Lori-Ann Christie

Exercise builds brain health: key roles of growth factor cascades and inflammation

Human and other animal studies demonstrate that exercise targets many aspects of brain function and has broad effects on overall brain health. The benefits of exercise have been best defined for learning and memory, protection from neurodegeneration and alleviation of depression, particularly in elderly populations. Exercise increases synaptic plasticity by directly affecting synaptic structure and potentiating synaptic strength, and by strengthening the underlying systems that support plasticity including neurogenesis, metabolism and vascular function. Such exercise-induced structural and functional change has been documented in various brain regions but has been best-studied in the hippocampus - the focus of this review. A key mechanism mediating these broad benefits of exercise on the brain is induction of central and peripheral growth factors and growth factor cascades, which instruct downstream structural and functional change. In addition, exercise reduces peripheral risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which converge to cause brain dysfunction and neurodegeneration. A common mechanism underlying the central and peripheral effects of exercise might be related to inflammation, which can impair growth factor signaling both systemically and in the brain. Thus, through regulation of growth factors and reduction of peripheral and central risk factors, exercise ensures successful brain function.

Impaired Cognitive Function and Hippocampal Neurogenesis Following Cancer Chemotherapy

Purpose: A substantial proportion of breast cancer survivors report significant, long-lasting impairments in cognitive function, often referred to as “chemobrain.” Advances in detection and treatment mean that many more patients are surviving long-term following diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. Thus, it is important to define the types, extent, and persistence of cognitive impairments following treatment with cytotoxic cancer drugs. Experimental Design: We examined the effects of chronic treatment with two agents commonly used in patients with breast cancer, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin (Adriamycin). Athymic nude rats were given 50 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, 2 mg/kg doxorubicin, or saline injections once per week for 4 weeks. A novel place recognition task and contextual and cued fear conditioning were used to characterize learning and memory ability. Immunofluorescence staining for immature and mature neurons and activated microglia was used to assess changes in neurogenesis and neuroinflammation. Results: Cyclophosphamide- and doxorubicin-treated rats showed significantly impaired performance on the novel place recognition task and the contextual fear conditioning task compared with untreated controls, suggesting disrupted hippocampal-based memory function. Chemotherapy-treated animals showed a significant decline in neurogenesis [80%–90% drop in bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd)-labeled cells expressing NeuN]. Activated microglia (ED1-positive) were found after cyclophosphamide but not doxorubicin treatment. Conclusions: Our results show that chronic treatment with either of two commonly used chemotherapeutic agents impairs cognitive ability and suggest that strategies to prevent or repair disrupted hippocampal neurogenesis may be effective in ameliorating this serious side effect in cancer survivors. Clin Cancer Res; 18(7); 1954–65. ©2012 AACR.

Lack of Pathology in a Triple Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease after Overexpression of the Anti-Apoptotic Protein Bcl-2

Alzheimers disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of plaques containing β-amyloid (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) consisting of modified tau. Although Aβ deposition is thought to precede the formation of NFTs in AD, the molecular steps connecting these two pathologies is not known. Previous studies have suggested that caspase activation plays an important role in promoting the pathology associated with AD. To further understand the contribution of caspases in disease progression, a triple transgenic Alzheimers mouse model overexpressing the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was generated. Here we show that overexpression of Bcl-2 limited caspase-9 activation and reduced the caspase cleavage of tau. Moreover, overexpression of Bcl-2 attenuated the processing of APP (amyloid precursor protein) and tau and reduced the number of NFTs and extracellular deposits of Aβ associated with these animals. In addition, overexpression of Bcl-2 in 3xTg-AD mice improved place recognition memory. These findings suggest that the activation of apoptotic pathways may be an early event in AD and contributes to the pathological processes that promote the disease mechanisms underlying AD.

