Younghye Moon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Younghye Moon

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Dec 22, 2022

Deletion of the Alzheimer's disease risk gene Abi3 locus results in obesity and systemic metaboli... more Deletion of the Alzheimer's disease risk gene Abi3 locus results in obesity and systemic metabolic disruption in mice.

SummaryAstrocytes are the most common glial cell type in the brain, yet, it is unclear how their ... more SummaryAstrocytes are the most common glial cell type in the brain, yet, it is unclear how their activation affects the transcriptome of neighboring cells. Engineered G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) called Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) enable selective activation of specific cell types, such as astrocytes. Here, we combine activation of astrocytes in the hippocampus and cortex of healthy mice with single-cell RNA sequencing. Our data show that long-term activation of astrocytes dramatically alters the transcriptome of astrocytes and microglia. Genes that were differentially expressed in Gq-DREADD-activated astrocytes are involved in neurogenesis and low-density lipoprotein particle biology, while those in the microglia were involved in lipoprotein handling, purinergic receptor activity, and immune cell migration and chemotaxis. Furthermore, network analysis showed that Gq-DREADD-mediated activation in astrocytes resulted in an upregulation ...

NeuroReport, 2010

Connexins (Cx) are transmembrane proteins forming vertebrate gap junction channels for direct cel... more Connexins (Cx) are transmembrane proteins forming vertebrate gap junction channels for direct cell-cell communication. We found that the expressions of two Cx family members, Cx29 and Cx32, were progressively increased in the sharp border of injury penumbra regions after cryotraumatic brain injury. Although these two Cxs are expressed exclusively in the oligodendrocytes in the normal cerebral cortex, their expressions were increased in the astrocytes and microglia localized in the injury border. Highly selective induction of Cxs in the injury border suggests that altered Cxs may contribute to the propagations of injury-related and/ or regeneration signals after acute brain injury.

Neuroscience Letters, 2011

The Period1 (Per1) is a clock-oscillating gene product that plays an essential role in the genera... more The Period1 (Per1) is a clock-oscillating gene product that plays an essential role in the generation and modulation of circadian rhythm in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of hypothalamus. However, Per1 is also expressed in many other brain regions including cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, suggesting that Per1 may be involved in the broader cellular functions in addition to the rhythm regulation. In this study, we found that chemical or electrical seizure-inducing stimulations regulate Per1 expression. Treatments with electric convulsive shock (ECS) or kainic acid (KA) robustly up-regulated the expressions of per1 mRNA and protein in the hippocampal formation and cerebral cortex. In consistent, we found that neuronal depolarization or KA treatment increased per1 mRNA expression in cultured primary cortical neurons. Because it has been demonstrated that Per family molecules contribute to the regulation of stress-induced cell death, we also explored the effect of Per1 overexpression on the survival of cultured neurons. However, neither basal, staurosporine- nor KA-induced neuronal death was affected by forced expression of Per1. Collectively, these results suggest that the Per1 expression is neuronal activity- and epileptogen-dependent, although its functional significance is remained to be explored.

Neurobiology of Disease, 2007

We determined whether tetrahydrobiopterin(BH4), an endogenous cofactor for dopamine(DA) synthesis... more We determined whether tetrahydrobiopterin(BH4), an endogenous cofactor for dopamine(DA) synthesis, causes preferential damage to DArgic neurons among primary cultured rat mesencephalic neurons and whether the death mechanism has relevance to Parkinson's disease (PD). DArgic neurons were more vulnerable to BH4 than non-DArgic neurons, exhibiting sensitivity at lower concentrations, evident by morphological and neurotransmitter uptake studies. BH4-exposed DArgic neurons showed (1) increased TUNEL staining and activated caspase-3 immunoreactivity, indicative of apoptotic death; (2) mitochondrial membrane potential loss and increased cytosolic cytochrome c, suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction; (3) increased level of oxidized proteins and protection by antioxidants, indicative of oxidative stress; and (4) increased ubiquitin immunoreactivity, suggesting alteration of protein degradation pattern. Percent of cells positive for these parameters were much higher for DArgic neurons, demonstrating preferential vulnerability. Therefore, the DArgic neuronal damage induced by BH4, the molecule synthesized and readily upregulated in DArgic neurons and activated microglia, suggests physiological relevance to the pathogenesis of PD.

Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2007

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a selective loss of dop... more Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a selective loss of dopamine(DA)rgic neurons in the substantia nigra. Evidence suggests oxidation of DA to DA quinone and consequent oxidative stress as a major factor contributing to this vulnerability. We have previously observed that exposure to or induction of NAD(P)H:quinone reductase (QR1), the enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of quinone, effectively protects DA cells. Sulforaphane (SF) is a drug identified as a potent inducer of QR1 in various non-neuronal cells. In the present study, we show that SF protects against compounds known to induce DA quinone production (6-hydroxydopamine and tetrahydrobiopterin) in DArgic cell lines CATH.a and SK-N-BE(2)C as well as in mesencephalic DArgic neurons. SF leads to attenuation of the increase in protein-bound quinone in tetrahydrobiopterin-treated cells, but this does not occur in cells that have been depleted of DA, suggesting involvement of DA quinone. SF pretreatment prevents membrane damage, DNA fragmentation, and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. SF causes increases in mRNA levels and enzymatic activity of QR1 in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, SF causes induction of QR1 gene expression, removal of intracellular DA quinone, and protection against toxicity in DArgic cells. Thus, this major isothiocyanate found in cruciferous vegetables may serve as a potential candidate for development of treatment and/or prevention of PD.

Histochemistry and Cell Biology, 2012

Ezrin is a member of the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of proteins, which link the cytoskelet... more Ezrin is a member of the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of proteins, which link the cytoskeleton and cell membrane. ERM proteins are involved in pivotal cellular functions including cell-matrix recognition, cell-cell communication, and cell motility. Several recent studies have shown that ERM proteins are expressed in specific cell types of the adult rostral migratory stream (RMS). In this study, we found that ERM proteins are expressed highly in the early postnatal RMS and the ventricular zone of embryonic cerebral cortex, suggesting that these proteins may be expressed by neural progenitors. Furthermore, whereas ezrin previously was found to be expressed exclusively by astrocytes of the adult RMS, we found that ezrin-expressing cells also expressed the markers for indicating neuroblasts in vivo and in vitro, and that ezrin expression by neuroblasts decreases progressively as neuroblasts migrate. Using in vitro differentiation of adult neural stem cells, we found that ezrin is expressed by neural stem cells and their progeny (neuroblasts and astrocytes), but not by oligodendrocytic progeny. Collectively our findings demonstrate that adult neural stem cells and neuroblasts express ezrin and that ezrin may be involved in intracellular actin remodeling. Keywords Ezrin Á ERM protein Á Neuroblast Á Rostral migratory stream Á Neural stem cell Abbreviations SVZ Subventricular zone OB Olfactory bulb RMS Rostral migratory stream ERM Ezrin-radixin-moesin CNS Central nervous system VZ Ventricular zone DG Dentate gyrus Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 2013

Pancreatic β-cells play a crucial role in glucose homeostasis, and the failure of these cells to ... more Pancreatic β-cells play a crucial role in glucose homeostasis, and the failure of these cells to function results in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The MIN6 cell line, which closely resembles pancreatic β-cells, was used to unravel the relationship between pancreatic β-cell function and the antioxidant enzyme PRX-1. PRX-1 was knocked down in MIN6 cells using a shPRX-1 lentiviral construct, and a mixture of inflammatory cytokines was administered to challenge the MIN6 cells. Nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression were elevated in shPRX-1 compared with the control. Also, shPRX-1 transduced cells showed higher levels of NF-κB nuclear translocation, suggesting that PRX-1 has a regulatory role in NF-κB nuclear translocation and iNOS expression. In correlation with NO levels, decreased anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-xl level and elevated pro-apoptotic gene Bim levels were observed in shPRX-1 cells compared with scramble, and cell viability decreased a...

Brain Research, 2010

Hes6 is a member of hairy/enhancer of split (Hes) family that plays a role in the cell proliferat... more Hes6 is a member of hairy/enhancer of split (Hes) family that plays a role in the cell proliferation and differentiation. Recently, we found that Hes6 is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation via p53-dependent pathway. In addition to the proliferating regions, brain regions where early post-mitotic neurons are enriched also exhibited Hes6 and p53 mRNA expression. Because p53 is involved in the post-mitotic neuronal apoptosis, here we investigated whether Hes6 can influence the neuronal survival/death. Overexpression of wild-type Hes6 and its mutants induced the apoptosis of primary cultured cortical neurons. In addition, neuronal apoptosis by Hes6 overexpression was markedly blunted in p53 −/− or Bax −/− cortical neurons, suggesting that these pro-apoptotic effects are mediated by p53-and Bax-dependent pathway. However, transactivation-defective mutants of Hes6 also enhanced neuronal apoptosis, suggesting that apoptogenic activity of Hes6 is not directly related to its role in the transcriptional regulation. We propose that Hes6 may play a significant role in the neuronal cell death and/or pathological neurodegeneration via activation of p53 signaling.

