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Here we aimed to unify some previous controversial reports on changes in both cannabinoid CB(1) receptor (CB(1)R) expression and glucose metabolism in the forebrain of rodent models of diabetes. We determined how glucose metabolism and its modulation by CB(1)R ligands evolve in the frontal cortex of young adult male Wistar rats, in the first 8 weeks of streptozotocin-induced type-1 diabetes (T1D). We report that frontocortical CB(1)R protein density was biphasically altered in the first month of T1D, which was accompanied with a reduction of resting glucose uptake ex vivo in acute frontocortical slices that was normalized after eight weeks in T1D. This early reduction of glucose uptake in slices was also restored by ex vivo treatment with both the non-selective CB(1)R agonists, WIN55212–2 (500 nM) and the CB(1)R-selective agonist, ACEA (3 µM) while it was exacerbated by the CB(1)R-selective antagonist, O-2050 (500 nM). These results suggest a gain-of-function for the cerebrocortical CB(1)Rs in the control of glucose uptake in diabetes. Although insulin and IGF-1 receptor protein densities remained unaffected, phosphorylated GSKα and GSKβ levels showed different profiles 2 and 8 weeks after T1D induction in the frontal cortex. Altogether, the biphasic response in frontocortical CB(1)R density within a month after T1D induction resolves previous controversial reports on forebrain CB(1)R levels in T1D rodent models. Furthermore, this study also hints that cannabinoids may be useful to alleviate impaired glucoregulation in the diabetic cortex.

Chick ciliary ganglia (CG) are part of the parasympathetic nervous system and are responsible for the innervation of the muscle tissues present in the eye. This ganglion is constituted by a homogenous population of ciliary and choroidal neurons that innervate striated and smooth muscle fibers, respectively. Each of these neuronal types regulate specific eye structures and functions. Over the years, neuronal cultures of the chick ciliary ganglia were shown to be effective cell models in the study of muscle-nervous system interactions, which communicate through cholinergic synapses. Ciliary ganglion neurons are, in its majority, cholinergic. This cell model has been shown to be useful comparatively to previously used heterogeneous cell models that comprise several neuronal types, besides cholinergic. Anatomically, the ciliary ganglion is localized between the optic nerve (ON) and the choroid fissure (CF). Here, we describe a detailed procedure for the dissection, dissociation and in vitro culture of ciliary ganglia neurons from chick embryos. We provide a step-by-step protocol in order to obtain highly pure and stable cellular cultures of CG neurons, highlighting key steps of the process. These cultures can be maintained in vitro for 15 days and, hereby, we show the normal development of CG cultures. The results also show that these neurons can interact with muscle fibers through neuro-muscular cholinergic synapses.

SUMMARY Ribosomes and a subset of cellular mRNAs are trafficked into axons of developing neurons. The axonal localization of translational machinery allows new proteins to be rapidly and locally synthesized during axonal growth and pathfinding. However, in mature neurons, axonal ribosomes are significantly reduced or even absent. The mechanism that elicits this removal is currently unknown. Here, we demonstrate that synapse formation is the trigger for ribosome reduction in mature axons. In vivo analysis shows that axonal ribosome levels decrease in rat brain at a developmental stage coincident with synapse formation. Next, we observe in vitro that different synaptogenic inducers trigger an overall decrease of ribosomal proteins and rRNA in the axons of spinal motor neurons. We further observe that this process is dependent on the ubiquitin-proteasome system but not on autophagy. Together, these data identify synaptogenesis as the long missing biological trigger that leads to ribosome disappearance during axonal maturation., Graphical Abstract, In Brief The mechanism behind the striking loss of ribosomes from axons during neuronal maturation is unknown. Using in vivo and in vitro models, including neuron-muscle co-cultures and combining biochemistry and imaging techniques, Costa et al. demonstrate that synapse formation triggers ribosome reduction by a mechanism involving the ubiquitin-proteasome system.

