2,3,7-triphenyltetrazolium chloride) and blood-brain barrier extravasation, decrease the mortality and improve the neurological deficits. In conclusion, 2ME2 and D609 are powerful agents to protect brain from cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting HIF-1alpha expression, attenuating the superfluous expression of VEGF to avoid blood-brain barrier disruption and suppressing neuronal apoptosis via BNIP3 pathway.

Light is a powerful modulator of higher-order cognitive processes such as mood but it remains unclear which neural circuits mediate the impact of light on affective behavior. We found that light deprivation produces a depressive-like behavioral state that is reversed by activation of direct retinal signals to the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) in a manner equivalent to treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. Surprisingly, the DRN-projecting retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are indistinguishable from the classic alpha/Y-like RGC type that contributes to image-forming visual pathways. Silencing RGC firing or specific immunotoxin ablation of DRN-projecting RGCs increased depressive-like behavior and reduced serotonin levels in the DRN. Serotonin has a key role in the pathophysiology of depression, and these results demonstrate that retino-raphe signals modulate DRN serotonergic tone and affective behavior., link_to_OA_fulltext

Despite 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2) and tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) having multiple effects on cancer cells, mechanistically, both of them down-regulate hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We hypothesize HIF-1alpha plays an essential role in cerebral ischemia as a pro-apoptosis regulator; 2ME2 and D609 decrease the levels of HIF-1alpha and VEGF, that might contribute to protecting brain from ischemia injury. A total of 102 male Sprague-Dawley rats were split into five groups: sham, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), MCAO + dimethyl sulfoxide, MCAO + 2ME2, and MCAO + D609. 2ME2 and D609 were injected intraperitoneally 1 h after reperfusion. Rats were killed at 24 h and 7 days. At 24 h, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the levels of HIF-1alpha and VEGF (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), depress the expression of HIF-1alpha, VEGF, BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) and cleaved caspase 3 (western blot and immunohistochemistry) in the brain infarct area. Double fluorescence labeling shows HIF-1alpha positive immunoreactive materials are co-localized with BNIP3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling inside the nuclei of neurons. At 7 days, 2ME2 and D609 reduce the infarct volume (2,3,7-triphenyltetrazolium chloride) and blood-brain barrier extravasation, decrease the mortality and improve the neurological deficits. In conclusion, 2ME2 and D609 are powerful agents to protect brain from cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting HIF-1alpha expression, attenuating the superfluous expression of VEGF to avoid blood-brain barrier disruption and suppressing neuronal apoptosis via BNIP3 pathway.