A Two-Year Study with Fibrillar β-Amyloid (Aβ) Immunization in Aged Canines: Effects on Cognitive Function and Brain Aβ

Aged canines (dogs) accumulate human-type β-amyloid (Aβ) in diffuse plaques in the brain with parallel declines in cognitive function. We hypothesized that reducing Aβ in a therapeutic treatment study of aged dogs with preexisting Aβ pathology and cognitive deficits would lead to cognitive improvements. To test this hypothesis, we immunized aged beagles (8.4–12.4 years) with fibrillar Aβ1–42 formulated with aluminum salt (Alum) for 2.4 years (25 vaccinations). Cognitive testing during this time revealed no improvement in measures of learning, spatial attention, or spatial memory. After extended treatment (22 vaccinations), we observed maintenance of prefrontal-dependent reversal learning ability. In the brain, levels of soluble and insoluble Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 and the extent of diffuse plaque accumulation was significantly decreased in several cortical regions, with preferential reductions in the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with a maintenance of cognition. However, the amount of soluble oligomers remained unchanged. The extent of prefrontal Aβ was correlated with frontal function and serum anti-Aβ antibody titers. Thus, reducing total Aβ may be of limited therapeutic benefit to recovery of cognitive decline in a higher mammalian model of human brain aging and disease. Immunizing animals before extensive Aβ deposition and cognitive decline to prevent oligomeric or fibrillar Aβ formation may have a greater impact on cognition and also more directly evaluate the role of Aβ on cognition in canines. Alternatively, clearing preexisting Aβ from the brain in a treatment study may be more efficacious for cognition if combined with a second intervention that restores neuron health.

Rescue of radiation-induced cognitive impairment through cranial transplantation of human embryonic stem cells

Cranial irradiation remains a frontline treatment for the control of tumor growth, and individuals surviving such treatments often manifest various degrees of cognitive dysfunction. Radiation-induced depletion of stem/precursor cell pools in the brain, particularly those residing in the neurogenic region of the hippocampus, is believed, in part, to be responsible for these often-unavoidable cognitive deficits. To explore the possibility of ameliorating radiation-induced cognitive impairment, athymic nude rats subjected to head only irradiation (10 Gy) were transplanted 2 days afterward with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into the hippocampal formation and analyzed for stem cell survival, differentiation, and cognitive function. Animals receiving hESC transplantation exhibited superior performance on a hippocampal-dependent cognitive task 4 months postirradiation, compared to their irradiated surgical counterparts that did not receive hESCs. Significant stem cell survival was found at 1 and 4 months postirradiation, and transplanted cells showed robust migration to the subgranular zone throughout the dentate gyrus, exhibiting signs of neuron morphology within this neurogenic niche. These results demonstrate the capability to ameliorate radiation-induced normal tissue injury using hESCs, and suggest that such strategies may provide useful interventions for reducing the adverse effects of irradiation on cognition.

Visuospatial function in the beagle dog: An early marker of cognitive decline in a model of human aging and dementia

Visuospatial learning and memory impairments are an early marker for age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimers disease. Similar to humans, aged dogs show visuospatial learning and memory deficits (). One hundred and nine beagle dogs ranging between 0.25 and 11.99 years were tested on a visuospatial delayed non-matching to position (DNMP) task to better characterize the progression of visuospatial deficits in the dog. Age predicted 48.2% of the variability in learning the DNMP, with dogs ranging from 1 to 11.99 years generally making more errors with increasing age. By contrast, puppies (<1 year) likely were showing developmental deficits, possibly due to an immature prefrontal cortex. Mild visuospatial deficits were detected by 6 years, which precedes the typical onset of amyloid-beta (Abeta) accumulation in the dog brain by two years, and can serve as an early marker for cognitive decline in the dog. These findings suggest that (1) age-related changes in visuospatial function in the dog models that seen in humans, further validating the dog as a model for human aging and dementia; and (2) other mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, soluble Abeta oligomers or cholinergic deficits, are likely contributing to the early impairment.

Human Neural Stem Cell Transplantation Ameliorates Radiation-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction

Cranial radiotherapy induces progressive and debilitating declines in cognition that may, in part, be caused by the depletion of neural stem cells. The potential of using stem cell replacement as a strategy to combat radiation-induced cognitive decline was addressed by irradiating athymic nude rats followed 2 days later by intrahippocampal transplantation with human neural stem cells (hNSC). Measures of cognitive performance, hNSC survival, and phenotypic fate were assessed at 1 and 4 months after irradiation. Irradiated animals engrafted with hNSCs showed significantly less decline in cognitive function than irradiated, sham-engrafted animals and acted indistinguishably from unirradiated controls. Unbiased stereology revealed that 23% and 12% of the engrafted cells survived 1 and 4 months after transplantation, respectively. Engrafted cells migrated extensively, differentiated along glial and neuronal lineages, and expressed the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), suggesting their capability to functionally integrate into the hippocampus. These data show that hNSCs afford a promising strategy for functionally restoring cognition in irradiated animals.

