Biomedical subjects

B Rogister

Publications and source records attributed to B Rogister.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Kinetic properties of the alpha2 homo-oligomeric glycine receptor impairs a proper synaptic functioning.

Ionotropic glycine receptors (GlyRs) are present in the central nervous system well before the establishment of synaptic contacts. Immature nerve cells are known, at least in the spinal cord, to express alpha2 homomeric GlyRs, the properties of which are relatively unknown compared to those of the adult synaptic form of the GlyR (mainly alpha1/beta heteromeres). Here, the kinetics properties of GlyRs at the single-channel level have been recorded in real-time by means of the patch-clamp technique in the outside-out configuration coupled with an ultra-fast flow application system (< 100 micros). Recordings were performed on chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with the alpha2 GlyR subunit. We show that the onset, the relaxation and the desensitisation of alpha2 homomeric GlyR-mediated currents are slower by one or two orders of magnitude compared to synaptic mature GlyRs and to other ligand-gated ionotropic channels involved in fast synaptic transmission. First latency analysis performed on single GlyR channels revealed that their slow activation time course was due to delayed openings. When synaptic release of glycine was mimicked (1 mM glycine; 1 ms pulse duration), the opening probability of alpha2 homomeric GlyRs was low (P(o) approximately = 0.1) when compared to mature synaptic GlyRs (Po = 0.9). This low Po is likely to be a direct consequence of the relatively slow activation kinetics of alpha2 homomeric GlyRs when compared to the activation kinetics of mature alpha1/beta GlyRs. Such slow kinetics suggest that embryonic alpha2 homomeric GlyRs cannot be activated by fast neurotransmitter release at mature synapses but rather could be suited for a non-synaptic paracrine-like release of agonist, which is known to occur in the embryo.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

Regulation of neural markers nestin and GFAP expression by cultivated bone marrow stromal cells.

Bone marrow stromal cells can differentiate into many types of mesenchymal cells, i.e. osteocyte, chondrocyte and adipocyte, but can also differentiate into non-mesenchymal cells, i.e. neural cells under appropriate in vivo experimental conditions (Kopen et al., 1999; Brazelton et al., 2000; Mezey et al., 2000). This neural phenotypic plasticity allows us to consider the utilization of mesenchymal stem cells as cellular material in regenerative medicine. In this study, we demonstrate that cultured adult rat stromal cells can express nestin, an intermediate filament protein predominantly expressed by neural stem cells. Two factors contribute to the regulation of nestin expression by rat stromal cells: serum in the culture medium inhibits nestin expression and a threshold number of passages must be reached below which nestin expression does not occur. Only nestin-positive rat stromal cells are able to form spheres when they are placed in the culture conditions used for neural stem cells. Likewise, only nestin-positive stromal cells are able to differentiate into GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein)-positive cells when they are co-cultivated with neural stem cells. We thus demonstrated that adult rat stromal cells in culture express nestin in absence of serum after passaging the cells at least ten times, and we suggest that nestin expression by these cells might be a prerequisite for the acquisition of the capacity to progress towards the neural lineage.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

[What are the therapeutic hopes for stem cell in neurological diseases?].

For several years, in Parkinson's disease patients, immature neuroblasts grafts could be realized. Those immature cells come from mesencephalic regions of six to ten weeks-old embryos. Given several technical problems, clinical outcome of the patients is not favourable and moreover, it appears that the cell source is very limited. That's the reason why the use of embryonic or somatic stem cells could be promising. Stem cells are able to self-renew, and could differentiate into several cell types. In this lecture, the author reviews the biological properties of different stem cells types in order to be used in cerebral graft in several neurological diseases. Given their recently unravelled phenotypic plasticity, somatic stem cells could be the best candidate for such a clinical use for autografts.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

[What are the realistic hopes for remyelinization in the central nervous system?].

Up to now, there is no therapy in order to stimulate a remyelination in the adult central nervous system. So, the study the ontogenesis of oligodendrocytes at the cellular and molecular level could provide cues in order to design such a treatment that will be efficient to remyelinate patients after a multiple sclerosis relapse. In our work, we demonstrated that both neurotransmitters acting trough ionotropic receptors, expressed by oligodendrocytes precursors and some members of the neuregulin growth factors family, could modulate the proliferation and the differentiation of oligodendrocytes progenitors. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the graft of neural stem cells in experimental demyelinated lesion in adult animals is responsible for an efficient remyelination.

