Lohitash Karumbaiah

The impact of chronic blood–brain barrier breach on intracortical electrode function

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have allowed control of prosthetic limbs in paralyzed patients. Unfortunately, the electrodes of the BCI that interface with the brain only function for a short period of time before the signal quality on these electrodes becomes substantially diminished. To truly realize the potential of BCIs, it is imperative to have electrodes that function chronically. In order to elucidate the physiological determinants of a chronically functional neural interface, we studied the role of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in electrode function, because it is a key mediator of neuronal hemostasis. We monitored the status of the BBB and the consequences of BBB breach on electrode function using non-invasive imaging, electrophysiology, genomic, and histological analyses. Rats implanted with commercially available intracortical electrodes demonstrated an inverse correlation between electrode performance and BBB breach over a period of 16 weeks. Genomic analysis showed that chronically functional electrodes elicit an enhanced wound healing response. Conversely, in poorly functioning electrodes, chronic BBB breach led to local accumulation of neurotoxic factors and an influx of pro-inflammatory myeloid cells, which negatively affect neuronal health. These findings were further verified in a subset of electrodes with graded electrophysiological performance. In this study, we determine the mechanistic link between intracortical electrode function and failure. Our results indicate that BBB status is a critical physiological determinant of intracortical electrode function and can inform future electrode design and biochemical intervention strategies to enhance the functional longevity of BCIs.

Reduced Levels of Membrane-Bound Alkaline Phosphatase Are Common to Lepidopteran Strains Resistant to Cry Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis

Development of insect resistance is one of the main concerns with the use of transgenic crops expressing Cry toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Identification of biomarkers would assist in the development of sensitive DNA-based methods to monitor evolution of resistance to Bt toxins in natural populations. We report on the proteomic and genomic detection of reduced levels of midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (mALP) as a common feature in strains of Cry-resistant Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera frugiperda when compared to susceptible larvae. Reduced levels of H. virescens mALP protein (HvmALP) were detected by two dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) analysis in Cry-resistant compared to susceptible larvae, further supported by alkaline phosphatase activity assays and Western blotting. Through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) we demonstrate that the reduction in HvmALP protein levels in resistant larvae are the result of reduced transcript amounts. Similar reductions in ALP activity and mALP transcript levels were also detected for a Cry1Ac-resistant strain of H. armigera and field-derived strains of S. frugiperda resistant to Cry1Fa. Considering the unique resistance and cross-resistance phenotypes of the insect strains used in this work, our data suggest that reduced mALP expression should be targeted for development of effective biomarkers for resistance to Cry toxins in lepidopteran pests.

Relationship between intracortical electrode design and chronic recording function.

Intracortical electrodes record neural signals directly from local populations of neurons in the brain, and conduct them to external electronics that control prosthetics. However, the relationship between electrode design, defined by shape, size and tethering; and long-term (chronic) stability of the neuron-electrode interface is poorly understood. Here, we studied the effects of various commercially available intracortical electrode designs that vary in shape (cylindrical, planar), size (15 μm, 50 μm and 75 μm), and tethering [electrode connections to connector with (tethered) and without tethering cable (untethered)] using histological, transcriptomic, and electrophysiological analyses over acute (3 day) and chronic (12 week) timepoints. Quantitative analysis of histological sections indicated that Michigan 50 μm (M50) and Michigan tethered (MT) electrodes induced significantly (p < 0.01) higher glial scarring, and lesser survival of neurons in regions of blood-brain barrier (BBB) breach when compared to microwire (MW) and Michigan 15 μm (M15) electrodes acutely and chronically. Gene expression analysis of the neurotoxic cytokines interleukin (Il)1 (Il1α, Il1β), Il6, Il17 (Il17a, Il17b, Il17f), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (Tnf) indicated that MW electrodes induced significantly (p < 0.05) reduced expression of these transcripts when compared to M15, M50 and FMAA electrodes chronically. Finally, electrophysiological assessment of electrode function indicated that MW electrodes performed significantly (p < 0.05) better than all other electrodes over a period of 12 weeks. These studies reveal that intracortical electrodes with smaller size, cylindrical shape, and without tethering cables produce significantly diminished inflammatory responses when compared to large, planar and tethered electrodes. These studies provide a platform for the rational design and assessment of chronically functional intracortical electrode implants in the future.

