Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nan Zhao, Zhaobin Guo, Sarah Kulkarni, Danielle Norman, Sophia Zhang, Tracy D. Chung, Renee F. Nerenberg, Raleigh M. Linville, Peter Searson
Summary: In vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) models have been instrumental in studying immune cell trafficking, drug delivery, and understanding disease mechanisms. This study presents a double-templating technique to engineer hierarchical BBB models with physiological barrier function at the capillary scale. The models successfully recreate capillary-scale effects observed in mouse models and enable the study of various biological and pathological processes related to the human BBB.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Coraly Simoes Da Gama, Melanie Morin-Brureau
Summary: The blood-brain barrier is crucial for maintaining the brain's extracellular environment and dysregulation of this barrier contributes to various neurological disorders. Human models of the blood-brain barrier have made significant progress in studying these disorders, with microfluidics and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids showing promise.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dake Qi, Haiyang Lin, Bingying Hu, Yang Wei
Summary: The establishment of in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is important for understanding drug permeability. The hCMEC/D3 cell line shows potential as a standardized BBB model due to its high throughput, reproducibility, homology, and low cost. However, improvements are needed to overcome the low physiological barriers in this model.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Stefan Anthony, Dorothy Cabantan, Molly Monsour, Cesario Borlongan
Summary: Stroke is a significant clinical need with limited treatment options and a narrow therapeutic window. Inflammation after stroke can lead to secondary cell death, and stem cell therapy shows potential in reducing these inflammatory responses.
Article
Neurosciences
Jamie Marino, Monique E. Maubert, Jill M. Lawrence, Brian Wigdahl, Michael R. Nonnemacher
Summary: The blood-brain barrier plays a crucial role in regulating the passage of molecules between the central nervous system and peripheral circulation. Repeat morphine dosing may not significantly affect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Boe-Hyun Kim, Eran Hadas, Jennifer Kelschenbach, Wei Chao, Chao-Jiang Gu, Mary Jane Potash, David J. Volsky
Summary: Despite antiretroviral therapy, HIV enters the brain shortly after infection and causes neurocognitive impairment in up to 50% of infected individuals. The role of CCL2 in established NCI has been explored, and it has been found that blocking CCL2 transcription can prevent brain infection and NCI.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Dovile Poceviciute, Cristina Nunez-Diaz, Bodil Roth, Shorena Janelidze, Andreas Giannisis, Oskar Hansson, Malin Wennstrom
Summary: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by Aβ plaques, NFT, and neuroinflammation, but recent studies suggest that peripheral inflammation might also play a role. This study found that plasma IgA levels were higher in AD patients, especially in APOE ε4 non-carriers, and these levels were associated with cognitive decline and neuropathology. This suggests that the relationship between AD pathology and plasma IgA levels may be influenced by APOE allele status.
ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sorabh Sharma, Craig E. Brown
Summary: This review discusses the relationship between microvascular dysfunction caused by type 1 diabetes and cognitive impairment, aiming to synthesize the current knowledge in this field.
PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Saeid Vakilian, Khurshid Alam, Juhaina Al-Kindi, Fatemeh Jamshidi-Adegani, Najeeb Ur Rehman, Rezvan Tavakoli, Khamis Al-Riyami, Anwarul Hasan, Fahad Zadjali, Rene Csuk, Ahmed Al-Harrasi, Sulaiman Al-Hashmi
Summary: This study demonstrated the antimetastatic potential of beta-boswellic acid in inhibiting the metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) using different in vitro models. The results showed that beta-BA had no toxic effects on other cells and maintained sustainable barrier integrity, significantly inhibiting metastasis.
BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiangliang Zeng, Guohua He, Xirong Yang, Guoyao Xu, Yidan Tang, Hanwen Li, Bing Yu, Zhen Wang, Wei Xu, Kangping Song
Summary: Zebularine preserves BBB integrity, reduces inflammation, and improves neurological deficits in ischemic stroke. It mitigates endothelial hyper-permeability by activating the AMPK alpha pathway.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bivek Chaulagain, Avinash Gothwal, Richard Nii Lante Lamptey, Riddhi Trivedi, Arun Kumar Mahanta, Buddhadev Layek, Jagdish Singh
Summary: Central nervous system (CNS) disorders are a major global health burden, yet the approval rate for new therapies against these disorders is low compared to other diseases. The lack of reliable and efficient in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) models hinders the development of successful therapy for CNS disorders. This review discusses the major in vitro BBB models, including 2D transwell models, 3D organoid models, and microfluidic models, for exploring the barrier properties of the cerebral vasculature. Although microfluidic models better recapitulate the in vivo properties of BBB, significant gaps still exist for their use in predicting the performance of neurotherapeutics.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Anna Eskilsson, Kiseko Shionoya, David Engblom, Anders Blomqvist
Summary: The study found that fever during localized inflammation is not mediated by neural signaling, but rather relies on humoral signaling involving interleukin actions on brain endothelial cells, potentially facilitating PGE(2) entry into the brain from the circulation, representing a mechanism distinct from that during systemic inflammation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Viktor Balzer, Pascal Poc, Elena Puris, Stefan Martin, Maryam Aliasgari, Seppo Auriola, Gert Fricker
Summary: The blood-brain barrier poses a major challenge for CNS drug delivery due to its low permeability. This study evaluated the expression of ABC transporters in the hCMEC/D3 human cell line and found that it is suitable for screening drug candidates using regular uptake assays, but is limited in transcellular permeability studies due to insufficient tight junctions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS AND BIOPHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Sharmony B. Kelly, Vanesa Stojanovska, Valerie A. Zahra, Alison Moxham, Suzanne L. Miller, Timothy J. M. Moss, Stuart B. Hooper, Marcel F. Nold, Claudia A. Nold-Petry, Justin M. Dean, Laura Bennet, Graeme R. Polglase, Alistair J. Gunn, Robert Galinsky
Summary: This study demonstrated that systemic IL-1 receptor antagonist administration can alleviate brain inflammation and injury in near-term fetal sheep exposed to lipopolysaccharide. IL-1Ra infusions reduced circulating cytokines, improved EEG activity and carotid artery perfusion, and decreased microglial reaction and oligodendrocyte loss. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects on brain maturation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Sharmony B. Kelly, Elys Green, Rod W. Hunt, Claudia A. Nold-Petry, Alistair J. Gunn, Marcel F. Nold, Robert Galinsky
Summary: Perinatal inflammation is linked to lifelong neurodevelopmental impairments, and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 plays a critical role in this process. Inhibiting interleukin-1 with the antagonist anakinra can mitigate neuroinflammation and tissue damage. Clinical translation of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist shows promise for protecting infants at risk of perinatal inflammation and impaired neurodevelopment.
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Sebastian Wangler, Amir Kamali, Christina Wapp, Karin Wuertz-Kozak, Sonja Haeckel, Claudia Fortes, Lorin M. Benneker, Lisbet Haglund, R. Geoff Richards, Mauro Alini, Marianna Peroglio, Sibylle Grad
Summary: MSC’s secretome composition was analyzed after exposure to different IVD environments, showing more complex secretome induced by IVD conditioned media compared to IL-1 beta stimulation. The secretome reflected different activity based on IVD pathological status, with implications for tailored secretome therapy development.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Babak Saravi, Zhen Li, Judith Pfannkuche, Laura Wystrach, Sonja Hackel, Christoph E. Albers, Sibylle Grad, Mauro Alini, Robert Geoffrey Richards, Corinna Lang, Norbert Suedkamp, Hagen Schmal, Gernot Lang
Summary: The study found that losartan had anti-inflammatory, anti-catabolic, and positive phenotype-modulating effects on human nucleus pulposus cells, indicating the important role of tRAS signaling in intervertebral disc degeneration.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Emergency Medicine
Sonja Hackel, Elena Hofmann, Helen Anwander, Christoph E. Albers, Jasmin Basedow, Sebastian F. Bigdon, Aristomenis K. Exadaktylos, Marius J. B. Keel, Robert N. Dunn, Sithombo Maqungo, Lorin M. Benneker, Michael Held, Sven Hoppe
Summary: The study showed that AP-LS has high specificity and low sensitivity in detecting spinal injuries, with the highest sensitivity observed for thoracic spinal injuries. There was low interrater reliability among observers, and potentially unstable spinal injuries were more likely to be detected than stable injuries.
BMC EMERGENCY MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sven Hoppe, Daniela Maurer, Waldo Valenzuela, Lorin M. Benneker, Sebastian F. Bigdon, Sonja Hackel, Sebastian Wangler, Christoph E. Albers
Summary: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing paraspinal muscle degeneration, particularly fatty infiltration, using 3D cluster analysis on T2-weighted MRI images. The results showed that mono-segmental muscles at L4/5 and L5/S1 were more severely affected by degeneration, with age and disc degeneration being independent factors correlated with muscle degeneration.