Central Nervous System↗

PubMed2001

Neuregulin signaling regulates neural precursor growth and the generation of oligodendrocytes in vitro.

Neuregulin 1 (Nrg-1) isoforms have been shown to influence the emergence and growth of oligodendrocytes, the CNS myelin-forming cells. We have investigated how Nrg-1 signaling of ErbB receptors specifically controls the early stages of oligodendrocyte generation from multipotential neural precursors (NPs). We show here that embryonic striatal NPs express multiple Nrg-1 transcripts and proteins as well as their specific receptors, ErbB2 and ErbB4, but not ErbB3. The major isoform synthesized by striatal NPs is a transmembrane type III isoform called cysteine-rich domain Nrg-1. To examine the biological effect of Nrg-1, we added soluble ErbB3 (sErbB3) to growing neurospheres. This inhibitor of Nrg-1 bioactivity decreased mitosis of NPs and increased their apoptosis, resulting in a significant reduction in neurosphere size and number. When NPs were induced to migrate and differentiate by adhesion of neurospheres to the substratum, the level of type III isoforms detected by RT-PCR and Western blot decreased in parallel with a reduction in Nrg-1 fluorescence intensity in differentiating astrocytes, neurons, and oligodendrocytes. Pretreatment of growing neurospheres with sErbB3 induced a threefold increase in the proportion of oligodendrocytes generated from NPs migrating out of the neurosphere. This effect was not observed with an unrelated soluble receptor. Addition of sErbB3 during NP growth and differentiation enhanced oligodendrocyte maturation as shown by expression of galactocerebroside and myelin basic protein. We propose that both type III Nrg-1 signaling and soluble ErbB receptors modulate oligodendrocyte development from NPs.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Neurotransmitters as early signals for central nervous system development.

During brain ontogenesis, the temporal and spatial generation of the different types of neuronal and glial cells from precursors occurs as a sequence of successive progenitor stages whose proliferation, survival and cell-fate choice are controlled by environmental and cellular regulatory molecules. Neurotransmitters belong to the chemical microenvironment of neural cells, even at the earliest stages of brain development. It is now established that specific neurotransmitter receptors are present on progenitor cells of the developing central nervous system and could play, during neural development, a role that has remained unsuspected until recently. The present review focuses on the occurrence of neurotransmitters and their corresponding ligand-gated ion channel receptors in immature cells, including neural stem cells of specific embryonic and neonatal brain regions. We summarize in vitro and in vivo data arguing that neurotransmitters could regulate morphogenetic events such as proliferation, growth, migration, differentiation and survival of neural precursor cells. The understanding of neurotransmitter function during early neural maturation could lead to the development of pharmacological tools aimed at improving adult brain repair strategies.

Acetylcholine↗

PubMed2001

The SH2 domain-containing 5-phosphatase SHIP2 is expressed in the germinal layers of embryo and adult mouse brain: increased expression in N-CAM-deficient mice.

The germinative ventricular zone of embryonic brain contains neural lineage progenitor cells that give rise to neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The ability to generate neurons persists at adulthood in restricted brain areas. During development, many growth factors exert their effects by interacting with tyrosine kinase receptors and activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and the Ras/MAP kinase pathways. By its ability to modulate these pathways, the recently identified Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase 2, SHIP2, has the potential to regulate neuronal development. Using in situ hybridization technique with multiple synthetic oligonucleotides, we demonstrated that SHIP2 mRNA was highly expressed in the ventricular zone at early embryonic stages and subventricular zones at latter stages of brain and spinal cord and in the sympathetic chain. No significant expression was seen in differentiated fields. This restricted expression was maintained from embryonic day 11.5 to birth. In the periphery, large expression was detected in muscle and kidney and moderate expression in thyroid, pituitary gland, digestive system and bone. In the adult brain, SHIP2 was mainly restricted in structures containing neural stem cells such as the anterior subventricular zone, the rostral migratory stream and the olfactory tubercle. SHIP2 was also detected in the choroid plexuses and the granular layer of the cerebellum. The specificity of SHIP2 expression in neural stem cells was further demonstrated by (i) the dramatic increase in SHIP2 mRNA signal in neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM)-deficient mice, which present an accumulation of progenitor cells in the anterior subventricular zone and the rostral migratory stream, (ii) the abundant expression of 160-kDa SHIP2 by western blotting in proliferating neurospheres in culture and its downregulation in non-proliferating differentiated neurospheres. In conclusion, the close correlation between the pattern of SHIP2 expression in the brain and the proliferative and early differentiative events suggests that the phosphatase SHIP2 may have important roles in neural development.

