7 documents found, page 1 of 1
Beyond new neurons in the adult hippocampus: imipramine acts as a pro-astroglio...
Machado-Santos, Ana R.; Loureiro-Campos, Eduardo; Patrício, Patrícia; Araújo, Bruna Alexandra Vale; Alves, Nuno Dinis; Mateus-Pinheiro, AntónioDepression is a prevalent, socially burdensome disease. Different studies have demonstrated the important role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology of depression as modulators of neurotransmission and neurovascular coupling. This is evidenced by astrocyte impairments observed in brains of depressed patients and the appearance of depressive-like behaviors upon astrocytic dysfunctions in animal models. However, l...
Preclinical assessment of mesenchymal-stem-cell-based therapies in spinocerebel...
Correia, Joana Sofia Silva; Carvalho, Andreia Alexandra Neves; Pinheiro, Bárbara Filipa Mendes; Pires, Joel Pereira; Teixeira, Fábio Gabriel RodriguesThe low regeneration potential of the central nervous system (CNS) represents a challenge for the development of new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases, including spinocerebellar ataxias. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)—or Machado–Joseph disease (MJD)—is the most common dominant ataxia, being mainly characterized by motor deficits; however, SCA3/MJD has a complex and heterogeneous pathop...
Cell cycle regulation of hippocampal progenitor cells in experimental models of...
Patrício, Patrícia; Mateus-Pinheiro, António; Machado-Santos, Ana Rita; Alves, Nuno Dinis Lopes Oliveira; Correia, Joana Sofia Silva; Morais, MónicaChanges in adult hippocampal cell proliferation and genesis have been largely implicated in depression and antidepressant action, though surprisingly, the underlying cell cycle mechanisms are largely undisclosed. Using both an <i>in vivo</i> unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) rat model of depression and <i>in vitro</i> rat hippocampal-derived neurosphere culture approaches, we aimed to unravel the cell cy...
The role of astrocytic calcium signaling in the aged prefrontal cortex
Gomes, Sónia Isabel Nunes Guerra; Viana, João Filipe; Nascimento, Diana Sofia Marques; Correia, Joana Sofia Silva; Sardinha, Vanessa Alexandra MoraisAging is a lifelong process characterized by cognitive decline putatively due to structural and functional changes of neural circuits of the brain. Neuron-glial signaling is a fundamental component of structure and function of circuits of the brain, and yet its possible role in aging remains elusive. Significantly, neuron-glial networks of the prefrontal cortex undergo age-related alterations that can affect co...
The modulation of adult neuroplasticity is involved in the mood-improving actio...
Morais, Mónica Susana Dias; Patrício, Patrícia Carvalho; Pinheiro, António Maria Restolho Mateus; Alves, Nuno Dinis Lopes OliveiraDepression is a prevalent psychiatric disorder with an increasing impact in global public health. However, a large proportion of patients treated with currently available antidepressant drugs fail to achieve remission. Recently, antipsychotic drugs have received approval for the treatment of antidepressant-resistant forms of major depression. The modulation of adult neuroplasticity, namely hippocampal neurogene...
Astrocytic signaling supports hippocampal-prefrontal theta synchronization and ...
Sardinha, Vanessa Alexandra Morais; Gomes, Sónia Isabel Nunes Guerra; Campos, Inês Caetano Costa; Tavares, Gabriela Pires; Martins, Manuella MendesAstrocytes interact with neurons at the cellular level through modulation of synaptic formation, maturation, and function, but the impact of such interaction into behavior remains unclear. Here, we studied the dominant negative SNARE (dnSNARE) mouse model to dissect the role of astrocyte-derived signaling in corticolimbic circuits, with implications for cognitive processing. We found that the blockade of gliotr...
Employing an open-source tool to assess astrocyte tridimensional structure
Tavares, Gabriela Pires; Martins, Manuella Mendes; Correia, Joana Sofia Silva; Sardinha, Vanessa Alexandra Morais; Gomes, Sónia Isabel Nunes GuerraAstrocytes display important features that allow them to maintain a close dialog with neurons, ultimately impacting brain function. The complex morphological structure of astrocytes is crucial to the role of astrocytes in brain networks. Therefore, assessing morphologic features of astrocytes will help provide insights into their physiological relevance in healthy and pathological conditions. Currently availabl...