Project description:Organotypic slice cultures from prostate cancer patients were generated and treated with or without 17b-estradiol or DHT to study estrogen and androgen signalling pathways.
Project description:The numerous neurological syndromes associated with COVID-19 implicate an effect of viral pathogenesis on neuronal function, yet reports of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain are conflicting. We used a well-established organotypic brain slice culture to determine the permissivity of hamster brain tissues to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found levels of live virus waned after inoculation and observed no evidence of cell-to-cell spread, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 infection was non-productive. Nonetheless, we identified a small number of infected cells with glial phenotypes; yet no evidence of viral infection or replication was observed in neurons. Our data corroborates several clinical studies that have assessed patients with COVID-19 and their association with neurological involvement.
Project description:Organotypic brain slice culture microglia exhibit molecular similarity to acutely-isolated adult microglia and provide a platform to study neuroinflammation
Project description:Gene expression changes induced by alpha-secretase cleaved amyloid precursor protein (sAPPalpha) in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures of male, postnatal day 15 mice (C57B6/SJL). Hippocampal slice cultures were treated with phosphate buffered saline (GSM26700, GSM26701, GSM26702) or 1 nM sAPPalpha (GSM26703, GSM26704, GSM26705) for 24 h. Each sample consists of total RNA isolated from 8-12 slices from 4 mice. Data were analyzed with MAS 5.0 and scaled to 2500. sAPPalpha induces the amyloid sequestration protein transthyretin, insulin-like growth factor 2, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2, and other genes involved in protective pathways such as apoptosis inhibition, detoxification, and retinol transport. Keywords = Alzheimer's disease Keywords = neuroprotection Keywords = sAPPalpha