This study supports the proposition that ADA determination is a fast and discriminating test for diagnosing PTB with an optimal cut-off value of 39 IU/L.

BackgroundIn the adult hippocampus new neurons are continuously generated from neural stem cells (NSCs) present at the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus. This process is controlled by Wnt signaling, which plays a complex role in regulating multiple steps of neurogenesis including maintenance, proliferation and differentiation of progenitor cells and the development of newborn neurons. Differential effects of Wnt signaling during progression of neurogenesis could be mediated by cell-type specific expression of Wnt receptors. Here we studied the potential role of Frizzled-1 (FZD1) receptor in adult hippocampal neurogenesis.ResultsIn the adult dentate gyrus, we determined that FZD1 is highly expressed in NSCs, neural progenitors and immature neurons. Accordingly, FZD1 is expressed in cultured adult hippocampal progenitors isolated from mouse brain. To evaluate the role of this receptor in vivo we targeted FZD1 in newborn cells using retroviral-mediated RNA interference. FZD1 knockdown resulted in a marked decrease in the differentiation of newborn cells into neurons and increased the generation of astrocytes, suggesting a regulatory role for the receptor in cell fate commitment. In addition, FZD1 knockdown induced an extended migration of adult-born neurons within the granule cell layer. However, no differences were observed in total dendritic length and dendritic arbor complexity between control and FZD1-deficient newborn neurons.ConclusionsOur results show that FZD1 regulates specific stages of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, being required for neuronal differentiation and positioning of newborn neurons into the granule cell layer, but not for morphological development of adult-born granule neurons.

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We previously reported on enhanced susceptibility to death of lymphocytes from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients when exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 )-induced oxidative stress and an increased resistance to death in those of patients with a history of skin cancer. This is consistent with our hypothesis proposing that the cellular machinery controlling cell death is deregulated in opposite directions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer, to explain the inverse association observed in epidemiological studies. Here we investigated whether the observed increased susceptibility correlates with the degree of dementia severity. Peripheral lymphocytes from 23 AD patients, classified using the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) into severe dementia (CDR 3, n=10) © 2014 Bentham Science Publishers CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe authors confirm that this article content has no conflict of interest. DISCLOSURE STATEMENTNone of the authors have conflicts of interest related to this study. AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONSDaniela P Ponce: Performed research, designed experiments, collected data, analyzed data, revised paper. Felipe Salech: Performed research, designed experiments, collected data, analyzed data, revised paper. Mónica Silva: Performed research, collected data. Chengjie Xiong: Analyzed data, revised paper. Catherine M Roe: Analyzed data, revised paper. Mauricio Henriquez: Designed experiments, analyzed data, revised paper. Andrew FG Quest: Designed experiments, analyzed data, contributed important reagents, and revised paper. María Isabel Behrens: Directed the project, designed experiments, contributed important reagents, analyzed data, wrote paper. and mild-to-moderate dementia (CDR 1-2, n=13), and 15 healthy controls (HC) (CDR 0), were exposed to H 2 O 2 for 20 hours. Lymphocyte death was determined by flow cytometry and propidium iodide staining. The greatest susceptibility to H 2 O 2 -induced death was observed for lymphocytes from severe dementia patients, whereas those with mild-to-moderate dementia exhibited intermediate values, compared to healthy controls. A significant increase in the apoptosis/necrosis ratio was found in AD patients. Poly (ADP-ribosyl) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) inhibition significantly protected from H 2 O 2 -induced death of lymphocytes, whereby a lower degree of protection was observed in severe AD patients. Moreover, inhibition of PARP-1 abolished the differences in apoptosis/necrosis ratios observed between the three groups of patients. These results support the notion that AD is a systemic disorder, whereby enhanced susceptibility to H 2 O 2 -induced death in peripheral lymphocytes correlates with dementia severity and enhanced death in AD patients is attributable to a PARP-dependent increase in the apoptosis/ necrosis ratio. HHS Public Access