No abstract

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, but there are no clinically proven treatments that specifically target neuronal loss and secondary injury development following TBI. In this study, we evaluate the effect of xenon treatment on functional outcome, lesion volume, neuronal loss and neuroinflammation after severe TBI in rats. Methods Young adult male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to controlled cortical impact (CCI) brain trauma or sham surgery followed by treatment with either 50% xenon:25% oxygen balance nitrogen, or control gas 75% nitrogen:25% oxygen. Locomotor function was assessed using Catwalk-XT automated gait analysis at baseline and 24 h after injury. Histological outcomes were assessed following perfusion fixation at 15 min or 24 h after injury or sham procedure. Results Xenon treatment reduced lesion volume, reduced early locomotor deficits, and attenuated neuronal loss in clinically relevant cortical and subcortical areas. Xenon treatment resulted in significant increases in Iba1-positive microglia and GFAP-positive reactive astrocytes that was associated with neuronal preservation. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that xenon improves functional outcome and reduces neuronal loss after brain trauma in rats. Neuronal preservation was associated with a xenon-induced enhancement of microglial cell numbers and astrocyte activation, consistent with a role for early beneficial neuroinflammation in xenon’s neuroprotective effect. These findings suggest that xenon may be a first-line clinical treatment for brain trauma.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA), an important source of dopamine, regulates goal-and reward-directed and social behaviors, wakefulness, and sleep. Hyperactivation of dopamine neurons generates behavioral pathologies. But any roles of non-dopamine VTA neurons in psychiatric illness have been little explored. Lesioning or chemogenetically inhibiting VTA GABAergic (VTA Vgat) neurons generated persistent wakefulness with mania-like qualities: locomotor activity was increased; sensitivity to D-amphetamine was heightened; immobility times decreased on the tail suspension and forced swim tests; and sucrose preference increased. Furthermore, after sleep deprivation, mice with lesioned VTA Vgat neurons did not catch up on lost sleep, even though they were starting from a sleep-deprived baseline, suggesting that sleep homeostasis was bypassed. The mania-like behaviors, including the sleep loss, were reversed by valproate, and re-emerged when treatment was stopped. Lithium salts and lamotrigine, however, had no effect. Low doses of diazepam partially reduced the hyperlocomotion and fully recovered the immobility time during tail suspension. The mania like-behaviors mostly depended on dopamine, because giving D1/D2/D3 receptor antagonists reduced these behaviors, but also partially on VTA Vgat projections to the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Optically or chemogenetically inhibiting VTA Vgat terminals in the LH elevated locomotion and decreased immobility time during the tail suspension and forced swimming tests. VTA Vgat neurons help set an animal's (and perhaps human's) mental and physical activity levels. Inputs inhibiting VTA Vgat neurons intensify wakefulness (increased activity, enhanced alertness and motivation), qualities useful for acute survival. In the extreme, however, decreased or failed inhibition from VTA Vgat neurons produces mania-like qualities (hyperactivity, hedonia, decreased sleep).

The ventral tegmental area (VTA), an important source of dopamine, regulates goal-and reward-directed and social behaviors, wakefulness and sleep. Hyperactivation of dopamine neurons generates behavioral pathologies. But any roles of non-dopamine VTA neurons in psychiatric illness have been little explored. Lesioning or chemogenetically inhibiting VTA GABAergic (VTA Vgat ) neurons generated persistent wakefulness with mania-like qualities: locomotor activity was increased; sensitivity to D-amphetamine was heightened; immobility times decreased on the tail suspension and forced swim tests; and sucrose preference increased. Furthermore, after sleep deprivation, mice with lesioned VTA Vgat neurons did not catch up on the lost NREM sleep, even though they were starting from an already highly sleepdeprived baseline, suggesting that the sleep homeostasis process was bypassed. The manialike behaviors, including the sleep loss, were reversed by the mood-stabilizing drug valproate, and re-emerged when valproate treatment was stopped. Lithium salts, however, had no effect.The mania like-behaviors partially depended on dopamine, because giving D1/D2/D3 receptor antagonists partially restored the behaviors, but also on VTA Vgat projections to the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Optically or chemogenetically inhibiting VTA Vgat terminals in the LH elevated locomotion and decreased immobility time during the tail suspension and forced swimming tests. VTA Vgat neurons are centrally positioned to help set an animal's (and human's) level of mental and physical activity. Inputs that inhibit VTA Vgat neurons intensify wakefulness (increased activity, enhanced alertness and motivation), qualities useful for acute survival.Taken to the extreme, however, decreased or failed inhibition from VTA Vgat neurons produces mania-like qualities (hyperactivity, hedonia, decreased sleep).