Aging↗

PubMed2000

Growth regulation of astrocytes and C6 cells by TGFbeta1: correlation with gap junctions.

Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 enhanced in vitro [3H]thymidine incorporation into C6 cells and reduced that of astrocytes in the presence of a high serum concentration. It concomitantly raised the gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in normal astrocytes but reduced the coupling of C6 cells, and respectively increased or decreased the proportion of P2-phosphorylated connexin (Cx) 43 isoform in these cells. Finally, octanol, which inhibited GJIC in both cell types, increased the thymidine incorporation in C6 cells, but neither altered the proliferation of astrocytes nor their response to TGFbeta1. These data indicate that an inhibition of gap junction intercellular communication, due to an altered phosphorylation of connexin 43, may contribute to the proliferative response of C6 glioblastoma cells to TGFbeta1.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Radial glia phenotype: origin, regulation, and transdifferentiation.

Radial glial cells play a major guidance role for migrating neurons during central nervous system (CNS) histogenesis but also play many other crucial roles in early brain development. Being among the earliest cells to differentiate in the early CNS, they provide support for neuronal migration during embryonic brain development; provide instructive and neurotrophic signals required for the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of neurons; and may be multipotential progenitor cells that give rise to various cell types, including neurons. Radial glial cells constitute a major cell type of the developing brain in numerous nonmammalian and mammalian vertebrates, increasing in complexity in parallel with the organization of the nervous tissue they help to build. In mammalian species, these cells transdifferentiate into astrocytes when neuronal migration is completed, whereas, in nonmammalian species, they persist into adulthood as a radial component of astroglia. Thus, our perception of radial glia may have to change from that of path-defining cells to that of specialized precursor cells transiently fulfilling a guidance role during brain histogenesis. In that respect, their apparent change of phenotype from radial fiber to astrocyte probably constitutes one of the most common transdifferentiation events in mammalian development.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

A 295-kDA intermediate filament-associated protein in radial glia and developing muscle cells in vivo and in vitro.

The RC2 antibody is frequently used to label mouse radial glial cells in all parts of the nervous system where neuronal migration occurs during embryonic and early postnatal life. The antigen recognized by this antibody still needs to be identified. We have characterized further its localization in vivo, its expression and subcellular localization in vitro, as well as its molecular nature. Histologic investigations of whole mouse embryos reveal an equally intense expression of RC2 immunostaining in radial glial cells in brain and spinal cord and in skeletal muscle. In glial cells cultures, the RC2 antibody recognizes an epitope located on the glial cytoskeleton and identified as an intermediate filament associated protein (IFAP) at the ultrastructural level. RC2 immunostaining in those cells is strongly dependent on the presence of a serum-derived activity. Serum-removal causes a decrease of the staining while adding serum back to the cells induces reexpression of RC2 immunoreactivity. By Western blotting, we find that in intermediate filament (IF) preparations obtained from cultured cerebellar glia, the RC2 antibody recognizes a 295-kDa protein whose expression is also dependent on the presence of serum in culture medium. In developing muscle cells, RC2 immunostaining is observed from the myoblast stage and disappears after complete myotube fusion. Both in vivo and in vitro, staining is first seen as a loose capping around myoblasts nuclei and progressively concentrates into Z-disks in association with the muscle IF protein desmin. The RC2 antibody also recognizes a 295-kDa protein band in muscle tissue protein extracts. Thus, the RC2 antibody recognizes a developmentally regulated cytoskeletal protein that is expressed, like other previously identified IFAPs, by cells of the glial and myogenic lineages and whose expression in vitro seems to be controlled by a signaling mechanism known to modulate astroglial morphology.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Glycine triggers an intracellular calcium influx in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells which is mediated by the activation of both the ionotropic glycine receptor and Na+-dependent transporters.

