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Lung injury caused by respiratory infection is a major cause of hospitalization and mortality and a leading origin of sepsis. Sepsis-associated encephalopathy and delirium are frequent complications in patients with severe lung injury, yet the pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, 70 female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to a single full-body-exposure with nebulized lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Neuromotor impairment was assessed repeatedly and brain, blood, and lung samples were analyzed at survival points of 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h after exposure. qRT-PCR revealed increased mRNA-expression of TNFα and IL-1β 24 h and 48 h after LPS-exposure in the lung, concomitantly with increased amounts of proteins in bronchoalveolar lavage and interstitial lung edema. In the cerebral cortex, at 72 h and/or 96 h after LPS exposure, the inflammation- and activity-associated markers TLR4, GFAP, Gadd45b, c-Fos, and Arc were increased. Therefore, single exposure to nebulized LPS not only triggers an early inflammatory reaction in the lung but also induces a delayed neuroinflammatory response. The identified mechanisms provide new insights into the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy and might serve as targets for future therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and long bone fractures are a common injury pattern in polytrauma patients and modulate each other's healing process. As only a limited number of studies have investigated both traumatic sites, we tested the hypothesis that brain–bone polytrauma mutually impacts neuro- and osteopathological outcomes. Adult female C57BL/6N mice were subjected to controlled cortical impact (CCI), and/or osteosynthetic stabilized femoral fracture (FF), or sham surgery. Neuromotor and behavioral impairments were assessed by neurological severity score, open field test, rotarod test, and elevated plus maze test. Brain and bone tissues were processed 42 days after trauma. CCI+FF polytrauma mice had increased bone formation as compared to FF mice and increased mRNA expression of bone sialoprotein (BSP). Bone fractures did not aggravate neuropathology or neuroinflammation assessed by cerebral lesion size, hippocampal integrity, astrocyte and microglia activation, and gene expression. Behavioral assessments demonstrated an overall impaired recovery of neuromotor function and persistent abnormalities in anxiety-related behavior in polytrauma mice. This study shows enhanced bone healing, impaired neuromotor recovery and anxiety-like behavior in a brain–bone polytrauma model. However, bone fractures did not aggravate TBI-evoked neuropathology, suggesting the existence of outcome-relevant mechanisms independent of the extent of brain structural damage and neuroinflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces a series of epigenetic changes in brain tissue, among which histone modifications are associated with the deterioration of TBI. In this study, we explored the role of histone H3 modifications in a weight-drop model of TBI in rats. Screening for various histone modifications, immunoblot analyses revealed that the phosphorylation of histone H3 serine 10 (p-H3S10) was significantly upregulated after TBI in the brain tissue surrounding the injury site. A similar posttraumatic regulation was observed for phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK), which is known to phosphorylate H3S10. In support of the hypothesis that ERK-mediated phosphorylation of H3S10 contributes to TBI pathogenesis, double immunofluorescence staining of brain sections showed high levels and colocalization of p-H3S10 and p-ERK predominantly in neurons surrounding the injury site. To test the hypothesis that inhibition of ERK-H3S10 signaling ameliorates TBI pathogenesis, the mitogen-activated protein kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) 1/2 inhibitor U0126, which inhibits ERK phosphorylation, was administered into the right lateral ventricle of TBI male and female rats via intracerebroventricular cannulation for 7 days post trauma. U0126 administration indeed prevented H3S10 phosphorylation and improved motor function recovery and cognitive function compared to vehicle treatment. In agreement with our findings in the rat model of TBI, immunoblot and double immunofluorescence analyses of brain tissue specimens from patients with TBI demonstrated high levels and colocalization of p-H3S10 and p-ERK as compared to control specimens from non-injured individuals. In conclusion, our findings indicate that phosphorylation-dependent activation of ERKH3S10 signaling participates in the pathogenesis of TBI and can be targeted by pharmacological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral nerve injury elicits spinal microgliosis, contributing to neuropathic pain. The aurora kinases A (AURKA), B (AURKB), and C (AURKC) are potential therapeutic targets in proliferating cells. However, their role has not been clarified in microglia. The aim of this study was to examine the regulation of aurora kinases and their roles and druggability in spinal microgliosis and neuropathic pain. Sprague–Dawley rats received chronic constriction injury (CCI). Gene expression of aurora kinases A‐C was evaluated by quantitative RT‐PCR and western blot, respectively, in spinal cords at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after CCI. AURKB gene and protein expression was up‐regulated concomitantly with the development of spinal microgliosis and neuropathic pain. Using lentiviral over‐expression and adeno‐associated viral knockdown approaches, the function of AURKB was further investigated by western blot, immunohistochemistry, RNA sequencing, and pain behavior tests. We found that AURKB over‐expression in naive rats caused spinal microgliosis and pain hypersensitivity, whereas AURKB knockdown reduced microgliosis and alleviated CCI‐induced neuropathic pain. Accordingly, RNA sequencing data revealed down‐regulation of genes critically involved in signaling pathways associated with spinal microgliosis and neuropathic pain after AURKB knockdown in CCI rats. To examine