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Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
A cellular approach to understanding and treating Gulf War Illness
Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, v 78(21-22), pp 6941-6961
Nov 2021
PMID: 34580742
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Gulf War Illness (GWI), a disorder suffered by approximately 200,000 veterans of the first Gulf War, was caused by exposure to low-level organophosphate pesticides and nerve agents in combination with battlefield stress. To elucidate the mechanistic basis of the brain-related symptoms of GWI, human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from veterans with or without GWI were differentiated into forebrain glutamatergic neurons and then exposed to a Gulf War (GW) relevant toxicant regimen consisting of a sarin analog and cortisol, a human stress hormone. Elevated levels of total and phosphorylated tau, reduced microtubule acetylation, altered mitochondrial dynamics/transport, and decreased neuronal activity were observed in neurons exposed to the toxicant regimen. Some of the data are consistent with the possibility that some veterans may have been predisposed to acquire GWI. Wistar rats exposed to a similar toxicant regimen showed a mild learning and memory deficit, as well as cell loss and tau pathology selectively in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. These cellular responses offer a mechanistic explanation for the memory loss suffered by veterans with GWI and provide a cell-based model for screening drugs and developing personalized therapies for these veterans.
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Details
- Title
- A cellular approach to understanding and treating Gulf War Illness
- Creators
- Philip L Yates - Drexel UniversityAnkita Patil - Drexel UniversityXiaohuan Sun - Drexel UniversityAlessia Niceforo - Drexel UniversityRamnik Gill - Drexel UniversityPatrick Callahan - Augusta UniversityWayne Beck - Augusta UniversityEmanuela Piermarini - Drexel UniversityAlvin V Terry - Augusta UniversityKimberly A Sullivan - Boston UniversityPeter W Baas - Drexel UniversityLiang Qiang - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, v 78(21-22), pp 6941-6961
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Grant note
- R01 NS115977 / NINDS NIH HHS R21AG068597 / foundation for the national institutes of health R01 NS028785 / NINDS NIH HHS GW170023 / u.s. department of defense R21 AG068597 / NIA NIH HHS T32-MH079785 / foundation for the national institutes of health 1R01NS115977 / foundation for the national institutes of health R01NS118117 / foundation for the national institutes of health R01NS28785 / foundation for the national institutes of health GW170055 / u.s. department of defense GW160151 / u.s. department of defense
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Neurobiology and Anatomy; Pharmacology and Physiology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000700995100001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85115843977
- Other Identifier
- 991019168341804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology