Spinal cord injury (SCI) can have profound effects on the autonomic and cardiovascular systems, notably with injuries above high-thoracic levels that result in the development of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) characterized by volatile hypertension in response to exaggerated sympathetic reflexes triggered by afferent stimulation below the injury level. Pathophysiological changes associated with the development of AD include sprouting of both nociceptive afferents and ascending propriospinal 'relay' neurons below the injury, as well as dynamic changes in synaptic inputs onto sympathetic preganglionic neurons. However, it remains uncertain whether synapse formation between sprouted c-fibers and propriospinal neurons contributes to the development of exaggerated sympathetic reflexes produced during AD. We previously reported that once daily treatment with the anti-epileptic and neuropathic pain medication, gabapentin (GBP), at low dosage (50 mg/kg) mitigates experimentally induced AD soon after injections, likely by impeding glutamatergic signaling. Since much higher doses of GBP are reported to block the formation of excitatory synapses, we hypothesized that continuous, high dosage GBP treatment after SCI might prevent the formation of aforementioned aberrant synapses and, accordingly, reduce the incidence and severity of AD. Adult female rats implanted with aortic telemetry probes for hemodynamic monitoring underwent T4-transection SCI and immediately received 100 mg/kg (i.p.) of GBP and then every six hours (400 mg/kg/day) for 4-weeks after injury. We assessed daily body weight, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, frequency of spontaneous AD, and hemodynamic changes during colorectal distension (CRD) to establish whether high dose GBP treatment prophylactically mitigates both AD and associated aberrant synaptic plasticity. This regimen significantly reduced both the absolute blood pressure reached during experimentally induced AD and the time required to return to baseline afterwards. Conversely, GBP prevented return to pre-injury body weights and paradoxically increased the frequency of spontaneously occurring AD. While there were significant decreases in the densities of excitatory and inhibitory pre-synaptic markers in the lumbosacral dorsal horn following injury alone, they were unaltered by continuous GBP treatment. This indicates distinct mechanisms of action for acute GBP to mitigate induced AD whereas chronic GBP increases non-induced AD frequencies. While high dose prophylactic GBP is not recommended to treat AD, acute low dose GBP may hold therapeutic value to mitigate evoked AD, notably during iatrogenic procedures under controlled clinical conditions.

Our previous studies reported that pharmacological maintenance of mitochondrial bioenergetics after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI) provided functional neuroprotection. Recent evidence indicates that endogenous mitochondrial transfer is neuroprotective as well, and, therefore, we extended these studies with a novel approach to transplanting exogenous mitochondria into the injured rat spinal cord. Using a rat model of L1/L2 contusion SCI, we herein report that transplantation of exogenous mitochondria derived from either cell culture or syngeneic leg muscle maintained acute bioenergetics of the injured spinal cord in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, transplanting transgenically labeled turbo green fluorescent (tGFP) PC12-derived mitochondria allowed for visualization of their incorporation in both a time-dependent and cell-specific manner at 24h, 48h, and 7 days post-injection. tGFP mitochondria co-localized with multiple resident cell types, although they were absent in neurons. Despite their contribution to the maintenance of normal bioenergetics, mitochondrial transplantation did not yield long-term functional neuroprotection as assessed by overall tissue sparing or recovery of motor and sensory functions. These experiments are the first to investigate mitochondrial transplantation as a therapeutic approach to treating spinal cord injury. Our initial bioenergetic results are encouraging, and although they did not translate into improved long-term outcome measures, caveats and technical hurdles are discussed that can be addressed in future studies to potentially increase long-term efficacy of transplantation strategies.

