Project description:Because the vagus nerve is implicated in control of inflammation, we investigated if brain death causes impairment of the parasympathetic nervous system, hence contributing to inflammation. Brain death (BD) was induced in rats. Anaesthetised ventilated rats (NBD) served as control. Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed by ECG. The vagus nerve was electrically stimulated (BD+STIM) during BD. Intestine, kidney, heart and liver were harvested after 6h. Affymetrix chip- analysis was performed on intestinal RNA. Quantitative PCR was performed on all organs. Serum was collected to assess TNFα concentrations. Renal transplantations were performed to address the influence of vagus nerve stimulation on graft outcome. HRV was significantly lower in BD animals. Vagus nerve stimulation inhibited the increase in serum TNFα concentrations and resulted in down-regulation of a multiplicity of pro-inflammatory genes in intestinal tissue. In renal tissue vagal stimulation significantly decreased the expression of E-selectin, IL1β and ITGA6. Renal function was significantly better in recipients that received a graft from a BD+STIM donor. Our study demonstrates impairment of the parasympathetic nervous system during BD and inhibition of serum TNFα through vagal stimulation. Vagus nerve stimulation variably affected gene expression in donor organs and improved renal function in recipients. Gene expression in brain dead (BD) induced rat (with and without vagal stimulation) was compared with that of Non brain-dead ventilated control (NBD)
Project description:Because the vagus nerve is implicated in control of inflammation, we investigated if brain death causes impairment of the parasympathetic nervous system, hence contributing to inflammation. Brain death (BD) was induced in rats. Anaesthetised ventilated rats (NBD) served as control. Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed by ECG. The vagus nerve was electrically stimulated (BD+STIM) during BD. Intestine, kidney, heart and liver were harvested after 6h. Affymetrix chip- analysis was performed on intestinal RNA. Quantitative PCR was performed on all organs. Serum was collected to assess TNFα concentrations. Renal transplantations were performed to address the influence of vagus nerve stimulation on graft outcome. HRV was significantly lower in BD animals. Vagus nerve stimulation inhibited the increase in serum TNFα concentrations and resulted in down-regulation of a multiplicity of pro-inflammatory genes in intestinal tissue. In renal tissue vagal stimulation significantly decreased the expression of E-selectin, IL1β and ITGA6. Renal function was significantly better in recipients that received a graft from a BD+STIM donor. Our study demonstrates impairment of the parasympathetic nervous system during BD and inhibition of serum TNFα through vagal stimulation. Vagus nerve stimulation variably affected gene expression in donor organs and improved renal function in recipients.
Project description:In France, new cancer cases keep on increasing with around 150 000 deaths yearly. Cancer therapy research is constantly evolving. Indeed, several studies explore new treatments or their combination with conventional cancer treatments. But, at the same time, complementary and alternative medicines, as osteopathy, remain little explored upon their role in the combination with conventional therapy.
Several studies showed indirect interaction between vagus nerve and cancer. Firstly, vagus nerve regulates homeostasis and immunity by reducing systemic inflammation while maintaining local inflammation and antitumor effects. Secondly, vagus nerve stimulation increases Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Moreover, a higher HRV is associated with an improvement of vital prognosis in cancer patients. Vagus nerve could be stimulated by noninvasive osteopathic manipulations.
This prospective, monocentric and randomized study is a collaboration between the Centre Hospitalier d’Avignon and the Institut de Formation en Ostéopathie du Grand Avignon. It focuses on using noninvasive osteopathic mobilizations to stimulate vagus nerve. Indeed, this study aims to evaluate effects of vagus nerve osteopathic stimulations on HRV in patients with lung cancer, colorectal cancer, Non Hodgkin Lymphoma or Multiple Myeloma. More specifically, this study will tell us whether vagus nerve noninvasive osteopathic stimulations induce increase of HRV associated with a decrease of systemic inflammation and an improvement of patient’s quality of life.
Project description:Inflammation is a key component of pathological angiogenesis. Here we induce cornea neovascularisation using sutures placed into the cornea, and sutures are removed to induce a regression phase. We used whole transcriptome microarray to monitor gene expression profies of several genes
Project description:Purpose: To decipher the mechanisms responsible for the protective function of vagus nerve stimulation. Methods: Blood was collected from Control and Treated patients followed by isolation of PBMC'S. Total RNA was extracted and RNA sequencing was done following standard protocols Results: Detailed analysis of the transcriptomic data show that anti-inflammatory responses were upregulated in the treated samples. Conclusions: This study showed the protective role of vagus nerve stimulation in epilepsy patients.
Project description:Recombinant human leptin (metreleptin) reduces hepatic lipid content in patients with lipodystrophy and overweight patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and relative hypoleptinemia independent of its anorexic action. In rodents, leptin signaling in the brain increases very-low-density lipoprotein triglyceride (VLDL-TG) secretion and reduces hepatic lipid content via the vagus nerve. In this randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial (EudraCT Nr. 2017-003014-22), we tested whether a comparable mechanism regulates hepatic lipid metabolism in humans. A single metreleptin injection stimulated hepatic VLDL-TG secretion (primary outcome) and reduced hepatic lipid content in fasted, lean men (n = 13, age range 20-38 years) but failed to do so in metabolically healthy liver transplant recipients (n = 9, age range 26-62 years) who represent a model for hepatic denervation. In an independent cohort of lean men (n = 10, age range 23-31 years), vagal stimulation by modified sham feeding replicated the effects of metreleptin on VLDL-TG secretion. Therefore, we propose that leptin has anti-steatotic properties that are independent of food intake by stimulating hepatic VLDL-TG export via a brain-vagus-liver axis.
Project description:The main function of the nervous system is to maintain homeostasis by sensing and reacting to signals that reach a certain threshold. For example, the brain can sense immune peripheral events through soluble compounds or the vagus nerve and can react through activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in the modulation of an ongoing immune response. Using microarrays we studied the gene expression profile of the midbrain in C57Bl/6 mice strain that developed collagen induced-arthritis vs control mice. Keywords: gene expression profile of the midbrain in response to induction of arthritis.
Project description:The main function of the nervous system is to maintain homeostasis by sensing and reacting to signals that reach a certain threshold. For example, the brain can sense immune peripheral events through soluble compounds or the vagus nerve and can react through activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in the modulation of an ongoing immune response. Using microarrays we studied the gene expression profile of the hypothalamus in DBA/1 mice strain that developed collagen induced-arthritis vs control mice. Keywords: gene expression profile of the hypothalamus in response to induction of arthritis
Project description:The main function of the nervous system is to maintain homeostasis by sensing and reacting to signals that reach a certain threshold. For example, the brain can sense immune peripheral events through soluble compounds or the vagus nerve and can react through activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in the modulation of an ongoing immune response. Using microarrays we studied the gene expression profile of the hypothalamus in C57Bl/6 mice strain that developed collagen induced-arthritis vs control mice. Keywords: gene expression profile of the hypothalamus in response to induction of arthritis.