A comparison of egocentric and allocentric age-dependent spatial learning in the beagle dog

Spatial discriminations can be performed using either egocentric information based on body position or allocentric information based on the position of landmarks in the environment. Beagle dogs ranging from 2 to 16 years of age were tested for their ability to learn a novel egocentric spatial discrimination task that used two identical blocks paired in three possible spatial positions (i.e. left, center and right). Dogs were rewarded for responding to an object furthest to either their left or right side. Therefore, when the center location was used, it was correct on half of the trials and incorrect on the other half. Upon successful acquisition of the task, the reward contingencies were reversed, and the dogs were rewarded for responding to the opposite side. A subset of dogs was also tested on an allocentric spatial discrimination task, landmark discrimination. Egocentric spatial reversal learning and allocentric discrimination learning both showed a significant age-dependent decline, while initial egocentric learning appeared to be age-insensitive. Intra-subject correlation analyses revealed a significant relationship between egocentric reversal learning and allocentric learning. However, the correlation only accounted for a small proportion of the variance, suggesting that although there might be some common mechanism underlying acquisition of the two tasks, additional unique neural substrates were involved depending on whether allocentric or egocentric spatial information processing was required.

Transplantation of human fetal-derived neural stem cells improves cognitive function following cranial irradiation.

Treatment of central nervous system (CNS) malignancies typically involves radiotherapy to forestall tumor growth and recurrence following surgical resection. Despite the many benefits of cranial radiotherapy, survivors often suffer from a wide range of debilitating and progressive cognitive deficits. Thus, while patients afflicted with primary and secondary malignancies of the CNS now experience longer local regional control and progression-free survival, there remains no clinical recourse for the unintended neurocognitive sequelae associated with their cancer treatments. Multiple mechanisms contribute to disrupted cognition following irradiation, including the depletion of radiosensitive populations of stem and progenitor cells in the hippocampus. We have explored the potential of using intrahippocampal transplantation of human stem cells to ameliorate radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction. Past studies demonstrated the capability of cranially transplanted human embryonic (hESCs) and neural (hNSCs) stem cells to functionally restore cognition in rats 1 and 4 months after cranial irradiation. The present study employed an FDA-approved fetal-derived hNSC line capable of large scale-up under good manufacturing practice (GMP). Animals receiving cranial transplantation of these cells 1 month following irradiation showed improved hippocampal spatial memory and contextual fear conditioning performance compared to irradiated, sham surgery controls. Significant newly born (doublecortin positive) neurons and a smaller fraction of glial subtypes were observed within and nearby the transplantation core. Engrafted cells migrated and differentiated into neuronal and glial subtypes throughout the CA1 and CA3 subfields of the host hippocampus. These studies expand our prior findings to demonstrate that transplantation of fetal-derived hNSCs improves cognitive deficits in irradiated animals, as assessed by two separate cognitive tasks.

Age-associated cognitive deficits in humans and dogs: A comparative neuropsychological approach

We compared performance of younger and older human participants to that of younger and older dogs on tasks that evaluate object discrimination, egocentric spatial ability, object recognition, spatial memory, and cognitive flexibility. Our goal was to determine whether (i) tasks sensitive to advanced age in dogs are also age-sensitive in humans; (ii) the pattern of task difficulty observed in dogs mirrors that observed in humans; (iii) dogs and humans use similar strategies to solve equivalent tasks. Dogs performed more poorly than humans on reversal tasks that evaluate cognitive flexibility. We suggest that dogs, most notably older dogs, use different strategies than healthy humans when solving these tasks. Humans appear to test a priori hypotheses to solve the task at hand. As a consequence, expectations about the complexity of the task being tested can impair human performance. By contrast, dogs appear to rely more heavily on either simpler hypotheses, or associative trial and error learning, which probably accounts for their difficulty in learning non-matching tasks. Dogs also show perseverative responding, which hinders the acquisition of reversal tasks.