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a potentially life-threatening syndrome in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) above the T6 spinal level that is characterized by episodic hypertension in response to noxious stimuli below the lesion. Maladaptive intraspinal plasticity is thought to contribute to the temporal development of AD, and experimental approaches that reduce such plasticity mitigate the severity of AD. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has gained interest as a mediator of plasticity, regeneration, and nociceptor hypersensitivity in the injured spinal cord. Based on our preliminary data that prolonged rapamycin (RAP) treatment markedly reduces mTOR activity in the cord weeks after high-thoracic (T4) spinal transection, we sought to determine whether RAP could modulate AD development by impeding intraspinal plasticity. Naïve and injured rats were administered RAP or vehicle every other day, beginning immediately after injury for four weeks, and hemodynamic monitoring was conducted to analyze the frequency of spontaneously occurring AD, as well as the severity of colorectal distention (CRD) induced AD. Results showed that after SCI, RAP significantly exacerbated sustained body weight loss and caused a marked elevation in resting blood pressure, with average daily blood pressure rising above even normal naïve levels within one week after injury. Moreover, RAP significantly increased the frequency of daily spontaneous AD and increased the absolute blood pressure induced by CRD at three weeks post-injury. These dynamic cardiovascular effects were not, however, correlated with changes in the density of nociceptive c-fibers or c-Fos+ neurons throughout the spinal cord, indicating that intraspinal plasticity associated with AD was not altered by treatment. These findings caution against the use of RAP as a therapeutic intervention for SCI because it evokes toxic weight loss and exacerbates cardiovascular dysfunction perhaps mediated by increased peripheral nociceptor sensitivity and/or vascular resistance.

BACKGROUND:Proper mitochondrial function is essential to maintain normal cellular bioenergetics and ionic homeostasis. In instances of severe tissue damage, such as traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, mitochondria become damaged and unregulated leading to cell death. The relatively unexplored field of mitochondrial transplantation following neurotrauma is based on the theory that replacing damaged mitochondria with exogenous respiratory-competent mitochondria can restore overall tissue bioenergetics. NEW METHOD:We optimized techniques in vitro to prepare suspensions of isolated mitochondria for transplantation in vivo. Mitochondria isolated from cell culture were genetically labeled with turbo-green fluorescent protein (tGFP) for imaging and tracking purposes in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS:We used time-lapse confocal imaging to reveal the incorporation of exogenous fluorescently-tagged mitochondria into PC-12 cells after brief co-incubation. Further, we show that mitochondria can be injected into the spinal cord with immunohistochemical evidence of host cellular uptake within 24h. COMPARISON TO EXISTING METHODS:Our methods utilize transgenic fluorescent labeling of mitochondria for a nontoxic and photostable alternative to other labeling methods. Substrate addition to isolated mitochondria helped to restore state III respiration at room temperature prior to transplantation. These experiments delineate refined methods to use transgenic cell lines for the purpose of isolating well coupled mitochondria that have a permanent fluorescent label that allows real time tracking of transplanted mitochondria in vitro, as well as imaging in situ. CONCLUSIONS:These techniques lay the foundation for testing the potential therapeutic effects of mitochondrial transplantation following spinal cord injury and other animal models of neurotrauma.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has devastating, life‐long consequences and there are currently no effective pharmacological interventions to prevent permanent loss of function. Mitochondria, the energy producing organelles found in most cells, become severely damaged after SCI and release several detrimental factors such as cytochrome c, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), and calcium resulting in decreased energy production, lipid and protein oxidation, and cell death. Treatments designed to ameliorate mitochondrial damage and maintain bioenergetics of injured spinal cord tissues are being tested with some promising results; a principle caveat is that not all pathophysiological factors can be targeted simultaneously. Therefore, we posited that mitochondrial replacement strategies could be a multi‐mechanistic approach to provide damaged tissues with increased ATP production, greater calcium buffering capacity, decreased ROS and RNS release and increased endogenous antioxidants. We set out to test the hypothesis that exogenous mitochondria can be transplanted into the injured spinal cord and enter host cells to preserve acute bioenergetics that fosters long‐term tissue sparing and improved functional recovery. We used transgenically modified PC12 cells in which mitochondria are labeled with tGFP allowing for their visualization after transplantation. At 