Anti-invasive adjuvant therapy with imipramine blue enhances chemotherapeutic efficacy against glioma.

A novel compound, Imipramine Blue, enhances efficacy of chemotherapy in a single treatment against a rodent astrocytoma model in vivo by inhibiting cell invasion. Stopping the Invasion A hallmark of brain cancer (glioma) is its diffuse nature, where the cancer cells migrate easily through the soft tissue, well away from the tumor site. By comparison, solid tumors, such as those found in breast, lung, and prostate, are more compact with defined margins. It is this cancerous invasion that makes gliomas so difficult to treat surgically and chemotherapeutically. Now, Munson and colleagues describe the synthesis and application of a new small molecule called Imipramine Blue (IB) to stop migrating cancer cells in their tracks. When combined with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DXR), IB can help prolong the lives of diseased animals. Munson et al. first tested the anti-invasive properties of IB in vitro in both human and rat glioma cell lines and in patient-derived neurospheres. Compared to untreated controls, IB was able to prevent cell outgrowth and invasion, without being toxic to the healthy cells. Similarly, IB packaged in liposomes for easy delivery (“nano-IB”) did not damage tissues or cause inflammation when injected into healthy rats—an important consideration for moving toward human testing. The authors then administered nano-IB to rats with an aggressive form of glioma (RT2) that shows key features of human brain cancer. Animals were treated with two doses of nano-IB and then killed for tumor analysis. Because IB inhibits invasion, the treated tumors were more compact than the controls. When the nano-IB was combined with a potent chemotherapeutic, liposomal DXR, 100% of the diseased rats were able to survive for 180 days, without any signs of regrowth by day 200. By comparison, only 33% of the animals treated with DXR lived that long. No untreated animals survived beyond 50 days. Munson and colleagues also explored the mechanism behind IB’s anti-invasive properties, arriving at a molecular pathway that disrupts actin fiber formation; that is, cells are rendered completely unable to migrate without their intracellular actin machinery. By combining with a chemotherapeutic already used in the clinic, this invasion-stopping compound is poised for testing in more animal models, with the hopes of Food and Drug Administration approval. The invasive nature of glioblastoma (GBM) represents a major clinical challenge contributing to poor outcomes. Invasion of GBM into healthy tissue restricts chemotherapeutic access and complicates surgical resection. Here, we test the hypothesis that an effective anti-invasive agent can “contain” GBM and increase the efficacy of chemotherapy. We report a new anti-invasive small molecule, Imipramine Blue (IB), which inhibits invasion of glioma in vitro when tested against several models. IB inhibits NADPH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase–mediated reactive oxygen species generation and alters expression of actin regulatory elements. In vivo, liposomal IB (nano-IB) halts invasion of glioma, leading to a more compact tumor in an aggressively invasive RT2 syngeneic astrocytoma rodent model. When nano-IB therapy was followed by liposomal doxorubicin (nano-DXR) chemotherapy, the combination therapy prolonged survival compared to nano-IB or nano-DXR alone. Our data demonstrate that nano-IB–mediated containment of diffuse glioma enhanced the efficacy of nano-DXR chemotherapy, demonstrating the promise of an anti-invasive compound as an adjuvant treatment for glioma.

The upregulation of specific interleukin (IL) receptor antagonists and paradoxical enhancement of neuronal apoptosis due to electrode induced strain and brain micromotion

