Topic: dendritic spine density

Background: Radiotherapy is a common treatment for brain tumors, yet it often leads to cognitive decline. Past understanding suggested this damage was irreversible due to DNA damage and cell death. However, recent studies propose that it may be reversible, as it affects active cells. Scientists focus on hippocampal activity, crucial for learning and memory, to explore this. Radiation is thought to decrease neurogenesis and increase neuroinflammation in the hippocampus. Anti-inflammatory drugs are suggested as a potential solution to mitigate cognitive decline from radiation.Aims: Analyzing the

Numerous cohort studies on the “Dutch famine,” in which pregnant women were exposed to a severe food shortage, have indicated a linkage between famine exposure during early pregnancy and a heightened risk of schizophrenia (SCZ) onset among offspring. These findings endorsed the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we exposed fertilized mice to a 16-hour overnight fast on embryonic day 1 (E1), E3, and E5, to mimic early pregnancy famine exposure. Offspring were examined for phenotypes in adulthood. Using 10

Severe bacterial infections affect more than 19 million people each year. With improved treatment strategies, more and more patients survive such severe bacterial infections. However, the majority of these survivors develop cognitive impairment and mental health problems. The pathogenesis of infection-induced cognitive impairment may include vascular injuries and neuro-inflammation, which eventually leads to neuron dysfunction. However, the mechanisms that promote cognitive impairment post infection remain largely unknown. We observed that mice exhibit hippocampus-dependent memory impairment p

Non-coding RNAs are transcripts that do not encode proteins and comprise 98.5% of the human transcriptome. Among these, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in various biological functions, including the control of gene expression and translation. The central nervous system (CNS) harbors a diverse array of lncRNA transcripts, yet the functions of many remain largely unexplored. In this study, we employed bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing approaches using human and mouse brain tissue to identify novel lncRNAs in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, potentially associated with

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in regulating synaptic plasticity and neuronal architecture through complex downstream signalling cascades mediated via receptor Tyrosine Kinase B (TrkB). Impaired BDNF/TrkB signalling has been associated with several neurological disorders. A treatment with Fingolimod has been shown in vitro and in vivo to promote BDNF synthesis and release and exert BDNF-dependent neuroprotection. Estrogens are a group of steroid sex hormones synthesised by neurons and astrocytes predominantly in females. In the hippocampus, estradiol plays a cruc

Ophn1 gene encodes Oligophrenin-1 (OPHN1), a Rho-GAP protein highly expressed in neurons. In humans, all Ophn1 mutations cause the loss of function of OPHN1 leading to syndromic intellectual disability (ID). In neurons, OPHN1 regulates dendritic spine density and architecture, actin dynamics and AMPA receptor (AMPAR) trafficking. Interestingly, we identified for the first time OPHN1 as a novel target of sumoylation. Sumoylation is a post-translational modification essential to the modulation of several neuronal functions, including neurotransmitter release and synaptic plasticity. Altered sumo