Project description:A deficit in synaptic plasticity is one of the many changes that occurs with age. Specifically the archetypal model of plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), is reduced in hippocampus of middle-aged and aged animals. Several factors are likely to contribute to this deficit including morphological changes like a net loss of neurons and loss of synapses with the consequent changes in receptor signalling. However it is also clear that ageing is associated with development of oxidative stress, and also inflammatory stress which is typified by increased activation of microglia. Recent evidence has indicated that probiotics exert anti-inflammatory in the gut. Specifically VSL#3, a proprietary probiotic comprising 8 Gram-positive bacterial strains, decreased markers of inflammation in the colon in an animal model of colitis. We considered that its anti-inflammatory effects might extend to brain and therefore that treatment of aged rats with VSL#3 might attenuate the age-related deficit in LTP. The evidence indicates that LTP was impaired in control-treated aged rats but sustained in aged rats which received VSL#3. This was accompanied by a modest decrease in markers of microglial activation and an increase in BDNF and synapsin . The microarray analysis demonstrated that VSL#3 treatment induces changes also in the expression of some brain genes. four sample groups each representing a certain treatment condition of young or adult male Han Wistar rats
Project description:A deficit in synaptic plasticity is one of the many changes that occurs with age. Specifically the archetypal model of plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), is reduced in hippocampus of middle-aged and aged animals. Several factors are likely to contribute to this deficit including morphological changes like a net loss of neurons and loss of synapses with the consequent changes in receptor signalling. However it is also clear that ageing is associated with development of oxidative stress, and also inflammatory stress which is typified by increased activation of microglia. Recent evidence has indicated that probiotics exert anti-inflammatory in the gut. Specifically VSL#3, a proprietary probiotic comprising 8 Gram-positive bacterial strains, decreased markers of inflammation in the colon in an animal model of colitis. We considered that its anti-inflammatory effects might extend to brain and therefore that treatment of aged rats with VSL#3 might attenuate the age-related deficit in LTP. The evidence indicates that LTP was impaired in control-treated aged rats but sustained in aged rats which received VSL#3. This was accompanied by a modest decrease in markers of microglial activation and an increase in BDNF and synapsin . The microarray analysis demonstrated that VSL#3 treatment induces changes also in the expression of some brain genes.
Project description:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to establish exhausted-exercise model by motorized rodent treadmill. Yu-Ping-Feng-San at doses of 2.18 g/kg was administrated by gavage before exercise training for 10 consecutive days. Quantitative proteomics was performed for assessing the related mechanism of Yu-Ping-Feng-San.
Project description:d-serine is naturally present throughout the human body. It is also used as add-on therapy for treatment-refractory schizophrenia. d-Serine interacts with the strychnine-insensitive glycine binding site of NMDA receptor, and this interaction could lead to potentially toxic activity (i.e., excitotoxicity) in brain tissue. The transcriptomic changes that occur in the brain after d-serine exposure have not been fully explored. Affymetrix microarray technology was used to determine differential gene expression resulting from D-Serine exposure. Keywords: Dose course