EUROPEAN SPINE JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Orthopedics
Sonja Hackel, Angela A. Renggli, Christoph E. Albers, Lorin M. Benneker, Moritz C. Deml, Sebastian F. Bigdon, Sufian S. Ahmad, Sven Hoppe
Summary: Through analysis of outcome measures in highly cited Level I studies of VCF treatment, it was found that there is a significant inconsistency in outcome measures. Pain (VAS), quality of life (EQ-5D), disability and function (RMDQ), opioid use, and radiological outcomes (kyphotic angle, VBH, and new VCFs) were the most commonly used outcome parameters.
BMC MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS
(2021)
Article
Orthopedics
Jie Du, Wei Guo, Sonja Haeckel, Sven Hoppe, Joao P. Garcia, Mauro Alini, Marianna A. Tryfonidou, Laura B. Creemers, Sibylle Grad, Zhen Li
Summary: CD146 has been shown to play a crucial role in maintaining the cell contractility of human AF cells in vitro. Additionally, TGF-beta upregulates CD146 via the ALK5 signaling cascade, partially through the SMAD2, SMAD4, and AKT pathways, while ERK acts as a potential negative modulator.
JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Marloes Hofstee, Anja Heider, Sonja Haeckel, Caroline Constant, Martijn Riool, R. Geoff Richards, T. Fintan Moriarty, Sebastian A. J. Zaat
Summary: The study found that SACs can trigger MDSC expansion and identified potential mediators as an additional strategy for treating chronic S. aureus infections.
Article
Cell Biology
Babak Saravi, Zhen Li, Valentina Basoli, Sibylle Grad, Sonja Haeckel, Christoph E. Albers, Mauro Alini, Hagen Schmal, Peter Obid, Gernot Lang
Summary: This study found that tissue renin-angiotensin system (tRAS) components are expressed in human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells and are associated with inflammatory and degenerative processes. These findings indicate that modulation of tRAS may be a novel therapeutic approach to intervertebral disc disease.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sonja Haeckel, Samuel Christen, Esther Voegelin, Marius J. B. Keel
Summary: This study describes a novel surgical technique for exploring lumbosacral plexopathies using the extraperitoneal pararectus approach. The feasibility and success of the approach were demonstrated in 4 patients with pathologies or injuries of the lumbosacral plexus. The technique allowed excellent visualization of the plexus and intrapelvic lesions of the femoral and sciatic nerves, with no major complications and good patient recovery.
OPERATIVE NEUROSURGERY
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Daniele Zuncheddu, Elena Della Bella, Dalila Petta, Cecilia Bartschi, Sonja Hackel, Moritz C. Deml, Martin J. Stoddart, Sibylle Grad, Valentina Basoli
Summary: This study investigates the effects of glucose and fructose on the chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The results show that fructose may enhance chondrogenic differentiation, while decreasing glucose concentration may decrease differentiation yield. The study also reveals the expression and regulation of GLUT3 and GLUT5 in BMSCs during chondrogenesis. The findings provide valuable insights into the sugar metabolism of BMSCs during cartilage formation.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Junxuan Ma, Surya Hane, Janick Eglauf, Judith Pfannkuche, Astrid Soubrier, Zhen Li, Marianna Peroglio, Sven Hoppe, Lorin Benneker, Gernot Lang, Sebastian Wangler, Mauro Alini, Laura B. Creemers, Sibylle Grad, Sonja Hackel
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effect of pro-inflammatory cytokine-stimulated human annulus fibrosus cells (hAFCs) on the sensitization of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells, and further explored the inhibitory effect of celecoxib on hAFCs-induced DRG sensitization. The results showed that celecoxib could suppress IL-1 beta-induced PGE-2 production in hAFCs and reduce the sensitization of DRG nociceptors stimulated by hAFCs CM.
EUROPEAN SPINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sonja Hackel, Katharina A. C. Oswald, Leonie Koller, Lorin M. Benneker, Layla A. Benneker, Said Sadiqi, F. Cumhur Oner, Moritz C. Deml
Summary: This study aimed to translate and adapt the AO Spine PROST questionnaire into German and test its psychometric properties among German-speaking Swiss spine trauma patients. The results showed that the German version of the AO Spine PROST questionnaire demonstrated very good validity and reliability.