The high mechanical mismatch between stiffness of silicon and metal microelectrodes and soft cortical tissue, induces strain at the neural interface which likely contributes to failure of the neural interface. However, little is known about the molecular outcomes of electrode induced low-magnitude strain (1-5%) on primary astrocytes, microglia and neurons. In this study we simulated brain micromotion at the electrode-brain interface by subjecting astrocytes, microglia and primary cortical neurons to low-magnitude cyclical strain using a biaxial stretch device, and investigated the molecular outcomes of induced strain in vitro. In addition, we explored the functional consequence of astrocytic and microglial strain on neural health, when they are themselves subjected to strain. Quantitative real-time PCR array (qRT-PCR Array) analysis of stretched astrocytes and microglia showed strain specific upregulation of an Interleukin receptor antagonist - IL-36Ra (previously IL-1F5), to ≈ 1018 and ≈ 236 fold respectively. Further, IL-36Ra gene expression remained unchanged in astrocytes and microglia treated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) indicating that the observed upregulation in stretched astrocytes and microglia is potentially strain specific. Zymogram and western blot analysis revealed that mechanically strained astrocytes and microglia upregulated matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2 and 9, and other markers of reactive gliosis such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurocan when compared to controls. Primary cortical neurons when stretched with and without IL-36Ra, showed a ≈ 400 fold downregulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 11b (TNFRSF11b). Significant upregulation of members of the caspase cysteine proteinase family and other pro-apoptotic genes was also observed in the presence of IL-36Ra than in the absence of IL-36Ra. Adult rats when implanted with microwire electrodes showed upregulation of IL-36Ra (≈ 20 fold) and IL-1Ra (≈ 1500 fold) 3 days post-implantation (3 DPI), corroborating in vitro results, although these transcripts were drastically down regulated by ≈ 20 fold and ≈ 1488 fold relative to expression levels 3 DPI, at the end of 12 weeks post-implantation (12 WPI). These results demonstrate that IL receptor antagonists may be negatively contributing to neuronal health at acute time-points post-electrode implantation.

Tumor Vascular Permeability to a Nanoprobe Correlates to Tumor-Specific Expression Levels of Angiogenic Markers

Background Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-2 is the major mediator of the mitogenic, angiogenic, and vascular hyperpermeability effects of VEGF on breast tumors. Overexpression of VEGF and VEGF receptor-2 is associated with the degree of pathomorphosis of the tumor tissue and unfavorable prognosis. In this study, we demonstrate that non-invasive quantification of the degree of tumor vascular permeability to a nanoprobe correlates with the VEGF and its receptor levels and tumor growth. Methodology/Principal Findings We designed an imaging nanoprobe and a methodology to detect the intratumoral deposition of a 100 nm-scale nanoprobe using mammography allowing measurement of the tumor vascular permeability in a rat MAT B III breast tumor model. The tumor vascular permeability varied widely among the animals. Notably, the VEGF and VEGF receptor-2 gene expression of the tumors as measured by qRT-PCR displayed a strong correlation to the imaging-based measurements of vascular permeability to the 100 nm-scale nanoprobe. This is in good agreement with the fact that tumors with high angiogenic activity are expected to have more permeable blood vessels resulting in high intratumoral deposition of a nanoscale agent. In addition, we show that higher intratumoral deposition of the nanoprobe as imaged with mammography correlated to a faster tumor growth rate. This data suggest that vascular permeability scales to the tumor growth and that tumor vascular permeability can be a measure of underlying VEGF and VEGF receptor-2 expression in individual tumors. Conclusions/Significance This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that quantitative imaging of tumor vascular permeability to a nanoprobe represents a form of a surrogate, functional biomarker of underlying molecular markers of angiogenesis.

Targeted downregulation of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase significantly mitigates chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan-mediated inhibition.

Chondroitin sulfate‐4,6 (CS‐E) glycosaminoglycan (GAG) upregulation in astroglial scars is a major contributor to chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG)‐mediated inhibition [Gilbert et al. ( 2005 ) Mol Cell Neurosci 29:545–558]. However, the role of N‐acetylgalactosamine 4‐sulfate 6‐O‐sulfotransferase (GalNAc4S6ST) catalyzed sulfation of CS‐E, and its contribution to CSPG‐mediated inhibition of CNS regeneration remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we used in situ hybridization to show localized upregulation of GalNAc4S6ST mRNA after CNS injury. Using in vitro spot assays with immobilized CS‐E, we demonstrate dose‐dependent inhibition of rat embryonic day 18 (E18) cortical neurons. To determine whether selective downregulation of CS‐E affected the overall inhibitory character of extracellular matrix produced by reactive astrocytes, single [against (chondroitin 4) sulfotransferase 11 (C4ST1) or GalNAc4S6ST mRNA] or double [against C4ST1 and GalNAc4S6ST mRNA] siRNA treatments were conducted and assayed using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction and high‐performance liquid chromatography to confirm the specific downregulation of CS‐4S GAG (CS‐A) and CS‐E. Spot and Bonhoeffer stripe assays using astrocyte‐conditioned media from siRNA‐treated rat astrocytes showed a significant decrease in inhibition of neuronal attachment and neurite extensions when compared with untreated and TGFα‐treated astrocytes. These findings reveal that selective attenuation of CS‐E via siRNA targeting of GalNAc4S6ST significantly mitigates CSPG‐mediated inhibition of neurons, potentially offering a novel intervention strategy for CNS injury.