its therapeutic potential for treatment of neuropathic pain, animals were treated intrathecally with the pharmacological AURKB inhibitor AZD1152‐HQPA resulting in the alleviation of CCI‐induced pain. Taken together, our findings indicated that AURKB plays a critical role in spinal microgliosis and neuropathic pain. Targeting AURKB may be an efficient method for treatment of neuropathic pain subsequent to peripheral nerve injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) integrates sensory input from cortical and subcortical regions, a function that requires marked synaptic plasticity. Here we provide evidence that cytochrome P450 aromatase (AROM), the enzyme converting testosterone to 17β-estradiol (E2), contributes to the regulation of this plasticity in a sex-specific manner. We show that AROM is expressed in the BLA, particularly in the basolateral nucleus (BL), in male and female rodents. Systemic administration of the AROM inhibitor letrozole reduced spine synapse density in the BL of adult female mice but not in the BL of male mice. Similarly, in organotypic corticoamygdalar slice cultures from immature rats, treatment with letrozole significantly reduced spine synapses in the BL only in cultures derived from females. In addition, letrozole sex-specifically altered synaptic properties in the BL: in acute slices from juvenile (prepubertal) female rats, wash-in of letrozole virtually abolished long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas it did not prevent the generation of LTP in the slices from males. Together, these data indicate that neuron-derived E2 modulates synaptic plasticity in rodent BLA sex-dependently. As protein expression levels of AROM, estrogen and androgen receptors did not differ between males and females and were not sex-specifically altered by letrozole, the findings suggest sex-specific mechanisms of E2 signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extracellular matrix protein Reelin is an essential regulator of neuronal migration and lamination in the developing and mature brain. Lack of Reelin causes severe disturbances in cerebral layering, such as the reeler phenotype and granule cell dispersion in temporal lobe epilepsy. Reelin is synthesized and secreted by Cajal-Retzius cells and GABAergic interneurons, and its function depends on proteolytic cleavage after secretion. The mechanisms regulating these processes are largely unknown. Here, we used rat hip- pocampal slice cultures to investigate the effect of neuronal activation and hyperexcitation on Reelin synthesis, secretion, and proteolytic processing. We show that enhanced neuronal activity does not modulate Reelin synthesis or secretion. Moreover, we found that intracellular Reelin resides predominantly in the endoplasmic reticulum before it is constitutively secreted via the early secretory pathway. Epileptiform activity, however, impairs the proteolytic processing of Reelin and leads to accumulation of Reelin in the extracellular matrix. We found that both conditions, epileptiform activity and impaired proteolytic cleavage of Reelin, cause granule cell dispersion via inhibition of metalloproteinases. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that secretion of Reelin is activity-independent and that proteolytic processing of Reelin is required for the maintenance of granule cell lamination in the dentate gyrus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by complex secondary injury processes involving the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), which has been proposed as a possible therapeutic target. However, the pathogenic role of the p75NTR co-receptor sortilin in TBI has not been investigated. In this study, we examined whether sortilin contributes to acute and early processes of secondary injury using a murine controlled cortical impact (CCI) model of TBI. Initial expression analysis showed a down-regulation of sortilin mRNA levels 1 and 5 day post injury (dpi) and a reduced expression of sortilin protein 1 dpi. Next, a total of 40 Sortilin ΔExon14 loss-of-function mouse mutants (Sort1 -/- ) and wild-type (Sort1 +/+ ) littermate mice were subjected to CCI and examined at 1 and 5 dpi. Neither sensorimotor deficits or brain lesion size nor CCI-induced cell death or calcium-dependent excitotoxicity as evaluated by TUNEL staining or Western blot analysis of alpha II spectrin breakdown products were different between Sort1 -/- and Sort1 +/+ mice. In addition, CCI induced the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory marker mRNA expression ( Il6 , Tnfa , Aif1 , and Gfap ) irrespectively of the genotype. Similarly, the mRNA expressions of neurotrophins ( Bdnf , Ngf , Nt3) , VPS10P domain receptors others than sortilin ( Ngfr, Sorl1 , Sorcs2 ), and the sortilin interactor progranulin were not affected by genotype. Our results suggest that sortilin is a modulatory rather than a critical factor in the acute and early brain tissue response after TBI., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests or conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in young people and older adults worldwide. There is no gold standard treatment for TBI besides surgical interventions and symptomatic relief. Post-injury infections, such as lower respiratory tract and surgical site infections or meningitis are frequent complications following TBI. Whether the use of preventive and/or symptomatic antibiotic therapy improves patient mortality and outcome is an ongoing matter of debate. In contrast, results from animal models of TBI suggest translational perspectives and support the hypothesis that antibiotics, independent of their anti-microbial activity, alleviate secondary injury and improve neurological outcomes. These beneficial effects were largely attributed to the inhibition of neuroinflammation and neuronal cell death. In this review, we briefly outline current treatment options, including antibiotic therapy, for patients with TBI. We then summarize the therapeutic effects of the most commonly tested antibiotics in TBI animal models, highlight studies identifying molecular targets of antibiotics, and discuss similarities and differences in their mechanistic modes of action., (© 2024. The Author(s).)