Axon-dendrite polarity is a cardinal feature of neuronal morphology essential for information flow. Here we report a differential distribution of GSK-3beta activity in the axon versus the dendrites. A constitutively active GSK-3beta mutant inhibited axon formation, whereas multiple axons formed from a single neuron when GSK-3beta activity was reduced by pharmacological inhibitors, a peptide inhibitor, or siRNAs. An active mechanism for maintaining neuronal polarity was revealed by the conversion of preexisting dendrites into axons upon GSK-3 inhibition. Biochemical and functional data show that the Akt kinase and the PTEN phosphatase are upstream of GSK-3beta in determining neuronal polarity. Our results demonstrate that there are active mechanisms for maintaining as well as establishing neuronal polarity, indicate that GSK-3beta relays signaling from Akt and PTEN to play critical roles in neuronal polarity, and suggest that application of GSK-3beta inhibitors can be a novel approach to promote generation of new axons after neural injuries.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) increases with age. Low‐grade inflammation in AT is implicated in development of insulin resistance and T2D. We conducted a study to determine if inflammatory responses are upregulated with age in AT. Results show that visceral AT from old mice had significantly higher expression of mRNA levels of IL‐1β, IL‐6, TNF‐α, and COX‐2 than those of young mice (263, 208, 165, and 73%, higher respectively). In determining the relative contribution of different components of AT to these age‐related changes, we found that adipocytes (AD) from old mice produced significantly more (2 to 3 folds) IL‐6 and PGE2 than those from young mice while no significant age difference was observed in their production by stromal vascular cells. There was no significant effect of age on number of Mϕ/g AT and Mϕ of either age group produced significantly more IL‐6 when incubated in conditioned medium from old AD compared to that of young. Blocking NF‐κB activation reduced IL‐6 production while addition of ceramide or sphingomyelinase increased IL‐6 production in young AD to a level comparable to that of old AD. Inhibiting de novo ceramide synthesis reduced IL‐6 production by AD. NF‐κB regulates expression of inflammatory products including COX‐2 and IL‐6. Ceramide was shown to increase COX‐2 expression in aged Mϕ through NF‐κB activation. Thus, these data suggest a potential role for ceramide and NF‐κB in the age‐related increase of AT inflammation. Further research is needed to fully determine the underlying mechanisms of the observed effects and their contribution to T2D in the aged. Supported by USDA #58‐1950‐9‐001 and NIA #R01 AG009140‐10A1.

Although itch sensation is an important protective mechanism for animals, chronic itch remains a challenging clinical problem. Itch processing has been studied extensively at the spinal level. However, how itch information is transmitted to the brain and what central circuits underlie the itch-induced scratching behavior remain largely unknown. We found that the spinoparabrachial pathway was activated during itch processing and that optogenetic suppression of this pathway impaired itch-induced scratching behaviors. Itch-mediating spinal neurons, which express the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, are disynaptically connected to the parabrachial nucleus via glutamatergic spinal projection neurons. Blockade of synaptic output of glutamatergic neurons in the parabrachial nucleus suppressed pruritogen-induced scratching behavior. Thus, our studies reveal a central neural circuit that is critical for itch signal processing.