Publications (5)15.08 Total impact
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Article: Inhibition of glutamate and acetylcholine release in behavioral improvement induced by electroacupuncture in parkinsonian rats.
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ABSTRACT: Prior evidence shows that acupuncture improves symptoms in both Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and animal models. We examined the effects of high-frequency (100 Hz) electroacupuncture (EA) on behavior in a rat PD model induced by medial forebrain bundle (MFB) transection. Neurotransmitters levels in the striatum were measured using in vivo microdialysis and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). High-frequency EA stimulation at Dazhui (GV14) and Baihui (GV20) acupoints decreased rotational behavior induced by apomorphine (APO) and improved motor coordination, protected axotomized dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in the substantia nigra (SN), it did not increase striatal dopamine (DA) levels. However, EA stimulation at acupoints significantly decreased the abnormally elevated glutamate (Glu) and acetylcholine (ACh) levels in the lesioned side of striatum. Moreover, the Glu levels correlated significantly with survival ratios of dopaminergic neurons in the SNc and rotational bahavior. These data suggested that behavioral alleviation with EA stimulation may be associated with modulation of neurotransmitters release, such as Glu and ACh in the striatum, rather than with DA restoration.Neuroscience Letters 05/2012; 520(1):32-7. · 2.11 Impact Factor -
Article: Stem cells from human-exfoliated deciduous teeth can differentiate into dopaminergic neuron-like cells.
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ABSTRACT: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) have been identified as a novel population of postnatal stem cells capable of differentiating into neural cells, odontogenic cells, and adipocytes. SHED were reported to differentiate into neural cells based on cellular morphology and the expression of early neuronal markers when cultured under neural inductive conditions. This study therefore investigated the therapeutic efficacy of SHED in alleviating Parkinson's disease (PD) in a rat model. We found that SHED could be induced to form neural-like spheres in a medium optimized for neural stem cells in vitro. After incubation with a cocktail of cytokines including sonic hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor 8, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, and forskolin, these SHED-derived spheres further differentiated into a cell population that contained specific dopaminergic neurons. Moreover, transplantation of SHED spheres into the striatum of parkinsonian rats partially improved the apomorphine-evoked rotation of behavorial disorders compared to transplantation of control SHED. Our data indicate that SHED, potentially derived from neural crest cells, may be an optimal source of postnatal stem cells for PD treatment.Stem cells and development 09/2010; 19(9):1375-83. · 4.15 Impact Factor -
Article: Evaluation of nigrostriatal damage and its change over weeks in a rat model of Parkinson's disease: small animal positron emission tomography studies with [(11)C]beta-CFT.
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ABSTRACT: The cardinal pathological feature of Parkinson's disease (PD) is progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons. Since dopamine transporter (DAT) is a protein located presynaptically on dopaminergic nerve terminals, radioligands that bind to these sites are promising radiopharmaceuticals for evaluation of the integrity of the dopamine system. This study using positron emission tomography (PET) tracers, [(11)C]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-fluorophenyl)-tropane ([(11)C]beta-CFT, radioligand for DAT), was aimed at evaluating the degree of nigrostriatal damage and its change over weeks in a rat model of PD. The brains of these rats were unilaterally lesioned by mechanical transection of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway at the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). Behavioral studies were carried out by apomorphine (APO) challenge prior to and 1, 2 and 4 weeks after MFB axotomy. Small animal PET scans were performed 2 days after the behavioral test. Immunohistochemistry was conducted 4 days after the last PET scan. Compared with the contralateral intact side, a progressively decreased [(11)C]beta-CFT binding was observed on the lesioned side which correlated inversely with the APO-induced rotations. Postmortem immunohistochemical studies confirmed the loss of both striatal dopamine fibers and nigral neurons on the lesioned side. These findings not only demonstrate that the neuronal degeneration in this model is relatively slow, but also suggest [(11)C]beta-CFT is a sensitive marker to monitor the degree of nigrostriatal damage and its change over weeks. This marker can be used prospectively to study the progression of the disease, thereby making detection of early phases of PD possible.Nuclear Medicine and Biology 11/2009; 36(8):941-7. · 3.02 Impact Factor -
Article: Fucoidan protects against dopaminergic neuron death in vivo and in vitro.
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ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder of uncertain pathogenesis characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta, and can be modeled by the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Oxidative stress may contribute to MPTP- and Parkinson's disease-related neurodegeneration. Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweeds which possesses a wide variety of biological activities including potent antioxidative effects. Here we investigated the effect of fucoidan treatment on locomoter activities of animals, striatal dopamine and its metabolites and survival of nigral dopaminergic neurons in MPTP-induced animal model of Parkinsonism in C57/BL mice in vivo and on the neuronal damage induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) in vitro, and to study the possible mechanisms. When administered prior to MPTP, fucoidan reduced behavioral deficits, increased striatal dopamine and its metabolites levels, reduced cell death, and led to a marked increase in tyrosine hydroxylase expression relative to mice treated with MPTP alone. Furthermore, we found that fucoidan inhibited MPTP-induced lipid peroxidation and reduction of antioxidant enzyme activity. In addition, pre-treatment with fucoidan significantly protected against MPP(+)-induced damage in MN9D cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that fucoidan has protective effect in MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in this model of Parkinson's disease via its antioxidative activity.European journal of pharmacology 07/2009; 617(1-3):33-40. · 2.59 Impact Factor -
Article: Electro-acupuncture stimulation improves motor disorders in Parkinsonian rats.
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ABSTRACT: Electro-acupuncture (EA) is believed to be effective for alleviating motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease. In a rat hemiparkinsonian model induced by unilateral transection of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), the effects of EA stimulation were investigated. EA stimulation at a high frequency (100 Hz) significantly reduced apomorphine-induced rotational behavior. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemical staining revealed that EA at 100 Hz protected axotomized dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in the substantia nigra (SN). Moreover, high frequency EA reversed the axotomy-induced decrease in substance P content and increase in glutamate decarboxylase-67 (GAD 67) mRNA level in the midbrain; however, it did not affect the axotomy-induced increase in enkephalin content in the globus pallidus. These results suggest that the effects of high frequency EA on motor symptoms of Parkinsonian rats may involve restoration of the homeostasis of dopaminergic transmission in the basal ganglia circuit.Behavioural brain research 07/2009; 205(1):214-8. · 3.22 Impact Factor
Top Journals
Institutions
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2009–2012
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Capital Medical University
- Department of Physiology
Beijing, Beijing Shi, China
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