Animal Cells and Systems, 2011

Transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of human glial fibri... more Transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of human glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (hGFAP) have been utilized for in vivo labeling of astrocytes. Although it has been considered that virtually all astrocytes express GFP in this transgenic mouse, we found that different subsets of GFAP-expressing astrocytes express considerably different levels of GFP in the adult brain. Astrocytes in the spinal cord, the molecular layer of thecerebellum, meninges, white matter, corpus callosum and blood vessels exhibited strong GFP, whereas subsets of astrocytes associated with granule cells in the cerebellum and dentate gyrus did not or only marginally exhibited GFP. We also found that a small subset of GFP-expressing cells in the periglomeruli of the olfactory bulb did not express GFAP immunoreactivity. Collectively, these results suggest that human GFAP promoter-derived GFP expression does not faithfully recapitulate the endogenous GFAP expression in mice, suggesting that upstream regulatory mechanisms controlling GFAP transcription are different in different populations of astrocytes, and may reflect the functional diversity of astrocytes.

NeuroReport, 2011

Traumatic brain injury promotes rapid induction of microglial cells and infiltration of periphera... more Traumatic brain injury promotes rapid induction of microglial cells and infiltration of peripheral macrophages to the injury sites. Such inflammatory responses are mediated by the activation and migration of immune cells, which are influenced by the actin cytoskeleton remodeling. In this study, we observed that the phosphorylation and expressions of ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins, which are linkers for cell surface with actin cytoskeleton, are induced in the activated microglia/macrophages, whereas ERM molecules are only marginally expressed in quiescent microglia in the normal brain. These results suggest that ERM activation in the injury penumbra is implicated in the inflammatory immune responses after traumatic brain injury. NeuroReport 22:304-308 c 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Journal of Neurochemistry, 2005

Chronic exposure to the pesticide rotenone induces a selective degeneration of nigrostriatal dopa... more Chronic exposure to the pesticide rotenone induces a selective degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and reproduces the features of Parkinson's disease in experimental animals. This action is thought to be relevant to its inhibition of the mitochondrial complex I, but the precise mechanism of this suppression in selective neuronal death is still elusive. Here we investigate the mechanism of dopaminergic neuronal death mediated by rotenone in primary rat mesencephalic neurons. Low concentrations of rotenone (5-10 nM) induce the selective death of dopaminergic neurons without significant toxic effects on other mesencephalic cells. This cell death was coincident with apoptotic events including capsase-3 activation, DNA fragmentation, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Pretreatment with coenzyme Q 10 , the electron transporter in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, remarkably reduced apoptosis as well as the mitochondrial depolarization induced by rotenone, but other free radical scavengers such as N-acetylcysteine, glutathione, and vitamin C did not. Furthermore, the selective neurotoxicity of rotenone was mimicked by the mitochondrial protonophore carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP), a cyanide analog that effectively collapses a mitochondrial membrane potential. These data suggest that mitochondrial depolarization may play a crucial role in rotenone-induced selective apoptosis in rat primary dopaminergic neurons.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common, late-onset movement disorder with selective degeneration of... more Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common, late-onset movement disorder with selective degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). Although the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) has been used to induce progressive degeneration of DA neurons in various animal models of PD, the precise molecular pathway and the impact of anti-apoptotic treatment on this neurodegeneration are less understood. Following a striatal injection of 6-OHDA, we observed atrophy and progressive death of DA neurons in wild-type mice. These degenerating DA neurons never exhibited signs of apoptosis (i.e., caspase-3 activation and cytoplasmic release of cytochrome C), but rather show nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), a hallmark of regulated necrosis. However, mice with genetic deletion of the proapoptotic gene Bax (Bax-KO) exhibited a complete absence of 6-OHDA-induced DA neuron death and nuclear translocation of AIF, indicating that 6-OHDA-induced DA neuronal dea...

Neuroinflammation plays a central role in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases such... more Neuroinflammation plays a central role in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, and challenges remain in modeling the complex pathological or physiological processes. Here, we report an acoustofluidic 3D cell culture device that can rapidly construct 3D neurospheroids and inflammatory microenvironments for modeling microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. By incorporating a unique contactless and label-free acoustic assembly, this cell culture platform can assemble dissociated embryonic mouse brain cells into hundreds of uniform 3D neurospheroids with controlled cell numbers, composition (e.g. neurons, astrocytes, and microglia), and environmental components (e.g. amyloid-β aggregates) in hydrogel within minutes. Moreover, this platform can maintain and monitor the interaction among neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and amyloid-β aggregates in real-time for several days to weeks, after the integration of a high-throughput, ...

PloS one, 2018

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains the most common and serious chronic lung disease of prem... more Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains the most common and serious chronic lung disease of premature infants. Severe BPD complicated with pulmonary hypertension (PH) increases the mortality of these infants. Riociguat is an allosteric soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator and is approved by the FDA for treating PH in adults. However, it has not been approved for use in neonates due to concern for adverse effects on long bone growth. To address this concern we investigated if administration of riociguat is beneficial in preventing hyperoxia-induced lung injury and PH without side effects on long bone growth in newborn rats. Newborn rats were randomized to normoxia (21% O2) or hyperoxia (85% O2) exposure groups within 24 hours of birth, and received riociguat or placebo by once daily intraperitoneal injections during continuous normoxia or hyperoxia exposure for 9 days. In the hyperoxia control group, radial alveolar count, mean linear intercept and vascular density were significantl...

