James P. O'Callaghan

Brain injury in a dish: a model for reactive gliosis.

Reactive gliosis is a powerful response to brain injury and subsequent neuronal damage in vivo. Neuronal cell cultures are now well established as assays to study this process in vitro. However, equivalent studies of purified glial cell populations have only recently been achieved, following the realization that glial cells produce many of the neuropeptides, transmitters and growth factors that are produced also by neurons. There is now scope for studies in vitro that use mixed, identified populations of glial and neuronal cells to dissect the interactions between the two. Such cultures also lend themselves to assays for potential therapeutic strategies for brain injury that take account of all the different cell types found in the brain.

Glucocorticoids Regulate the Synthesis of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein in Intact and Adrenalectomized Rats but Do Not Affect Its Expression Following Brain Injury

Short (5 days)‐to long‐term (4 months) corticosterone (CORT) administration by injection, pellet implantation, or in the drinking water decreased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) by 20–40% in hippocampus and cortex of intact rats. In contrast to CORT, adrenalectomy (ADX) caused elevations (50–125%) in hippocampus and cortex GFAP within 12 days of surgery that persisted for at least 4 months. CORT replacement of ADX rats decreased GFAP amount in hippocampus and cortex. The effects of long‐term CORT and ADX on GFAP in hippocampus and cortex were also seen in striatum, midbrain, and cerebellum, findings suggestive of brain‐wide adrenal steroid regulation of this astrocyte protein. The changes in GFAP amount due to CORT and ADX were paralleled by changes in GFAP mRNA, indicating a possible transcriptional or at least genomic effect of adrenal steroids. Glucocorticoid regulation of GFAP was relatively specific; it could not be generalized to other astrocyte proteins or other major structural proteins of neurons. The negative regulation of GFAP and GFAP mRNA by adrenal steroids suggested that increases in GFAP that result from brain injury may be attenuated by glucocorticoids. However, chronic CORT treatment of intact rats did not reverse or reduce the large increases in GFAP caused by trauma‐or toxicant‐induced brain damage. Thus, glucocorticoids and injury appear to regulate the expression of GFAP through different mechanisms. In contrast to the lack of effects of CORT on brain damage‐induced increases in GFAP, CORT treatment begun in 2‐week ADX rats, after an increase in GFAP had time to occur, did reverse the ADX‐induced increase in GFAP. These results suggest that the increase in GFAP resulting from ADX is not mediated through an injury‐linked mechanism.

The neurotoxicant MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine) increases glial fibrillary acidic protein and decreases dopamine levels of the mouse striatum: Evidence for glial response to injury

The neurotoxicant MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), administered to male or female mice, decreased striatal dopamine content and increased the levels of the astrocyte intermediate filament protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The rise in GFAP was evident as early as two days following the last dose of MPTP, was maximal 7 days after the toxicant and returned to control levels by two months, post MPTP. Striatal dopamine content was decreased post-MPTP administration, showing a slight recovery between one and two months after the toxicant. No differences were observed among male and female mice in their responses to the toxicant. Hippocampal noradrenaline content was not affected by the toxicant, neither was the GFAP content altered by MPTP in this structure. Additionally, pargyline pretreatment prevented both the rise in GFAP and the decrease in dopamine in striatum. MPTP produced a smaller elevation in GFAP levels within a midbrain section of tissue containing the substantia nigra, without significantly decreasing the dopamine content of this structure, suggesting neurotoxic involvement at the level of dopamine perikarya. The toxicant did not affect the molecular radius of the protein detected by the antibody to GFAP, as determined by immunoblot analysis.

Increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels in the brains of transgenic mice expressing the bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene

Transgenic mice, expressing the gene for bovine growth hormone (bGH), exhibit increased body size, reduced reproductive capacity, and high basal levels of several hormones including corticosterone. Their shortened life span may be indicative of accelerated aging. As prominent astrogliosis of the CNS accompanies aging in rodents, bGH transgenic mice were examined for astrogliosis, as quantified by an ELISA for the astrocyte-localized protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Transgenic mice were produced by mating C57BL/6 x C3H F1 hybrid females with male descendants of animals produced by microinjection of fertilized eggs with phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)/bGH-hybrid gene. Transgenic mice (approximately 3.5 and approximately 12 months of age) weighed significantly more than same age or older (approximately 20 month) controls. Most of their internal organs, including the heart, kidneys, adrenals, liver, and spleen, were also heavier. In contrast, the thymus was heavier only in the younger transgenic mice. Serum corticosterone was highest in the older transgenic mice. A small but significant increase in whole brain, cortex, and cerebellar weight, relative to controls and the older transgenic mice, was found in the younger transgenic mice. Control mice exhibited large, significant age-related increases in GFAP. Increases of 35, 70, 68, 89, 79, and 95% for cortex, cerebellum, striatum, hippocampus, midbrain, and brain stem, respectively, were found when comparing the oldest (approximately 20 months) control mice to the youngest (approximately 3.5 months). In contrast, in the olfactory bulbs and the hypothalamus there were no age-related changes in the levels of GFAP in control mice. Transgenic mice (approximately 3.5 months) had significantly elevated GFAP levels relative to the same-age controls in all brain areas examined. In some brain areas, the GFAP levels found in the younger transgenic mice were equivalent to those found in the oldest controls. No differences between controls and transgenics were found in tyrosine hydroxylase protein levels of striatum or hypothalamus. The elevated GFAP levels of transgenic mice may reflect increased neural damage due to accelerated aging processes or damage associated with high circulating levels of bGH or corticosterone. Alternatively, the increased expression of GFAP in the transgenic mice may reflect altered regulation of GFAP rather than an increase signaled by neural damage.

Effect of Oral Administration of Tri-o-cresyl Phosphate on In Vitro Phosphorylation of Membrane and Cytosolic Proteins from Chicken Brain

Abstract: The effects of a single oral dose of 750 mg/kg tri‐o‐cresyl phosphate (TOCP) on the endogenous phosphorylation of specific brain proteins were assessed in male adult chickens following the development of delayed neurotoxicity. Phosphorylation of crude synaptosomal (P2) membrane and synaptosomal cytosolic proteins was assayed in vitro by using [γ‐32P]ATP as phosphate donor. Following resolution of brain proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, specific protein phosphorylation was detected by autoradiography and quantified by microdensitometry. TOCP administration enhanced the phosphorylation of both cytosolic (Mr 65,000 and 55,000) and membrane (20,000) proteins by as much as 146% and 200%, respectively.

Changes in in vitro brain and spinal cord protein phosphorylation after a single oral administration of tri-o-cresyl phosphate to hens

Abstract: The effect of a single oral 750 mg/kg dose of tri‐o‐cresyl phosphate (TOCP) on the endogenous phosphorylation of brain and spinal cord proteins was assessed in hens during the development of and recovery from delayed neurotoxicity. Crude membrane and cytosolic fractions were prepared from the brains and spinal cords of control and TOCP‐treated hens at 1, 7, 14, 21, 35, and 55 days after treatment. Brain and spinal cord protein phosphorylation with [γ‐32P]ATP was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE), autoradiography, and microdensitometry. TOCP administration conferred calcium and calmodulin dependence on the phosphorylation of a few brain cytosolic proteins and caused an increase in the phosphorylation of a number of other cytosolic and membrane proteins. This effect of TOCP was large in magnitude, and its time course reflected the onset of and recovery from the signs of ataxia and paralysis associated with delayed neurotoxicity in the hen. The molecular weights (Mr) and maximal phosphorylation (percent of control) for the most prominently affected bands were as follows: brain cytosol—50K (183%), 55K (575%), 60K (529%), 65K (273%), and 70K (548%); brain membranes—50K (622%) and 60K (697%); and spinal cord cytosol—20K (182%). The role of endogenous phosphorylation reactions in and their potential usefulness as biochemical indicators of delayed neurotoxicity are being explored further.