GLOBAL SPINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Emergency Medicine
Sonja Haeckel, Tobias Kaempf, Heiner Baur, Arlene von Aesch, Reto Werner Kressig, Andreas Ernst Stuck, Johannes Dominik Bastian
Summary: This study aimed to investigate lower extremity loading during activities of daily living (ADLs) using the Continuous Scale of Physical Functional Performance (CS-PFP 10) test and wireless sensor insoles. Findings showed that older participants had significantly lower CS-PFP 10 scores compared to younger participants, with no significant differences in mean total forces. In the endurance walk task, older participants exhibited significantly higher maximum total forces.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TRAUMA AND EMERGENCY SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Rinchen D. Phurtag, Sonja Hackel, Lorin M. Benneker, Kara B. Liu, Christoph E. Albers, Sufian S. Ahmad, Moritz C. Deml
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
J. Guerrero, S. Haeckel, A. S. Croft, S. Hoppe, C. E. Albers, B. Gantenbein
Summary: Intervertebral disc degeneration remains a challenging issue for patients with limited treatment options. Understanding the components and interactions within the NP microenvironment is crucial for potential tissue engineering approaches and future clinical applications in promoting NP regeneration. Recent discoveries in NP tissue engineering related to the microenvironment highlight the importance of adjusting crosstalk within the microenvironment for successful outcomes in treating degenerative disc disease.
EUROPEAN CELLS & MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Aline Silva da Cruz, Maria Margarida Drehmer, Wagner Baetas-da-Cruz, Joao Carlos Machado
Summary: This study quantified microcirculation cerebral blood flow in a rat model of ischemic stroke using ultrasound biomicroscopy and ultrasound contrast agents. The results showed high sensitivity and specificity of this method, making it a valuable tool for preclinical studies.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Christina Dalla, Ivana Jaric, Pavlina Pavlidi, Georgia E. Hodes, Nikolaos Kokras, Anton Bespalov, Martien J. Kas, Thomas Steckler, Mohamed Kabbaj, Hanno Wuerbel, Jordan Marrocco, Jessica Tollkuhn, Rebecca Shansky, Debra Bangasser, Jill B. Becker, Margaret McCarthy, Chantelle Ferland-Beckham
Summary: Many funding agencies have emphasized the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in experimental design to improve the reproducibility and translational relevance of preclinical research. Omitting the female sex from experimental designs in neuroscience and pharmacology can result in biased or limited understanding of disease mechanisms. This article provides methodological considerations for incorporating sex as a biological variable in in vitro and in vivo experiments, including the influence of age and hormone levels, and proposes strategies to enhance methodological rigor and translational relevance in preclinical research.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Wenyu Gu, Dongxu Li, Jia-Hong Gao
Summary: We developed a precise and rapid method for positioning and labelling triaxial OPMs on a wearable magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, improving the efficiency of OPM positioning and labelling.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kai Lin, Linhang Zhang, Jing Cai, Jiaqi Sun, Wenjie Cui, Guangda Liu
Summary: The article introduces an EEG feature map processing model for emotion recognition, which achieves significantly improved accuracy by fusing EEG information at different spatial scales and introducing a channel attention mechanism.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
John E. Parker, Asier Aristieta, Aryn H. Gittis, Jonathan E. Rubin
Summary: This work presents a toolbox that implements a methodology for automated classification of neural responses based on spike train recordings. The toolbox provides a user-friendly and efficient approach to detect various types of neuronal responses that may not be identified by traditional methods.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yun Liang, Ke Bo, Sreenivasan Meyyappan, Mingzhou Ding
Summary: This study compared the performance of SVM and CNN on the same datasets and found that CNN achieved consistently higher classification accuracies. The classification accuracies of SVM and CNN were generally not correlated, and the heatmaps derived from them did not overlap significantly.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Antonino Visalli, Maria Montefinese, Giada Viviani, Livio Finos, Antonino Vallesi, Ettore Ambrosini
Summary: This study introduces an analytical strategy that allows the use of mixed-effects models (LMM) in mass univariate analyses of EEG data. The proposed method overcomes the computational costs and shows excellent performance properties, making it increasingly important in the field of neuroscience.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Xavier Cano-Ferrer, Alexandra Tran -Van -Minh, Ede Rancz
Summary: This study developed a novel rotation platform for studying neural processes and spatial navigation. The platform is modular, affordable, and easy to build, and can be driven by the experimenter or animal movement. The research demonstrated the utility of the platform, which combines the benefits of head fixation and intact vestibular activity.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
(2024)