20–30 min after severe contusion SCI, isolated tGFP‐labeled mitochondria were microinjected into the spinal cord of adult, female Sprague‐Dawley rats. Separate injury cohorts were designated to 1) establish the dose‐dependent effects of transplantation on cellular respiration after 24 hours, 2) demonstrate mitochondrial incorporation into various cell types and 3) assess long‐term hindlimb motor function, pain sensitivity, and tissue sparing. Preliminary results show that compared to 50 and 150ug dosages, respiration is significantly restored after 100ug tGFP mitochondrial transplantation compared to injury + vehicle. Confocal imaging after 50ug dosage injections shows tGFP mitochondria localized within both microglia/macrophages and endothelial cells at 24 and 48 hours after injections, but no evidence of tGFP mitochondria present after 7 days. The 100 and 150ug dosage groups are being evaluated similarly to establish the propensity of cell‐type incorporation after 24hr, 48hr and 7 days. Hindlimb functional recovery over 6 weeks is also being assessed following 100ug mitochondrial transplantation with concurrent analyses of kinematic stepping patterns and pain withdrawal latencies. While preliminary data appear to show insignificant trends, there are no differences in over‐ground locomotion or kinematic stepping patterns compared to vehicle‐injected injured groups (blinded). Additional injury cohorts are undergoing behavioral analyses and terminal morphometric assessments of spared white and gray matter will determine whether improved bioenergetics following mitochondrial transplantation results in long‐term tissue sparing, thus supporting this novel therapeutic intervention to promote recovery after traumatic SCI. Support or Funding Information NIH Fellowship 5T32NS077889 (JLV) NIH F31NS093904‐01A1 (JLV) R21NS096670 (AGR) Conquer Paralysis Now (AGR) SCoBIRC Chair Endowment (AGR) NIH/NINDS 2P30NS051220 (AGR)

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) has widespread physiological effects beyond the disruption of sensory and motor function, notably the loss of normal autonomic and cardiovascular control. Injury at or above the sixth thoracic spinal cord segment segregates critical spinal sympathetic neurons from supraspinal modulation which can result in a syndrome known as autonomic dysreflexia (AD). AD is defined as episodic hypertension and concomitant baroreflex-mediated bradycardia initiated by unmodulated sympathetic reflexes in the decentralized cord. This condition is often triggered by noxious yet unperceived visceral or somatic stimuli below the injury level and if severe enough can require immediate medical attention. Herein, we review the pathophysiological mechanisms germane to the development of AD, including maladaptive plasticity of neural circuits mediating abnormal sympathetic reflexes and hypersensitization of peripheral vasculature that collectively contribute to abnormal hemodynamics after SCI. Further, we discuss the systemic effects of recurrent AD and pharmacological treatments used to manage such episodes. Contemporary research avenues are then presented to better understand the relative contributions of underlying mechanisms and to elucidate the effects of recurring AD on cardiovascular and immune functions for developing more targeted and effective treatments to attenuate the development of this insidious syndrome following high-level SCI.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is becoming a pivotal target for neuroprotective strategies following contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) and the pharmacological compounds that maintain mitochondrial function confer neuroprotection and improve long-term hindlimb function after injury. In the current study we evaluated the efficacy of cell-permeating thiol, N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA), a precursor of endogenous antioxidant glutathione (GSH), on mitochondrial function acutely, and long-term tissue sparing and hindlimb locomotor recovery following upper lumbar contusion SCI. Some designated injured adult female Sprague–Dawley rats (n=120) received either vehicle or NACA (75, 150, 300 or 600mg/kg) at 15min and 6h post-injury. After 24h the total, synaptic, and non-synaptic mitochondrial populations were isolated from a single 1.5cm spinal cord segment (centered at injury site) and assessed for mitochondrial bioenergetics. Results showed compromised total mitochondrial bioenergetics following acute SCI that was significantly improved with NACA treatment in a dose-dependent manner, with maximum effects at 300mg/kg (n=4/group). For synaptic and non-synaptic mitochondria, only 300mg/kg NACA dosage showed efficacy. Similar dosage (300mg/kg) also maintained mitochondrial GSH near normal levels. Other designated injured rats (n=21) received continuous NACA (150 or 300mg/kg/day) treatment starting at 15min post-injury for one week to assess long-term functional recovery over 6weeks post-injury. Locomotor testing and novel gait analyses showed significantly improved hindlimb function with NACA that were associated with increased tissue sparing at the injury site. Overall, NACA treatment significantly maintained acute mitochondrial bioenergetics and normalized GSH levels following SCI, and prolonged delivery resulted in significant tissue sparing and improved recovery of hindlimb function.

