BACKGROUND: Glial cells are involved in immune and inflammatory responses in the central nervous system (CNS). Glial cells such as microglia and astrocytes also provide structural and functional support for neurons. Migration and morphological changes of CNS cells are associated with their physiological as well as pathological functions. The secreted protein lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has been previously implicated in regulation of diverse cellular processes of glia and neurons, including cell migration and morphology. METHODS: Here, we employed a zebrafish model to analyze the role of LCN2 in CNS cell migration and morphology in vivo. In the first part of this study, we examined the indirect effect of LCN2 on cell migration and morphology of microglia, astrocytes, and neurons cultured in vitro. RESULTS: Conditioned media collected from LCN2-treated astrocytes augmented migration of glia and neurons in the Boyden chamber assay. The conditioned media also increased the number of neuronal processes. Next, in order to further understand the role of LCN2 in the CNS in vivo, LCN2 was ectopically expressed in the zebrafish spinal cord. Expression of exogenous LCN2 modulated neuronal cell migration in the spinal cord of zebrafish embryos, supporting the role of LCN2 as a cell migration regulator in the CNS. CONCLUSION: Thus, LCN2 proteins secreted under diverse conditions may play an important role in CNS immune and inflammatory responses by controlling cell migration and morphology.
Astrocytes ; Cell Movement ; Central Nervous System ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Embryonic Structures ; Microglia ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Proteins ; Spinal Cord ; Zebrafish

Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), a well-known mitochondrial deacetylase, is involved in mitochondrial function and metabolism under various stress conditions. In this study, we found that the expression of SIRT3 was markedly increased by oxidative stress in dopaminergic neuronal cells. In addition, SIRT3 overexpression enhanced mitochondrial activity in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. We also showed that SIRT3 overexpression attenuated rotenoneor H2 O2 -induced toxicity in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells (human dopaminergic cell line). We further found that knockdown of SIRT3 enhanced rotenone- or H2 O2 -induced toxicity in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, overexpression of SIRT3 mitigated cell death caused by LPS/IFN-γ stimulation in astrocytes. We also found that the rotenone treatment increases the level of SIRT3 in Drosophila brain. We observed that downregulation of sirt2 (Drosophila homologue of SIRT3) significantly accelerated the rotenone-induced toxicity in flies. Taken together, these findings suggest that the overexpression of SIRT3 mitigates oxidative stress-induced cell death and mitochondrial dysfunction in dopaminergic neurons and astrocytes.

The activation of neurotrophic signaling pathways following the upregulation of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of the transforming growth factor-β family, has a potential neuroprotective effect in the adult brain. Herein, we report that hippocampal transduction of adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) with a constitutively active form of ras homolog enriched in brain [Rheb(S16H)], which can stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hippocampal neurons, induces the increases in expression of GDNF and GDNF family receptor α-1 (GFRα-1), in neurons and astrocytes in the hippocampus of rat brain in vivo . Moreover, upregulation of GDNF and GFRα-1 contributes to neuroprotection against thrombin-induced neurotoxicity in the hippocampus. These results suggest that AAV1-Rheb(S16H) transduction of hippocampal neurons, resulting in neurotrophic interactions between neurons and astrocytes, may be useful for neuroprotection in the adult hippocampus.