• Development and Reproduction
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2013

Neural stem cells are found in adult mammalian brain regions including the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG) and the subventricular zone (SVZ). In addition to these two regions, other neurogenic regions are often reported in many species. Recently, the subcallosal zone (SCZ) has been identified as a novel neurogenic region where new neuroblasts are spontaneously generated and then, by Bax-dependent apoptosis, eliminated. However, the development of SCZ in the postnatal brain is not yet fully explored. The present study investigated the precise location and amount of neuroblasts in the developing brain. To estimate the importance of programmed cell death (PCD) for SCZ histogenesis, SCZ development in the Bax-knockout (KO) mouse was examined. Interestingly, an accumulation of extra neurons with synaptic fibers in the SCZ of Bax-KO mice was observed. Indeed, Bax-KO mice exhibited enhanced startle response to loud acoustic stimuli and reduced anxiety level. Considering the prevention of PCD in the SCZ leads to sensory-motor gating dysfunction in the Bax-KO mice, active elimination of SCZ neuroblasts may promote optimal brain function.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Bioinformatics Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.45-60
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• 2001

. Mediator of transcriptional regulation is the evolutionary conserved coactivator complex that plays He central role in the integration and recruitment of diverse regulatory signals and transcription machinery to certain promoters. In yeast, each Mediator subunit is required for transcriptional regulation of a distinct group of genes. In order to decipher the mechanistic roles of Mediator proteins in regulating developmental specific gene expression, we isolated, and analyzed a multiprotein complex containing Drosophila Mediate. homologs (dMediato.). dMediato. interacts with several sequence-sperific transcription factors and basal transcription machinery, and is critical for activated transcription in response to diverse transcriptional activators. In order to elucidate the function of Mediator in metazoan development, we isolated mutants of a conserved Mediate. subunit, Drosophila Med6 (dMed6). dMed6 null homozygotes failed to pupate and died in the third larval instar. Larval mitotic cells and most imaginal discs showed severe defects in proliferation, but no apparent morphological defect was observed in other larval tissues. Clonal analysis of dMed6 mutant cells revealed that dMed6 is essential for cell viability and proliferation of most adult cell types. Drosophila cDNA microarray, quantitative RT-PCR, and in situ expression analyses of developmentally regulated genes in dMed6 mutants showed that transcriptional activation of a subset of genes involved in neuroblast proliferation in the larval brain were most affected. Our results suggest that dMed6 is required in most for transcriptional regulation of a subset of genes important for cell proliferation and metabolism.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.576-582
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• 2008

Nervous system development takes place after positional information has been established along the dorsal-ventral (D/V) axis. The initial subdivision provided by a gradient of nuclear dorsal protein is maintained by the zygotic genes expressed along the D/V axis. In this study, an investigation was conducted to determine the range of Dpp function in repressing the expression of eagle (eg) that is present in intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind) and muscle specific homeobox (msh) gene domain. eg is expressed in neuroblast (NB) 2-4, 3-3 and 6-4 of the msh domain, and NB7-3 of the ind domain at the embryonic stage 11. In decapentaplegic (dpp) loss-of-function mutant embryos, eg was ectopically expressed in the dorsal region, while in dpp gain-of-function mutants produced by sog or sca-GAL4/UAS-dpp, eg was repressed by Dpp. It is worthy of note that Dpp produced from sim;;dpp embryos showed that Dpp could function at long range. However, Dpp produced from en-GAL4/UAS-dpp or wg-GAL4/UAS-dpp primarily acted at short-range. This result demonstrated that this discrepancy seems to be due to the repression of Dpp to EGFR signaling in sim;;dpp embryos. Taken together, these results suggest that Dpp signaling works at short-range, but can function indirectly at long-range by way of repression of EGFR signaling during embryonic neurogenesis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.104-112
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• 2003

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Sohaphyang-won and is to study the mechanism for neuronal death protection in hypoxia with Embryonic day 20(E20) cortical cells of a guinea pig(Sprague Dawley). Methods : E20 cortical cells, used in this investigation were dissociated in Neurobasal media and grown for 14 days in vitro (DIV). On 14 DIV, Sohaphyang-won was added to the culture media for 72 hours. On 17 DIV, cells were given a hypoxic shock and further incubated in normoxia for another three days. On 20 DIV, Sohaphyang-won's effects for neuronal death protection were evaluated by LDH assay and the mechanism was studied by Bcl-2, Bak, Bax, caspase family. Results : This study indicates that Sohaphyang-won's effects for neuronal death protection in hypoxia is confirmed by LDH assay by the method of Embryonic day 20(E20) cortical neuroblast. Conclusions : Sohaphyang-won's mechanism for neuronal death protection in hypoxia restrains inflow of cytochrome C into cellularity caused by Bcl-2 increase and reduces the caspase cascade initiator caspase-10 and the effector caspase-3.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.348-357
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• 2003