Using fluo-3 calcium imaging, we demonstrate that glycine induces an increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cortical oligodendrocyte progenitor (OP) cells. This effect results from a calcium entry through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC), as it is observed only in OP cells expressing such channels, and it is abolished either by removal of calcium from the extracellular medium or by application of an L-type VGCC blocker. Glycine-triggered Ca2+ influx in OP cells actually results from an initial depolarization that is the consequence of the activation of both the ionotropic glycine receptor (GlyR) and Na+-dependent transporters, most probably the glycine transporters 1 (GLYT1) and/or 2 (GLYT2) which are colocalized in these cells. Through this GlyR- and transporter-mediated effect on OP intrcellular calcium concentration [Ca2+]i, glycine released by neurons may, as well as other neurotransmitters, serve as a signal between neurons and OP during development.

Amino Acid Transport Systems, Neutral↗

PubMed2000

[Surgery of the thymus gland, normal, atrophied or cancerous].

Thymoma is the most frequently resected mediastinal tumor. Its malignancy is related more to macroscopical findings than to microscopical analysis. All thymomas should be resected, in order to prevent malignant degeneration. Furthermore, for the treatment of myasthenia, several centers recommend resection of the thymus, either tumoral (thymoma) or atrophied. Although the role of surgery in this regard is controversial, all authors unanimously stress that complete resection of all thymic remnants is essential to achieve adequate results.

Atrophy↗

PubMed1999

Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule-positive CNS precursors generate both oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells to remyelinate the CNS after transplantation.

Transplantation offers a means of identifying the differentiation and myelination potential of early neural precursors, features relevant to myelin regeneration in demyelinating diseases. In the postnatal rat brain, precursor cells expressing the polysialylated (PSA) form of the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM have been shown to generate mostly oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in vitro (Ben-Hur et al., 1998). Immunoselected PSA-NCAM+ newborn rat CNS precursors were expanded as clusters with FGF2 and grafted into a focal demyelinating lesion in adult rat spinal cord. We show that these neural precursors can completely remyelinate such CNS lesions. While PSA-NCAM+ precursor clusters contain rare P75+ putative neural crest precursors, they do not generate Schwann cells in vitro even in the presence of glial growth factor. Yet they generate oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and Schwann cells in vivo when confronted with demyelinated axons in a glia-free area. We confirmed the transplant origin of these Schwann cells using Y chromosome in situ hybridization and immunostaining for the peripheral myelin protein P0 of tissue from female rats that had been grafted with male cell clusters. The number and distribution of Schwann cells within remyelinated tissue, and the absence of P0 mRNAs in donor cells, indicated that Schwann cells were generated by expansion and differentiation of transplanted PSA-NCAM+ neural precursors and were not derived from contaminating Schwann cells. Thus, transplantation into demyelinated CNS tissue reveals an unexpected differentiation potential of a neural precursor, resulting in remyelination of CNS axons by PNS and CNS myelin-forming cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Identification of PSF, the polypyrimidine tract-binding protein-associated splicing factor, as a developmentally regulated neuronal protein.

The polypyrimidine tract-binding protein-associated splicing factor (PSF), which plays an essential role in mammalian spliceosomes, has been found to be expressed by differentiating neurons in developing mouse brain. The sequence of a fragment of mouse PSF was found to be remarkably similar to that of human PSF. Both the expression of PSF mRNA in cortex and cerebellum and PSF immunoreactivity in all brain areas were high during embryonic and early postnatal life and almost disappeared in adult tissue, except in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb where various neuronal populations remained PSF-immunopositive. Double-labeling experiments with anti-PSF antibody and anti-neurofilaments or anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibodies on sections of cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum indicate that PSF is expressed by differentiating neurons but not by astrocytic cells. In vitro, mouse PSF was found to be expressed by differentiating cortical and cerebellar neurons. Radial glia or astrocyte nuclei were not immunopositive; however, oligodendrocytes differentiating in vitro were found to express PSF. The restricted expression of PSF suggests that this splicing factor could be involved in the control of neuronal-specific splicing events occurring at particular stages of neuronal differentiation and maturation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Neurotransmitter-mediated regulation of CNS myelination: a review.