Neurotoxicity of d-Amphetamine in the C57BL/6J and CD-1 Mouse

Substantial evidence suggests that stress can alter the general toxicological properties of the substituted amphetamines (AMPs) as well as their psychostimulant properties. Research concerning the interactions between stress and the neurotoxicity associated with the AMPs is, however, limited. Our previous work demonstrated that a variety of AMPs, including d-METH, d-MDA, d-MDMA but not d-FEN are able to damage dopaminergic elements of the striatum as shown by decreases in dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase. The neurotoxic capabilities of these AMPs appear linked to their hyperpyrexic actions as diverse manipulations able to block AMP-induced hyperthermia are also neuroprotective. Surprising, since stress usually potentiates the actions of the AMPs, it is our finding that restraint, a commonly used stressor, is protective against the injurious actions of all neurotoxic AMPs evaluated to date. In the mouse restraint acts to elevate blood levels of corticosterone (CORT) by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as well as inducing a profound hypothermia. The role CORT may play in the neuroprotective actions of restraint, if any, is unknown. Here, data is presented showing the impact of several HPA axis manipulations, including restraint, supplementation with CORT in the drinking water and removal of CORT by adrenalectomy (ADX) on the striatal dopaminergic neurotoxicity of d-AMP. As strain is known to be a powerful determinant of the actions of stress an essential element of these experiments was the evaluation of both an inbred, C57BL/6J and outbred, CD-1, mouse strain. Exposure to d-AMP caused hyperthermia and substantial striatal dopaminergic neurotoxicity in both strains suggesting that an elevation in body temperature is as important a component of the neurotoxicity of d-AMP, as it is of the other neurotoxic AMPs. Restraint was equally effective in both strains and completely blocked the hyperthermia and striatal neurotoxicity induced by d-AMP. CORT supplementation, evaluated in only the C57BL/6J mouse at dosages not capable of involuting either the thymus or the spleen, did not alter d-AMP-induced neurotoxicity. Although the immune system organs of the two strains responded differentially to the removal of CORT, ADX provided equivalent partial protection against the loss of dopaminergic elements in striatum for both strains. Adrenal status clearly affects d-AMP neurotoxicity but the interaction is complex. Future work should examine the roles of the cortical and medullary components of the adrenal gland in the neuroprotective actions of ADX. A precise assessment of the role of circulating CORT In the neurotoxicity of the AMPs will require additional work in which a wider range of CORT dosages, including those capable of involuting thymus and spleen, are evaluated.

Distribution of tin in brain subcellular fractions following the administration of trimethyl tin and triethyl tin to the rat

The time course of tin distribution in homogenates and subcellular fractions of rat brain was determined following the acute administration of trimethyl tin (TMT) and triethyl tin (TET) to the rat. Exposure to TMT resulted in lower concentrations but greater persistence of tin in subcellular fractions compared to exposure to TET. A delayed accumulation of tin in the mitochondrial fraction was observed following the administration of TMT but not TET. Analysis of total protein and mitochondrial markers did not reveal differences between the compositions of mitochondrial fractions prepared from control and TMT-treated subjects.

Acute and Chronic Administration of Ibogaine to the Rat Results in Astrogliosis That Is Not Confined to the Cerebellar Vermisae

Acute administration of high doses of ibogaine (IBG) to the male rat results in degeneration of Purkinje cells and reactive gliosis in the cerebellar vermis.1,2

Measurement of tyrosine hydroxylase apoenzyme protein by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): Effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on striatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity and content

A enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been developed for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The method uses a polyclonal antibody to trap TH, a monoclonal antibody to bind the immobilized TH, a biotinylated, anti-mouse immunoglobulin to bind the monoclonal antibody, and streptavidin covalently coupled to horseradish peroxidase (SA-HRP). The antigen-antibody complex is detected colorometrically following incubation with an HRP substrate. The method detects less than 1 ng (16 fmol) of TH and can be performed in 3 h. The high specificity of the assay is attributed to the use of both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, each of which are specific for TH. Data acquisition and reduction is rapid and linked directly to a common desktop computer. Levels of TH protein average 1 ng/microgram protein in striatum and, following treatment with the neurotoxicant MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), are decreased to a similar extent as is catalytic activity. In contrast, MPTP did not alter TH homospecific activity. The monoamine oxidase B inhibitor deprenyl blocked both the decrease in activity and the decrease in immunoreactive protein caused by MPTP.