Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pamela J. Roque, Andres Barria, Xiaolu Zhang, Joel G. Hashimoto, Lucio G. Costa, Marina Guizzetti
Summary: It was found that astrocytes release synaptogenic factors in response to cholinergic stimulation from neurons, promoting synaptogenesis. By culturing primary rat astrocytes and neurons separately, and subsequently co-culturing pre-stimulated astrocytes with naive neurons, it was observed that cholinergic stimulation of astrocytes increases the expression of synaptic proteins, the number of synaptic puncta, and the number of functional synapses in hippocampal neurons. This study reveals a novel mechanism of neuron-astrocyte-neuron communication, providing new insights into the regulation of astrocyte-induced synaptogenesis in development.
NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Yohei Kawana, Junta Imai, Yosuke M. Morizawa, Yoko Ikoma, Masato Kohata, Hiroshi Komamura, Toshihiro Sato, Tomohito Izumi, Junpei Yamamoto, Akira Endo, Hiroto Sugawara, Haremaru Kubo, Shinichiro Hosaka, Yuichiro Munakata, Yoichiro Asai, Shinjiro Kodama, Kei Takahashi, Keizo Kaneko, Shojiro Sawada, Tetsuya Yamada, Akira Ito, Kuniyasu Niizuma, Teiji Tominaga, Akihiro Yamanaka, Ko Matsui, Hideki Katagiri
Summary: The study presents two optogenetic methods for stimulating the vagal nerve, leading to enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and beta cell proliferation in mice expressing choline acetyltransferase-channelrhodopsin 2.
NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Dhanasak Dhanasobhon, Maria-Carmen Medrano, Lea J. Becker, Yunuen Moreno-Lopez, Sehrazat Kavraal, Charlotte Bichara, Remy Schlichter, Perrine Inquimbert, Ipek Yalcin, Matilde Cordero-Erausquin
Summary: In a cuff model of peripheral neuropathy, endogenous acetylcholine continues to exert analgesic effects through nicotinic receptors, showing persistent efficacy in modulating nociceptive responses. Neuropathy does not affect the number or properties of dorsal horn cholinergic neurons, but rather alters the neurons receiving cholinergic signaling. Manipulating endogenous cholinergic signaling could be a potential avenue for treating mechanical allodynia in animal models of peripheral neuropathy.
NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ying Zhu, Feng Xu, Dewen Lu, Peijing Rong, Jiafei Cheng, Miaomiao Li, Yaoyao Gong, Chao Sun, Wei Wei, Lin Lin, Jiande D. Z. Chen
Summary: This study found that transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation has therapeutic potential for functional dyspepsia by improving gastric accommodation and slow waves through enhancing vagal efferent activity, leading to alleviation of dyspeptic symptoms, anxiety, and depression.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-GASTROINTESTINAL AND LIVER PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Spencer Bowles, Jordan Hickman, Xiaoyu Peng, W. Ryan Williamson, Rongchen Huang, Kayden Washington, Dane Donegan, Cristin G. Welle
Summary: Vagus nerve stimulation is a neuromodulation therapy that influences specific neural circuits through widespread brain activation, enhancing behavioral learning. By investigating neuronal activity in mice during a reach task, researchers found that VNS modulates neurons in the motor cortex through cholinergic signaling, accelerating motor refinement.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Natalia Roa-Vidal, Adriana Rodriguez-Aponte, Jose Lasalde-Dominicci, Coral Capo-Velez, Manuel Delgado-Velez
Summary: Macrophages play a vital role in defending the body and exhibit remarkable adaptability in response to invading pathogens and stimuli. The activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, especially mediated by the alpha 7-nAChR, is crucial in suppressing proinflammatory cytokines and maintaining homeostasis. This review focuses on macrophage polarization, the influence of viral infections on macrophage inflammatory phenotypes, and the emerging significance of dup alpha 7 in macrophage polarization and inflammation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
M. Leitzke, S. Schimpf, M. Altrock, P. Schonknecht, S. Bischoff, H. Schubert, D. Hoyer, R. Bauer, S. Olbrich
Summary: Electrical stimulation of the gastric wall may shift the sympathetic-vagal balance towards parasympathetic predominance, as indicated by a decrease in sympathetic dominance marker nLF (from 58.00 to 25.52) and an increase in vagal dominance marker nHF (from 41.48 to 74.16). During gastric electrical stimulation, there was no difference in heart rate compared to baseline.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL REGULATORS AND HOMEOSTATIC AGENTS