Objectives : The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effects of Aucklandiae Radix Moschus(木香 麝香)and to study the mechanism for neuronal death protection in hypoxia with Embryonic day 20 (E20) cortical cells of a rat (Sprague Dawley). Methods : E20 cortical cells used in this investigation were dissociated in Neurobasal media and grown for 14 days in vitro (DIV). On 14 DIV, Aucklandiae Radix Moschus(木香 麝香) was added to the culture media for 72 hrs. On 17 DIV, cells were given a hypoxic shock and further incubated in normoxia for another three days. On 20 DIV, Moschus(麝香)'s effects for neuronal death protection were evaluated by LDH assay and the mechanisms were studied by Bcl-2, Bak, Bax, caspase family. Results : This study indicate that Aucklandiae Radix(木香)'s effects for neuronal death protection in normoxia and Scutellariae Radix(麝香)'s effects for neuronal death protection in hypoxia were confirmed by LDH assay in culture method of Embryonic day 20(E20) cortical neuroblast. Moschus(麝香)'s mechanism for neuronal death protection in hypoxia is to increase the anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2. Conclusions : It may be reasonable to propose that Moschus(麝香) protects delayed neuronal death in hypoxia by increasing Bcl-2, thereby reducing mitochondrial permeability transition(PT) pores, the cytochrome c channels.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.69-85
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• 2023

Depression is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders and is associated with dysfunction of the neuroendocrine system and alterations in specific brain proteins. Boophone disticha (BD) is an indigenous psychoactive bulb that belongs to the Amaryllidacae family, which is widely used in Southern Africa to treat depression, with scientific evidence of potent antidepressant-like effects. The present study examined the antidepressant effects of BD and its mechanisms of action by measuring some behavioural parameters in the elevated plus maze, brain content of corticosterone, brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), and neuroblast differentiation in the hippocampus of Balb/c mice exposed to the five day repeated forced swim stress (5d-RFSS). Male Balb/c mice were subjected to the 5d-RFSS protocol to induce depressive-like behaviour (decreased swimming, increased floating, decreased open arm entry, decreased time spent in the open arms and decreased head dips in the elevated plus maze test) and treated with distilled water, fluoxetine and BD. BD treatment (10 mg/kg/p.o for 3 weeks) significantly attenuated the 5d-RFSS-induced behavioural abnormalities and the elevated serum corticosterone levels observed in stressed mice. Additionally, 5d-RFSS exposure significantly decreased the number of neuroblasts in the hippocampus and BDNF levels in the brain of Balb/c mice, while fluoxetine and BD treatment attenuated these changes. The antidepressant effects of BD were comparable to those of fluoxetine, but unlike fluoxetine, BD did not show any anxiogenic effects, suggesting better pharmacological functions. In conclusion, our study shows that BD exerted antidepressant-like effects in 5d-RFSS mice, mediated in part by normalizing brain corticosterone and BDNF levels.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.6 s.67
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• pp.975-985
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• 2004

This study attempts to investigate the developmental alterations of rat cerebral cortex, and the effects of EGEE on the developmental cerebral cortex in the prenatal, postnatal and adults were examined by morphological methods and H-E staining was used for the histological changes. In the case of injection of EGEE, at 14 day of fetal phase, parietal cortex was thickest $(95{\pm}12.7\;{\mu}m)$ but, it was thinner than in the control group $(102{\pm}14.0\;{\mu}m)$ and, occipital cortex $(57{\pm}10.5\;{\mu}m)$ compared with other cortexes was the thinnest in fetal phase. In the suckling phase, each cortex grew thick quickly but, after weanning phase, the growth of the cortex slowed and the thickness of cortex was similar to that of cortex in the adult phase. At 105 day after birth, the parietal cortex was thickest $(934{\pm}21.6\;{\mu}m)$ but, decreased compared with control group $(1113{\pm}19.0\;{\mu}m)$. When EGEE was injected in intraperitoneal of rat, the number of neuroblasts per unit area was largest $(207.7{\pm}11.4/10^{-2}\;mm$ at the mantle layer of parietal cortex at 14 day of fetal phase but, decreased compared with control group $(224.2{\pm}13.8/10^{-2}\;mm$ , and the size was largest $(7.5{\pm}1.3\;{\mu}m)$ at the ependymal cell layer of occipital cortex at 3 day after birth but, decreased compared with control group $(9.0{\pm}1.2\;{\mu}m)$. Simillar to control group, the number of granular cells and pyramidal cells were largest at the II and III layer of parietal cortex, but decreased during developmental phase. The size was largest at the IV and V layer of occipital cortex but it was decreased compared with control group. When EGEE was injected in intraperitoneal of rat, the cerebral cortex from fetal phase to 3 day after birth has differentiated into the 3 layers; ependymal, mantle and marginal layer, but empty cisternaes or vacoules in the cerebral cortexes and the condensed phases of neuroblasts were appeared. From 5 day after birth, it has differentiated into the 4 layers; molecular, external granular, mixed layer of internal granular, external and internal pyramidal cells and multiformal layer but, empty cisternaes or vacoules in the granular and pyramidal cell layers were appeared and the number per unit area of neuron was decreased. In the cerebral cortex of the weaning and adult phases, division of cell layers was not clear and empty cisternae was formed in the cortex with the cells in external granular and pyramidal cell layers, was magnified or condensed around blood vessels of neurons.