Recently developed therapeutic approaches for the treatment of Huntington's disease (HD) require preclinical testing in large animal models. The minipig is a suitable experimental animal because of its large gyrencephalic brain, body weight of 70-100 kg, long lifespan, and anatomical, physiological and metabolic resemblance to humans. The Libechov transgenic minipig model for HD (TgHD) has proven useful for proof of concept of developing new therapies. However, to evaluate the efficacy of different therapies on disease progression, a broader phenotypic characterization of the TgHD minipig is needed. In this study, we analyzed the brain tissues of TgHD minipigs at the age of 48 and 60-70 months, and compared them to wild-type animals. We were able to demonstrate not only an accumulation of different forms of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) in TgHD brain, but also pathological changes associated with cellular damage caused by mHTT. At 48 months, we detected pathological changes that included the demyelination of brain white matter, loss of function of striatal neurons in the putamen and activation of microglia. At 60-70 months, we found a clear marker of neurodegeneration: significant cell loss detected in the caudate nucleus, putamen and cortex. This was accompanied by clusters of structures accumulating in the neurites of some neurons, a sign of their degeneration that is also seen in Alzheimer's disease, and a significant activation of astrocytes. In summary, our data demonstrate age-dependent neuropathology with later onset of neurodegeneration in TgHD minipigs.
- MeSH
- bílá hmota patologie ultrastruktura MeSH
- biologické markery metabolismus MeSH
- degenerace nervu patologie MeSH
- geneticky modifikovaná zvířata MeSH
- genotyp MeSH
- hmotnostní úbytek MeSH
- Huntingtonova nemoc patologie MeSH
- index tělesné hmotnosti MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- miniaturní prasata MeSH
- modely nemocí na zvířatech MeSH
- motorické korové centrum patologie ultrastruktura MeSH
- myelinová pochva metabolismus MeSH
- nucleus caudatus patologie ultrastruktura MeSH
- prasata MeSH
- protein huntingtin metabolismus MeSH
- proteinové agregáty MeSH
- stárnutí patologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes involved in tissue remodeling and wound healing. These enzymes degrade and also synthesize components of the extracellular matrix. Overexpression of MMPs results in excessive extracellular matrix degradation and tissue destruction. In the cornea, destructive processes may lead to scarring and loss of vision. In this study MMPs (types 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 14) were examined immunohistochemically in the normal rabbit corneal epithelium and in epithelium irradiated in vivo with similar doses of UVB or UVA radiation (UVB rays 312 nm, UVA rays 365 nm, daily dose 1.01 J/cm(2) for four days). Results show that MMPs studied revealed low expression in the normal corneal epithelium, whereas after repeated UVB irradiation the expression of MMPs was significantly increased in the corneal epithelium, in ascending order: MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-1, and MMP-7 with MMP-8. In contrast, compared to normal corneas, repeated UVA radiation did not significantly change the expression of MMPs in the irradiated corneal epithelium. MMP-14 was expressed at very low levels in all studied corneas, whereas no significant changes were detected upon UV exposure. In conclusion, UV radiation of shorter wavelength (UVB) induced an increase in expression of all MMPs except MMP-14. It is suggested that overexpression of MMPs in the corneal epithelium contributes to the damaging effect of UVB radiation to the cornea.
- MeSH
- imunohistochemie MeSH
- králíci MeSH
- matrixové metaloproteinasy analýza biosyntéza MeSH
- regulace genové exprese enzymů účinky záření MeSH
- rohovkový epitel enzymologie účinky záření MeSH
- ultrafialové záření * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- králíci MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- MeSH
- finanční podpora výzkumu jako téma MeSH
- histocytochemie MeSH
- xanthindehydrogenasa analýza MeSH
- xanthinoxidasa analýza MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- srovnávací studie MeSH
