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Thyroid hormones (THs) are essential for the development and function of the central nervous system (CNS), not only for neuronal cells but also for glial development and differentiation. In adult CNS, both hypo- and hyper-thyroidism may affect psychological condition and potentially increase the risk of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have reported non-genomic effects of tri-iodothyronine (T3) on microglial functions and its signaling in vitro (MORI et al., 2015). Here we report the effects of hyperthyroidism on glial cells in vivo using young and old male and female mice. Immunohistochemical analyses showed glial activation are sex- and age-dependent. We also injected fluorescent-labeled amyloid β peptide (Aβ1-42) intracranially to L-thyroxine (T4)–injected hyperthyroid model mice and observed sex-dependent microglial phagocytosis in vivo as well. These results may partly explain the gender- and age-dependent differences in neurological and psychological symptoms of thyroid dysfunction.

Classically, the central nervous system (CNS) was considered to contain neurons and three main types of glial cells - astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia.  Now, it has been clearly established that NG2-glia are a fourth glial cell type that are defined by their expression of the NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (Cspg4).  NG2-glia are also known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and express the alpha receptor for platelet-derived growth factor (Pdgfra) as well as other oligodendrocyte lineage markers. NG2-glia are most numerous during CNS development when they are responsible for massive generation of oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the CNS. A significant population of NG2-glia persist in the adult CNS, where they generate oligodendrocytes throughout life. A unique feature of NG2-glia is that they receive synaptic inputs from neurons and are able to respond rapidly to neurotransmission via their specific ion channel and receptor profiles. Moreover, synaptic and neuronal integrity depend on NG2-glia. Notably, concomitant disruption of NG2-glia, myelin and neurotransmission are key features of many neuropathologies, including Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The fact that neurotransmission both regulates and is reliant on NG2-glia and myelin raises the ‘chicken and egg’ question of what comes first – disruption of NG2-glia/myelin or synapses/neurons. It is more useful to think of neurons, NG2-glia and oligodendrocytes/myelin as being functionally integrated and interdependent units, whereby disruption of any one can result in a vicious cycle with potentially devastating effects on CNS function.

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The effect of 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB), a commonly used drug to modulate inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) receptors and transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, on GABAA receptor-mediated currents was studied in neurons from the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) of rat. 2-APB gradually and reversibly reduced the currents evoked by GABA but had no effect on the currents evoked by glycine. The blocking effect was not mediated by alterations in intracellular calcium concentration and showed a concentration dependence with half maximal effect at ~50 µM 2-APB, for currents evoked by 100 µM, as well as by 1.0 mM GABA, suggesting that 2-APB is not competing with GABA for its binding site at the GABAA receptor. Thus, the present study describes a novel pharmacological property of 2-APB as a non-competitive blocker of GABAA receptors and calls for caution in the interpretation of the results where 2-APB is used to affect IP3 receptors or TRP channels.