IntroductionHuntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat on the short arm of chromosome 4 resulting in cognitive decline, motor dysfunction, and death, typically occurring 15 to 20 years after the onset of motor symptoms. Neuropathologically, HD is characterized by a specific loss of medium spiny neurons in the caudate and the putamen, as well as subsequent neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex. The transgenic R6/2 mouse model of HD carries the N-terminal fragment of the human HD gene (145 to 155 repeats) and rapidly develops some of the behavioral characteristics that are analogous to the human form of the disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown the ability to slow the onset of behavioral and neuropathological deficits following intrastriatal transplantation in rodent models of HD. Use of MSCs derived from umbilical cord (UC) offers an attractive strategy for transplantation as these cells are isolated from a noncontroversial and inexhaustible source and can be harvested at a low cost. Because UC MSCs represent an intermediate link between adult and embryonic tissue, they may hold more pluripotent properties than adult stem cells derived from other sources.MethodsMesenchymal stem cells, isolated from the UC of day 15 gestation pups, were transplanted intrastriatally into 5-week-old R6/2 mice at either a low-passage (3 to 8) or high-passage (40 to 50). Mice were tested behaviorally for 6 weeks using the rotarod task, the Morris water maze, and the limb-clasping response. Following behavioral testing, tissue sections were analyzed for UC MSC survival, the immune response to the transplanted cells, and neuropathological changes.ResultsFollowing transplantation of UC MSCs, R6/2 mice did not display a reduction in motor deficits but there appeared to be transient sparing in a spatial memory task when compared to untreated R6/2 mice. However, R6/2 mice receiving either low- or high-passage UC MSCs displayed significantly less neuropathological deficits, relative to untreated R6/2 mice.ConclusionsThe results from this study demonstrate that UC MSCs hold promise for reducing the neuropathological deficits observed in the R6/2 rodent model of HD.

Exposure to chronic stress often elevates basal circulating glucocorticoids during the circadian nadir and leads to exaggerated glucocorticoid production following exposure to subsequent stressors. While glucocorticoid production is primarily mediated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, there is evidence that the sympathetic nervous system can affect diurnal glucocorticoid production by direct actions at the adrenal gland. Experiments here were designed to examine the role of the HPA and sympathetic nervous system in enhancing corticosterone production following chronic stress. Rats were exposed to a four-day stress paradigm or control conditions then exposed to acute restraint stress on the fifth day to examine corticosterone and ACTH responses. Repeated stressor exposure resulted in a small increase in corticosterone, but not ACTH, during the circadian nadir, and also resulted in exaggerated corticosterone production 5, 10, and 20 min following restraint stress. While circulating ACTH levels increased after 5 min of restraint, levels were not greater in chronic stress animals compared to controls until following 20 min. Administration of astressin (a CRH antagonist) prior to restraint stress significantly reduced ACTH responses but did not prevent the sensitized corticosterone response in chronic stress animals. In contrast, administration of chlorisondamine (a ganglionic blocker) returned basal corticosterone levels in chronic stress animals to normal levels and reduced early corticosterone production following restraint (up to 10 min) but did not block the exaggerated corticosterone response in chronic stress animals at 20 min. These data indicate that increased sympathetic nervous system tone contributes to elevated basal and rapid glucocorticoid production following chronic stress, but HPA responses likely mediate peak corticosterone responses to stressors of longer duration.

IntroductionHuntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat (greater than 38) on the short arm of chromosome 4, resulting in loss and dysfunction of neurons in the neostriatum and cortex, leading to cognitive decline, motor dysfunction, and death, typically occurring 15 to 20 years after the onset of motor symptoms. Although an effective treatment for HD has remained elusive, current studies using transplants of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells provides considerable promise. This study further investigates the efficacy of these transplants with a focus on comparing how passage number of these cells may affect subsequent efficacy following transplantation.MethodsIn this study, mesenchymal stem cells isolated from the bone-marrow of mice (BM MSCs), were labeled with Hoechst after low (3 to 8) or high (40 to 50) numbers of passages and then transplanted intrastriatally into 5-week-old R6/2 mice, which carries the N-terminal fragment of the human HD gene (145 to 155 repeats) and rapidly develops symptoms analogous to the human form of the disease.ResultsIt was observed that the transplanted cells survived and the R6/2 mice displayed significant behavioral and morphological sparing compared to untreated R6/2 mice, with R6/2 mice receiving high passage BM MSCs displaying fewer deficits than those receiving low-passage BM MSCs. These beneficial effects are likely due to trophic support, as an increase in brain derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression was observed in the striatum following transplantation of BM MSCs.ConclusionThe results from this study demonstrate that BM MSCs hold significant therapeutic value for HD, and that the amount of time the cells are exposed to in vitro culture conditions can alter their efficacy.

Stem cells have gained significant interest as a potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD). One source of these cells is adult neural stem cells (aNSCs), which differentiate easily into neuronal lineages. However, these cells are vulnerable to immune responses following transplantation. Another source is bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which release neurotrophic factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines following transplantation, and are less vulnerable to rejection. The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy of transplants of MSCs, aNSCs, or cotransplants of MSCs and aNSCs for reducing deficits in a transgenic rat model of HD. HD rats received intrastriatal transplantations of 400,000 MSCs, aNSCs, or a combination of MSCs/aNSCs, while wild-type and HD controls were given vehicle. Rats were tested on the rotarod over the course of 20 weeks. The results indicated that transplants of: (a) aNSCs produced a strong immune response and conferred short-term behavioral benefits; (b) MSCs elicited a relatively weak immune response, and provided a longer term behavioral benefit; and (c) combined MSCs and aNSCs conferred long-term behavioral benefits and increased survival of the transplanted aNSCs. The finding that cotransplanting MSCs with aNSCs can prolong aNSC survival and provide greater behavioral sparing than when the transplants contains only aNSCs suggests that MSCs are capable of creating a more suitable microenvironment for aNSC survival. This cotransplantation strategy may be useful as a future therapeutic option for treating HD, especially if long-term survival of differentiated cells proves to be critically important for preserving lasting functional outcomes. STEM CELLS 2014;32:500-509

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than five million Americans and is characterized by a progressive loss of memory, loss of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain, formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and an increase in oxidative stress. Recent studies indicate that dietary supplements of antioxidants and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may reduce the cognitive deficits in AD patients. The current study tested a combinatorial treatment of antioxidants from tart cherry extract and essential fatty acids from Nordic fish and emu oils for reducing cognitive deficits in the mu-p75 saporin (SAP)-induced mouse model of AD. Mice were given daily gavage treatments of Cerise(®) Total-Body-Rhythm™ (TBR; containing tart cherry extract, Nordic fish oil, and refined emu oil) or vehicle (methylcellulose) for 2 weeks before intracerebroventricular injections of the cholinergic toxin, mu-p75 SAP, or phosphate-buffered saline. The TBR treatments continued for an additional 17 days, when the mice were tested on a battery of cognitive and motor tasks. Results indicate that TBR decreased the SAP-induced cognitive deficits assessed by the object-recognition, place-recognition, and Morris-water-maze tasks. Histological examination of the brain tissue indicated that TBR protected against SAP-induced inflammatory response and loss of cholinergic neurons in the area around the medial septum. These findings indicate that TBR has the potential to serve as an adjunctive treatment which may help reduce the severity of cognitive deficits in disorders involving cholinergic deficits, such as AD.