PINK1 and Alzheimer's and Multiple Sclerosis

I would like to highlight a recent publication referencing use of our PTEN-induced kinase/PINK1 Antibody.

Jack Van Horssen et al. investigated PINK1 expression in well-characterized brain samples derived from MS and AD individuals using immunohistochemistry.

Micha M.M. Wilhelmus, Susanne M.A. van der Pol, Quentin Jansen, Maarten E. Witte, Paul van der Valk, Annemieke J.M. Rozemuller, Benjamin Drukarch, Helga E. de Vries and Jack Van Horssen. Association of Parkinson disease-related protein PINK1 with Alzheimer disease and multiple sclerosis brain lesions. Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Volume 50, Issue 3, 1 February 2011, Pages 469-476.

Abstract: Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are hallmarks of various neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer disease (AD), and Parkinson disease (PD). Mutations in PINK1, a mitochondrial kinase, have been linked to the occurrence of early onset parkinsonism. Currently, various studies support the notion of a neuroprotective role for PINK1, as it protects cells from stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Because information about the distribution pattern of PINK1 in neurological diseases other than PD is scarce, we here investigated PINK1 expression in well-characterized brain samples derived from MS and AD individuals using immunohistochemistry. In control gray matter PINK1 immunoreactivity was observed in neurons, particularly neurons in layers IV–VI. Astrocytes were the most prominent cell type decorated by anti-PINK1 antibody in the white matter. In addition, PINK1 staining was observed in the cerebrovasculature. In AD, PINK1 was found to colocalize with classic senile plaques and vascular amyloid depositions, as well as reactive astrocytes associated with the characteristic AD lesions. Interestingly, PINK1 was absent from neurofibrillary tangles. In active demyelinating MS lesions we observed a marked astrocytic PINK1 immunostaining, whereas astrocytes in chronic lesions were weakly stained. Taken together, we observed PINK1 immunostaining in both AD and MS lesions, predominantly in reactive astrocytes associated with these lesions, suggesting that the increase in astrocytic PINK1 protein might be an intrinsic protective mechanism to limit cellular injury.

Immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry was used to detect PINK1 immunostaining in temporal neocortex and white matter in AD, MS, and control subjects. Cryosections (5 μm) were air-dried and fixed in acetone for 10 min. Next, sections were incubated with an affinity-purified rabbit anti-PINK1 antibody (1:100; Neuromics, Edina, MN, USA) for 60 min at room temperature. Then, the slides were incubated with EnVision kit horseradish peroxidase-labeled anti-mouse/rabbit (DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark) for 30 min at room temperature and finally diaminobenzidine tetrachloride. Between incubation steps, sections were thoroughly washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). After a short rinse in tap water sections were incubated with hematoxylin for 1 min and extensively washed with tap water for 10 min. Finally, sections were dehydrated with ethanol followed by xylol and mounted with Entellan (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). All antibodies were diluted in PBS containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin (Boehringer–Mannheim, Germany), which also served as a negative control. Negative controls were essentially blank.

Image: In active lesions PINK1 immunostaining was intense in reactive astrocytes (arrows). Double labeling of PINK1 (green) with the astrocytic marker GFAP (red) demonstrated PINK1 expression in astrocytes (inset).

Related Reagents:

Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Antibodies

Neurodegenerative Disease Research Proteins

Neurotransmission
-Neurotransmission Research Antibody Categories

Neurotrophins and Growth Factor Antibodies

Neuron-Glial Expressed-Includes
Neurotrophin Proteins

Primary Neurons and Astrocytes
-Primary human, rat and mouse neurons and astrocytes by Category

Upregulations of P2X3 and ASIC3 involve in hyperalgesia

It gets my attention when several of our ion channel markers are referenced in the title of a publication.

Kiyomi Hori, Noriyuki Ozaki, Shigeyuki Suzuki, Yasuo Sugiura. Upregulations of P2X3 and ASIC3 involve in hyperalgesia induced by cisplatin administration in rats. PAIN 149 (2010) 393–405

Findings: "We explored the role of ion channels expressed in DRG neurons in the painful neuropathy associated with cisplatin administration. Upregulations of TRPV2, P2X3 and ASIC3 may play important roles in the mechanical hyperalgesia induced by cisplatin. In addition to cutaneous hyperalgesia, cisplatin treatment might also induce muscle hyperalgesia associated with upregulations of P2X3 and
ASIC3. Interfering with these channels may prove to be a promising therapeutic target for treating painful symptoms of cisplatin neuropathy, and may further be able to ensure the continuation of anticancer therapy."

Images: ASIC3 (Dilution 1:10) amd P2X3 (Dilution 1:500) satining of rat Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRGs) of cisplatin-treated animals. After dilution in 0.1 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 1.5% normal goat serum and 0.3% Triton X-100 (Sigma), DRG sections were incubated with either guinea pig polyclonal antiserum against synthetic rat ASIC3 and rabbit polyclonal antiserum against synthetic rat P2X3 (1:500; Neuromics). The sections for ASIC3 were reacted with reagents for 2 days at room temperature and others at 4^OC. After being rinsed with 0.1 M PBS, the sections were reacted in PBS with fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated goat anti-guinea pig or - rabbit IgG antibody (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA, USA) at a concentration of 1:100. After being rinsed with 0.1 M PBS, the sections were cover-slipped in mounting medium (Immunon, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) and examined under a fluorescence microscope equipped with a digital camera

SOX 17 Antibody that Rocks

Our SOX Antibodies are proving to be excellent Stem Cell Markers.  I would like to highlight a pub that references use of our Sox17  and a variety of other markers:

Pere Santamaria, Ignacio Rodríguez-Pizá, Xavier Clemente-Casares, Jun Yamanouchi, Lola Mulero-Perez, Trond Aasen, Angel Raya1 and Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte. Turning Human Epidermis Into Pancreatic Endoderm. The Review of DIABETIC STUDIES 159 Vol. 7-No. 2-2010. DOI 10.1900/RDS.2010.7.158.

This pub references use of a variety of markers for showing differentiation of Human embryonic stem (hES)and induced pluripotent stem (iPS)into into pancreatic endoderm structures.

Real-time PCR and flow cytometry. A: Changes in the levels of different mRNAs in undifferentiated, and progressively differentiated, hES and iPS cells. A series of plates were cultured, as described in the materials and methods section. These were used for RNA extraction at the end of each differentiation stage, immediately prior to change in culture conditions (days 1, 3, 7, 10, and 13). B: Flow cytometric analysis of Sox17 and FoxA2 expression on cells harvested on day 3.

Great Apoptosis Video

Related Reagents:
Apoptosis Research Reagents-Apoptosis Categories-includes: detection kits, antibodies and proteins