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Glial Fibrillary Acid Protein (glial + fibrillary_acid_protein)
Selected AbstractsEnvironmental impoverishment and aging alter object recognition, spatial learning, and dentate gyrus astrocytesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Daniel G. Diniz Abstract Environmental and age-related effects on learning and memory were analysed and compared with changes observed in astrocyte laminar distribution in the dentate gyrus. Aged (20 months) and young (6 months) adult female albino Swiss mice were housed from weaning either in impoverished conditions or in enriched conditions, and tested for episodic-like and water maze spatial memories. After these behavioral tests, brain hippocampal sections were immunolabeled for glial fibrillary acid protein to identify astrocytes. The effects of environmental enrichment on episodic-like memory were not dependent on age, and may protect water maze spatial learning and memory from declines induced by aging or impoverished environment. In the dentate gyrus, the number of astrocytes increased with both aging and enriched environment in the molecular layer, increased only with aging in the polymorphic layer, and was unchanged in the granular layer. We suggest that long-term experience-induced glial plasticity by enriched environment may represent at least part of the circuitry groundwork for improvements in behavioral performance in the aged mice brain. [source] Myoepithelioma of the soft tissue of the head and neck: a case report and review of the literatureHEAD & NECK: JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES & SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK, Issue 5 2004Antonio Galvao Neto MD Abstract Background. Extraglandular myoepitheliomas are neoplasms that seldom occur in the soft tissue of the head and neck region. Misdiagnosis of these neoplasms as more aggressive tumors can lead to unnecessary treatment. Methods. We describe a myoepithelioma of cervical soft tissue. The histopathology of the tumor, its immunophenotype, its differential diagnosis, and a review of the literature are presented. Results. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of epithelioid cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and eccentric nuclei arranged in cords and files. On immunohistochemical analysis, the cells expressed cytokeratin 14, calponin, glial fibrillary acid protein, and p63 and showed focal positivity for S-100 protein. Together, these markers identified the cells as myoepithelial type. A literature review identified only five cases of myoepithelioma in the soft tissue of the head and neck region in which detailed clinical information was provided. Conclusions. Myoepitheliomas can have cells with variable morphology arranged in different histologic patterns. Immunohistochemical analysis is crucial for unequivocal diagnosis when myoepitheliomas occur in extraglandular locations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck26: 470,473, 2004 [source] Astrocyte expression of a dominant-negative interferon-, receptorJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005Claudia Hindinger Abstract Interferon-, (IFN-,) is a major proinflammatory cytokine, and binding to its nearly ubiquitous receptor induces a wide variety of biological functions. To explore the role(s) of IFN-, signaling in astrocytes, transgenic mice (GFAP/IFN-,R1,IC) expressing a dominant-negative IFN-, receptor alpha chain under control of the astrocyte-specific glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) promoter were generated. Transgenic mice developed normally, had normal astrocyte numbers and distribution, and exhibited no clinically overt phenotype. Transgene mRNA expression was detected only in the CNS, and the transgene-encoded IFN-, receptor 1 colocalized with GFAP, which is consistent with astrocyte expression. Astrocytes from transgenic mice exhibited reduced IFN-,-induced signaling as measured by major histocompatibility class II induction. Neither CNS inflammation nor perforin-mediated clearance of a neurotropic mouse hepatitis virus from astrocytes was impaired following infection. Transgenic mice with impaired astrocyte responsiveness to IFN-, provide a model for studying the selective astrocyte-dependent effects of this critical cytokine in CNS immunopathology. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Reactive changes of interstitial glia and pinealocytes in the rat pineal gland challenged with cell wall components from gram-positive and -negative bacteriaJOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005Ya Fen Jiang-Shieh Abstract:, Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major proinflammatory component of gram-negative bacteria, is well known to induce sepsis and microglial activation in the CNS. On the contrary, the effect of products from gram-positive bacteria especially in areas devoid of blood,brain barrier remains to be explored. In the present study, a panel of antibodies, namely, OX-6, OX-42 and ED-1 was used to study the response of microglia/macrophages in the pineal gland of rats given an intravenous LPS or lipoteichoic acid (LTA). These antibodies recognize MHC class II antigens, complement type 3 receptors and unknown lysosomal proteins in macrophages, respectively. In rats given LPS (50 ,g/kg) injection and killed 48 h later, the cell density and immunoexpression of OX-6, OX-42 and ED-1 in pineal microglia/macrophages were markedly increased. In rats receiving a high dose (20 mg/kg) of LTA, OX-42 and OX-6, immunoreactivities in pineal microglia/macrophages were also enhanced, but that of ED-1 was not. In addition, both bacterial toxins induced an increase in astrocytic profiles labelled by glial fibrillary acid protein. An interesting feature following LPS or LTA treatment was the lowering effect on serum melatonin, enhanced serotonin immunolabelling and cellular vacuolation as studied by electron microscopy in pinealocytes. The LPS- or LTA-induced vacuoles appeared to originate from the granular endoplasmic reticulum as well as the Golgi saccules. The present results suggest that LPS and LTA could induce immune responses of microglia/macrophages and astroglial activation in the pineal gland. Furthermore, the metabolic and secretory activity of pinealocytes was modified by products from both gram-positive and -negative bacteria. [source] Mixed neuronal,glial tumor of the digestive tract: Distinctive entity from gastrointestinal stromal tumor?PATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2002Marie-Laure Chambonniere A 53-year-old-woman presenting with pelvic discomfort was found to have a 9.5 cm tumor located in the wall of the ileon. Light microscopy showed that the tumor was made of fascicles of plump spindle cells and bizarre epithelioid cells. A cuff of lymphoid cells was also present at the tumor margin. The tumor cells strongly expressed tau protein, neuron-specific enolase, protein green product 9.5 and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), but did not show positive immunostaining for S-100 protein, CD34 or CD117. The tumor showed unequivocal ultrastructural evidence of neural differentiation. Skeinoid fibers were scattered throughout the tumor. This is the first mixed neuronal,glial tumor of the digestive tract to be described in the literature. Such histological and immunohistochemical features could be misinterpreted as features of digestive schwannoma. We suggest that this tumor is distinct from gastrointestinal stromal tumors in lacking CD34 and CD117 expression. [source] Excitatory amino acid transporters EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 in temporal lobe and hippocampus in intractable temporal lobe epilepsyAPMIS, Issue 4 2009SINAN SARAC Intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is an invalidating disease and many patients are resistant to medical treatment. Increased glutamate concentration has been found in epileptogenic foci and may induce local over-excitation and cytotoxicity; one of the proposed mechanisms involves reduced extra-cellular clearance of glutamate by excitatory amino acid transporters (EAAT-1 to EAAT-5). EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 are mainly expressed on astroglial cells for the reuptake of glutamate from the extra-cellular space. We have studied the expression of EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 in the hippocampus and temporal lobe in 12 patients with TLE by immunhistochemistry and densitometry. The expression of EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 was reduced to approximately 40% and 25%, respectively, in CA1 of the hippocampus. In the same area, an increased expression of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) at 90% reflected molecular rearrangements and upregulation of GFAP in the existing astrocytes as Ki-67 staining failed to demonstrate any signs of astrocytic proliferation. The aetiology of the reduced expression of EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 remains unclear. The downregulation of EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 may be an adaptive response to neuronal death or it may be a causative event contributing to neuronal death. Further studies of the EAATs and their function are needed to clarify the mechanisms and significance of EAAT-1 and EAAT-2 disappearance in TLE. [source] | |||||||||||||