The intra-axonal events governing formation of presynaptic terminals are still poorly understood. Pinto et al. reveal a mechanism by which a localized decrease in proteasome degradation and resultant accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins at nascent sites signal assembly of presynaptic terminals., Differentiation of the presynaptic terminal is a complex and rapid event that normally occurs in spatially specific axonal regions distant from the soma; thus, it is believed to be dependent on intra-axonal mechanisms. However, the full nature of the local events governing presynaptic assembly remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the involvement of the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS), the major degradative pathway, in the local modulation of presynaptic differentiation. We found that proteasome inhibition has a synaptogenic effect on isolated axons. In addition, formation of a stable cluster of synaptic vesicles onto a postsynaptic partner occurs in parallel to an on-site decrease in proteasome degradation. Accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins at nascent sites is a local trigger for presynaptic clustering. Finally, proteasome-related ubiquitin chains (K11 and K48) function as signals for the assembly of presynaptic terminals. Collectively, we propose a new axon-intrinsic mechanism for presynaptic assembly through local UPS inhibition. Subsequent on-site accumulation of proteins in their polyubiquitinated state triggers formation of presynapses.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used for cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine, with increasing importance in central and peripheral nervous system repair. However, MSCs grafting present disadvantages, such as, a high number of cells required for transplantation and low survival rate when transplanted into the central nervous system (CNS). In line with this, MSCs secretome which present on its composition a wide range of molecules (neurotrophins, cytokines) and microvesicles, can be a solution to surpass these problems. However, the effect of MSCs secretome in axonal elongation is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that application of MSCs secretome to both rat cortical and hippocampal neurons induces an increase in axonal length. In addition, we show that this growth effect is axonal intrinsic with no contribution from the cell body. To further understand which are the molecules required for secretome-induced axonal outgrowth effect, we depleted brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from the secretome. Our results show that in the absence of BDNF, secretome-induced axonal elongation effect is lost and that axons present a reduced axonal growth rate. Altogether, our results demonstrate that MSCs secretome is able to promote axonal outgrowth in CNS neurons and this effect is mediated by BDNF.

In recent years, signaling through ubiquitin has been shown to be of great importance for normal brain development. Indeed, fluctuations in ubiquitin levels and spontaneous mutations in (de)ubiquitination enzymes greatly perturb synapse formation and neuronal transmission. In the brain, expression of lysine (K) 48-linked ubiquitin chains is higher at a developmental stage coincident with synaptogenesis. Nevertheless, no studies have so far delved into the involvement of this type of polyubiquitin chains in synapse formation. We have recently proposed a role for polyubiquitinated conjugates as triggering signals for presynaptic assembly. Herein, we aimed at characterizing the axonal distribution of K48 polyubiquitin and its dynamics throughout the course of presynaptic formation. To accomplish so, we used an ubiquitination-induced fluorescence complementation (UiFC) strategy for the visualization of K48 polyubiquitin in live hippocampal neurons. We first validated its use in neurons by analyzing changing levels of polyubiquitin. UiFC signal is diffusely distributed with distinct aggregates in somas, dendrites and axons, which perfectly colocalize with staining for a K48-specific antibody. Axonal UiFC aggregates are relatively stable and new aggregates are formed as an axon grows. Approximately 65% of UiFC aggregates colocalize with synaptic vesicle clusters and they preferentially appear in the axonal domains of axo-somatodendritic synapses when compared to isolated axons. We then evaluated axonal accumulation of K48 ubiquitinated signals in bead-induced synapses. We observed rapid accumulation of UiFC signal and endogenous K48 ubiquitin at the sites of newly formed presynapses. Lastly, we show by means of a microfluidic platform, for the isolation of axons, that presynaptic clustering on beads is dependent on E1-mediated ubiquitination at the axonal level. Altogether, these results indicate that enrichment of K48 polyubiquitin at the site of nascent presynaptic terminals is an important axon-intrinsic event for presynaptic differentiation.

In this work we report biochemical ex vivo studies with a vanadium compound containing a pyridinone ligand, the bis(1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridinonate)oxovanadium (IV), V IV O(dmpp) 2 , which has shown to have promising antidiabetic activity. The experiments were carried out on primary adipocytes of 6–8 week old Wistar rats. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake studies were performed using a radioactive assay by measuring the (U)– 14 C–glucose taken up by the isolated adipocytes for 30 min. Adipocytes were incubated with and without insulin and in the presence and absence of different concentrations of V IV O(dmpp) 2 (100–500 μM) for 45 min. We observed that in a nontoxic concentration, as demonstrated by the Alamar Blue test, V IV O(dmpp) 2 significantly increases glucose uptake, in the absence of insulin, by 5-folds higher than basal, and it has a significant inhibitory effect of 78% on free fatty acid release in isolated adipocytes from normal rats. We also demonstrated that it promotes the phosphorylation of Akt1, a key protein in the insulin signaling cascade. These results were compared with those obtained with another vanadium compound reported in the literature, with a similar structure, the bis(maltolato)oxovanadium (IV) (BMOV), which is now in clinical trials. Our ex vivo results clearly indicate that V IV O(dmpp) 2 is a good candidate to be a promising drug for the treatment of diabetes and other metabolic disorders.