Antioxidants & redox signaling, Jan 17, 2016

Skeletal muscle nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (NO-cGMP) pathways are impaired in Du... more Skeletal muscle nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (NO-cGMP) pathways are impaired in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy partly because of reduced nNOSμ and soluble guanylate cyclase (GC) activity. However, GC function and the consequences of reduced GC activity in skeletal muscle are unknown. In this study, we explore the functions of GC and NO-cGMP signaling in skeletal muscle. GC1, but not GC2, expression was higher in oxidative than glycolytic muscles. GC1 was found in a complex with nNOSμ and targeted to nNOS compartments at the Golgi complex and neuromuscular junction. Baseline GC activity and GC agonist responsiveness was reduced in the absence of nNOS. Structural analyses revealed aberrant microtubule directionality in GC1(-/-) muscle. Functional analyses of GC1(-/-) muscles revealed reduced fatigue resistance and postexercise force recovery that were not due to shifts in type IIA-IIX fiber balance. Force deficits in GC1(-/-) muscles were also not driven by defe...

Antioxidants & redox signaling, Jan 13, 2016

Nitric oxide (NO) plays important, but incompletely defined roles in skeletal muscle. NO exerts i... more Nitric oxide (NO) plays important, but incompletely defined roles in skeletal muscle. NO exerts its regulatory effects partly though S-nitrosylation, which is balanced by denitrosylation by enzymes such as S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), whose functions in skeletal muscle remain to be fully deciphered. GSNOR null (GSNOR-⁄-) tibialis anterior (TA) muscles showed normal growth and were stronger and more fatigue resistant than controls in situ. However, GSNOR-⁄- lumbrical muscles showed normal contractility and Ca2+ handling in vitro suggesting important differences in GSNOR function between muscles or between in vitro and in situ environments. GSNOR-⁄- TA muscles exhibited normal mitochondrial content, and capillary densities, but reduced type IIA fiber content. GSNOR inhibition did not impact mitochondrial respiratory complex I, III or IV ac-tivity. These findings argue that enhanced GSNOR-⁄- TA contractility is not driven by changes in mitochondrial content or activity, fibe...

Mitochondrion is an important intracellular organelle controlling energy production essential for... more Mitochondrion is an important intracellular organelle controlling energy production essential for cell survival. In addition, it is closely related to cellular apoptosis and necrosis. Linear, branched, circular, and ball-shaped mitochondria have been reported. Recent research suggests that mitochondrial morphology may reflect functional status of the cell. In this study, we investigated the density and ratio of the each morphological categories of mitochondria in a few normal cultured cells; astrocyte, HeLa and COS7 cells, of which metabolic activities are different, with high voltage electron microscopy. The absolute number and relative number per unit area of mitochondria was largest in astrocyte. But, the proportion of different mitochondrial shape was similar among cells. These results shows the numerical profiles but not morphological profiles of mitochondria are related to the metabolic activity of each cell line.

During the nervous system development, immature neuroblasts have a strong potential to migrate to... more During the nervous system development, immature neuroblasts have a strong potential to migrate toward their destination. In the adult brain, new neurons are continuously generated in the neurogenic niche located near the ventricle, and the newly generated cells actively migrate toward their destination, olfactory bulb, via highly specialized migratory route called rostral migratory stream (RMS). Neuroblasts in the RMS form chains by their homophilic interactions, and the neuroblasts in chains continually migrate through the tunnels formed by meshwork of astrocytes, glial tube. This review focuses on the development and structure of RMS and the regulation of neuroblast migration in the RMS. Better understanding of RMS migration may be crucial for improving functional replacement therapy by supplying endogenous neuronal cells to the injury sites more efficiently.

Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio), 2013

Throughout life, newly generated neuroblasts from the subventricular zone migrate toward the olfa... more Throughout life, newly generated neuroblasts from the subventricular zone migrate toward the olfactory bulb through the rostral migratory stream. Upon brain injury, these migrating neuroblasts change their route and begin to migrate toward injured regions, which is one of the regenerative responses after brain damage. This injury-induced migration is triggered by stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1) released from microglia near the damaged site; however, it is still unclear how these cells transduce SDF1 signals and change their direction. In this study, we found that SDF1 promotes the phosphorylation of ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins, which are key molecules in organizing cell membrane and linking signals from the extracellular environment to the intracellular actin cytoskeleton. Blockade of ERM activation by overexpressing dominant-negative ERM (DN-ERM) efficiently perturbed the migration of neuroblasts. Considering that DN-ERM-expressing neuroblasts failed to maintain proper...