Intracortical recording interfaces: current challenges to chronic recording function.

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) offer significant hope to tetraplegic and paraplegic individuals. This technology relies on extracting and translating motor intent to facilitate control of a computer cursor or to enable fine control of an external assistive device such as a prosthetic limb. Intracortical recording interfaces (IRIs) are critical components of BCIs and consist of arrays of penetrating electrodes that are implanted into the motor cortex of the brain. These multielectrode arrays (MEAs) are responsible for recording and conducting neural signals from local ensembles of neurons in the motor cortex with the high speed and spatiotemporal resolution that is required for exercising control of external assistive prostheses. Recent design and technological innovations in the field have led to significant improvements in BCI function. However, long-term (chronic) BCI function is severely compromised by short-term (acute) IRI recording failure. In this review, we will discuss the design and function of current IRIs. We will also review a host of recent advances that contribute significantly to our overall understanding of the cellular and molecular events that lead to acute recording failure of these invasive implants. We will also present recent improvements to IRI design and provide insights into the futuristic design of more chronically functional IRIs.

Extracellular matrix-based intracortical microelectrodes: Toward a microfabricated neural interface based on natural materials

Extracellular matrix (ECM)-based implantable neural electrodes (NEs) were achieved using a microfabrication strategy on natural-substrate-based organic materials. The ECM-based design minimized the introduction of non-natural products into the brain. Further, it rendered the implants sufficiently rigid for penetration into the target brain region and allowed them subsequently to soften to match the elastic modulus of brain tissue upon exposure to physiological conditions, thereby reducing inflammatory strain fields in the tissue. Preliminary studies suggested that ECM-NEs produce a reduced inflammatory response compared with inorganic rigid and flexible approaches. In vivo intracortical recordings from the rat motor cortex illustrate one mode of use for these ECM-NEs.

Nanocarrier-Mediated Inhibition of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Attenuates Secondary Injury after Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to permanent motor and sensory deficits. Following the initial traumatic insult, secondary injury mechanisms characterized by persistent heightened inflammation are initiated and lead to continued and pervasive cell death and tissue damage. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as methylprednisolone (MP) used clinically have ambiguous benefits with debilitating side effects. Typically, these drugs are administered systemically at high doses, resulting in toxicity and paradoxically increased inflammation. Furthermore, these drugs have a small time window postinjury (few hours) during which they need to be infused to be effective. As an alternative to MP, we investigated the effect of a small molecule inhibitor (Chicago sky blue, CSB) of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) for treating SCI. The pleiotropic cytokine MIF is known to contribute to upregulation of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in various disease and injury states. In vitro, CSB administration alleviated endotoxin-mediated inflammation in primary microglia and macrophages. Nanocarriers such as liposomes can potentially alleviate systemic side effects of high-dose therapy by enabling site-specific drug delivery to the spinal cord. However, the therapeutic window of 100 nm scale nanoparticle localization to the spinal cord after contusion injury is not fully known. Thus, we first investigated the ability of nanocarriers of different sizes to localize to the injured spinal cord up to 2 weeks postinjury. Results from the study showed that nanocarriers as large as 200 nm in diameter could extravasate into the injured spinal cord up to 96 h postinjury. We then formulated nanocarriers (liposomes) encapsulating CSB and administered them intravenously 48 h postinjury, within the previously determined 96 h therapeutic window. In vivo, in this clinically relevant contusion injury model in rats, CSB administration led to preservation of vascular and white matter integrity, improved wound healing, and an increase in levels of arginase and other transcripts indicative of a resolution phase of wound healing. This study demonstrates the potential of MIF inhibition in SCI and the utility of nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery selectively to the injured cord.