In addition to treatments aimed at preventing or limiting damage to myelin and oligodendrocytes, there is a crucial need for repair strategies in human demyelinating disorders. There is increasing evidence that besides growth factors, neurotransmitters can regulate different steps of the oligodendrogliogenesis. The present review on neurotransmitter receptor expression and function in the oligodendrocyte lineage emphasizes the concept that in this lineage cell proliferation and differentiation can be controlled through the modulation of the functional state of channel proteins and receptors, such as the delayed K+ rectifier, the AMPA/kainate, dopamine or muscarinic receptors, and, most likely, others yet to be found. We anticipate that a better understanding of the neurotransmitter-mediated neuronal oligodendroglial communication network opens prospects in the field of central nervous system (CNS) myelin repair, allowing the recruitment of the myelinating machinery that is known to remain present but quiescent in the CNS of multiple sclerosis patients.

Cell Communication↗

PubMed1999

Oligodendrocytes: from development to demyelinated lesion repair.

Spontaneous but incomplete remyelination is observed after a demyelinating lesion. We know since ten years now that oligodendrocyte progenitors, (OP) and totipotent neural stem cells remain present in the central nervous system of adult mammals. Moreover, these OP are more likely the cellular source of remyelinating cells. Here, we intend to demonstrate that the understanding of the myelination process that occurs during development might lead to new treatments aimed at inducing remyelination: stimulation of resident OP or grafting of purified perinatal OP.

Cell Differentiation↗

PubMed1998

Growth and fate of PSA-NCAM+ precursors of the postnatal brain.

Oligodendrocyte-type 2 astrocyte (O-2A) lineage cells are derived from multipotential stem cells of the developing CNS. Precursors of O-2A progenitors express the polysialylated (PSA) form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and are detected in neonatal rat brain glial cultures. It is unclear how such PSA-NCAM+ "pre-progenitors" are related to neural stem cells and whether they still have the potential to differentiate along several neural lineages. Here we isolated PSA-NCAM+ pre-progenitor cells from glial cultures by immunopanning and found that most of these cells expressed nestin and PDGF-receptor-alpha but not O-2A antigens. PSA-NCAM+ cells synthesized transcripts for fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors 1, 2, and 3 and responded to FGF2 by survival and proliferation, growing into large clusters resembling neural spheres. FGF2-induced proliferation of PSA-NCAM+ pre-progenitors was significantly enhanced by thyroid hormone (T3), which on its own did not increase cell survival or mitosis. After adhesion and withdrawal of the mitogen, spheres generated mostly oligodendrocytes and astrocytes but very rarely neurons. PSA-NCAM immunopanned cells grown in epidermal growth factor (EGF) also adopted a mostly glial fate after differentiation. In contrast, PSA-NCAM-negative cells and striatal neonatal stem cells, grown in EGF or FGF2, generated the three CNS cell types. Like neural stem cells, PSA-negative cells generated more oligodendrocytes and fewer neurons when expanded in FGF2 and T3. Thus emergence of PSA-NCAM at the surface of neonatal brain precursors coincides with their restriction to a glial fate. T3 modulates these events by enhancing PSA-NCAM+ pre-progenitor growth in FGF2 and favoring an oligodendrocyte fate.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Developmental regulation of neuroligand-induced responses in cultured oligodendroglia.

Using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques, we show that oligosphere-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OP) display GABA-, glutamate-, 5-HT-, glycine- and acetylcholine-gated inward currents. When OP differentiate into oligodendrocytes (ODC), the amplitude of peak currents elicited by saturating concentrations of these transmitters decreases except for 5-HT. Intracellular Ca2+ concentration changes induced by microperfusion of glutamate, 5-HT, TRH, met-enkephalin and substance P were monitored using a fluo-3-based calcium imaging system. When OP cells differentiate into ODC, a global decrease of the proportion of responding cells is observed. During type-2 astrocytes commitment, this proportion decreases for 5-HT, TRH- and metenkephalin stimulations whereas it remains constant for substance P and glutamate. These data demonstrate a development regulation of neurotransmitter- and neuropeptide-induced responses within the oligodendroglial lineage.

Acetylcholine↗