We recently reported that the neuropathic pain medication, gabapentin (GBP; Neurontin), significantly attenuated both noxious colorectal distension (CRD)-induced autonomic dysreflexia (AD) and tail pinch-induced spasticity compared to saline-treated cohorts 2-3 weeks after complete high thoracic (T4) spinal cord injury (SCI). Here we employed long-term blood pressure telemetry to test, firstly, the efficacy of daily versus acute GBP treatment in modulating AD and tail spasticity in response to noxious stimuli at 2 and 3 weeks post-injury. Secondly, we determined whether daily GBP alters baseline cardiovascular parameters, as well as spontaneous AD events detected using a novel algorithm based on blood pressure telemetry data. At both 14 and 21 days after SCI, irrespective of daily treatment, acute GBP given 1 h prior to stimulus significantly attenuated CRD-induced AD and pinch-evoked tail spasticity; conversely, acute saline had no such effects. Moreover, daily GBP did not alter 24 h mean arterial pressure (MAP) or heart rate (HR) values compared to saline treatment, nor did it reduce the incidence of spontaneous AD events compared to saline over the three week assessment period. Power spectral density (PSD) analysis of the MAP signals demonstrated relative power losses in mid frequency ranges (0.2-0.8 Hz) for all injured animals relative to low frequency MAP power (0.02-0.08 Hz). However, there was no significant difference between groups over time post-injury; hence, GBP had no effect on the persistent loss of MAP fluctuations in the mid frequency range after injury. In summary, the mechanism(s) by which acute GBP treatment mitigate aberrant somatosensory and cardiophysiological responses to noxious stimuli after SCI remain unclear. Nevertheless, with further refinements in defining the dynamics associated with AD events, such as eliminating requisite concomitant bradycardia, the objective repeatability of automatic detection of hypertensive crises provides a potentially useful tool for assessing autonomic function pre- and post-SCI, in conjunction with experimental pharmacotherapeutics for neuropathic pain, such as GBP.

Background: Hydrogen production by fermenting bacteria such as Escherichia coli offers a potential source of hydrogen biofuel. Because H-2 production involves consumption of 2H(+), hydrogenase expression is likely to involve pH response and regulation. Hydrogenase consumption of protons in E. coli has been implicated in acid resistance, the ability to survive exposure to acid levels (pH 2-2.5) that are three pH units lower than the pH limit of growth ( pH 5-6). Enhanced survival in acid enables a larger infective inoculum to pass through the stomach and colonize the intestine. Most acid resistance mechanisms have been defined using aerobic cultures, but the use of anaerobic cultures will reveal novel acid resistance mechanisms.Methods and Principal Findings: We analyzed the pH regulation of bacterial hydrogenases in live cultures of E. coli K-12 W3110. During anaerobic growth in the range of pH 5 to 6.5, E. coli expresses three hydrogenase isoenzymes that reversibly oxidize H-2 to 2H(+). Anoxic conditions were used to determine which of the hydrogenase complexes contribute to acid resistance, measured as the survival of cultures grown at pH 5.5 without aeration and exposed for 2 hours at pH 2 or at pH 2.5. Survival of all strains in extreme acid was significantly lower in low oxygen than for aerated cultures. Deletion of hyc (Hyd-3) decreased anoxic acid survival 3-fold at pH 2.5, and 20-fold at pH 2, but had no effect on acid survival with aeration. Deletion of hyb (Hyd-2) did not significantly affect acid survival. The pH-dependence of H-2 production and consumption was tested using a H-2-specific Clark-type electrode. Hyd-3-dependent H-2 production was increased 70-fold from pH 6.5 to 5.5, whereas Hyd-2-dependent H-2 consumption was maximal at alkaline pH. H-2 production, was unaffected by a shift in external or internal pH. H-2 production was associated with hycE expression levels as a function of external pH.Conclusions: Anaerobic growing cultures of E. coli generate H-2 via Hyd-3 at low external pH, and consume H-2 via Hyd-2 at high external pH. Hyd-3 proton conversion to H-2 is required for acid resistance in anaerobic cultures of E. coli.