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ashley L. Garrett, Jason Burch, Yue Zhang, Haojia Li, Krishna M. Sundar, Robert J. Farney
Summary: This retrospective study compared standard AASM criteria with alternative criteria to better measure sleep-disordered breathing induced by VNS and assessed clinically relevant outcome variables and response to positive airway pressure therapy. The study found that the AASM scoring criteria significantly underestimated the degree of respiratory disturbances caused by VNS, and VNS events were not associated with increased arousals or significant hypoxemia. PAP therapy was ineffective in treating this population.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yanqiu Lai, Xiaoya Zhou, Fuding Guo, Xiaoxing Jin, Guannan Meng, Liping Zhou, Hu Chen, Zhihao Liu, Lilei Yu, Hong Jiang
Summary: Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) plays a cardio-protective role in preventing doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity by rebalancing autonomic tone and reducing cardiac damage. tVNS also regulates immune system genes involved in the underlying mechanisms.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicolas A. Morgenstern, Ana Filipa Isidro, Inbal Israely, Rui M. Costa
Summary: This study reveals a previously unknown excitatory circuit in the brain, which conveys a delayed second phase of excitation to the striatum through a polysynaptic pathway involving PT neurons, cholinergic interneurons, and glutamate-releasing axons. This circuit mechanism may have important implications for behavior, plasticity, and learning.
Review
Physiology
Lindsea C. Booth, Baagavi Saseetharan, Clive N. May, Song T. Yao
Summary: Patients with heart failure have varying results with vagal nerve stimulation. This review focuses on the targeting of specific cardiac-projecting vagal fibers as a potential treatment for heart failure.
EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Vesna M. van Midden, Jure Demsar, Zvezdan Pirtosek, Maja Kojovic
Summary: This study investigates the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) and sham earlobe vagal nerve stimulation (sVNS) on cortical excitability. The results show that taVNS increases short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), while sVNS decreases SICI. Additionally, taVNS has no effect on short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), while sVNS decreases SAI.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Katerina V. -A. Johnson, Laura Steenbergen
Summary: This study investigates the influence of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on emotional processing in healthy individuals using the dot-probe task. The results show that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation reduces emotional biases towards sadness and happiness, indicating a decrease in emotional reactivity. These findings contribute to understanding the interaction between the gut microbiome and the vagus nerve, and support the potential use of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as a non-invasive adjunctive therapy for depression.
Article
Neurosciences
Yukio Imamura, Hisatake Matsumoto, Jun Imamura, Naoya Matsumoto, Kazuma Yamakawa, Nao Yoshikawa, Yuki Murakami, Satoko Mitani, Junichiro Nakagawa, Tomoki Yamada, Hiroshi Ogura, Jun Oda, Takeshi Shimazu
Summary: This study investigated the potential therapeutic effects of noninvasive high-frequency ultrasound vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) on septic encephalopathy (SE) in mice. The results showed that ultrasound VNS can alleviate the symptoms of SE by reducing inflammation and restoring abnormal neuronal activity in the hippocampus. Additionally, ultrasound VNS improved survival rate, body temperature, and locomotor activity in SE mice. These findings suggest that ultrasound VNS could be a promising intervention for SE.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Samet Kocaturk, Elif Beyza Guven, Fulva Shah, James M. Tepper, Maxime Assous
Summary: Cholinergic interneurons play crucial roles in striatal circuits and functions. The activation of acetylcholine signal via muscarinic receptors is well studied, but recent data suggest that nicotinic receptors located on GABAergic interneurons are equally important. Stimulation of cholinergic interneurons activates these receptors and leads to inhibitory effects on striatal projection neurons.