Etifoxine improves sensorimotor deficits and reduces glial activation, neuronal degeneration, and neuroinflammation in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in important neurological impairments which occur through a cascade of deleterious physiological events over time. There are currently no effective treatments to prevent these consequences. TBI is followed not only by an inflammatory response but also by a profound reorganization of the GABAergic system and a dysregulation of translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO). Etifoxine is an anxiolytic compound that belongs to the benzoxazine family. It potentiates GABAergic neurotransmission, either through a positive allosteric effect or indirectly, involving the activation of TSPO that leads to an increase in neurosteroids synthesis. In several models of peripheral nerve injury, etifoxine has been demonstrated to display potent regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties and to promote functional recovery. Prior study also showed etifoxine efficacy in reducing brain edema in rats. In light of these positive results, we used a rat model of TBI to explore etifoxine treatment effects in a central nervous system injury, from functional outcomes to the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats received contusion (n = 18) or sham (n = 19) injuries centered laterally to bregma over the left sensorimotor cortex. They were treated with etifoxine (50 mg/kg, i.p.) or its vehicle 30 min following injury and every day during 7 days. Rats underwent behavioral testing to assess sensorimotor function. In another experiment, injured rats (n = 10) or sham rats (n = 10) received etifoxine (EFX) (50 mg/kg, i.p.) or its vehicle 30 min post-surgery. Brains were then dissected for analysis of neuroinflammation markers, glial activation, and neuronal degeneration. RESULTS: Brain-injured rats exhibited significant sensorimotor function deficits compared to sham-injured rats in the bilateral tactile adhesive removal test, the beam walking test, and the limb-use asymmetry test. After 2 days of etifoxine treatment, behavioral impairments were significantly reduced. Etifoxine treatment reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines levels without affecting anti-inflammatory cytokines levels in injured rats, reduced macrophages and glial activation, and reduced neuronal degeneration. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that post-injury treatment with etifoxine improved functional recovery and reduced neuroinflammation in a rat model of TBI. These findings suggest that etifoxine may have a therapeutic potential in the treatment of TBI.

Formation of palladium(0) nanoparticles at microbial surfaces.

The increasing demand and limited natural resources for industrially important platinum-group metal (PGM) catalysts render the recovery from secondary sources such as industrial waste economically interesting. In the process of palladium (Pd) recovery, microorganisms have revealed a strong potential. Hitherto, bacteria with the property of dissimilatory metal reduction have been in focus, although the biochemical reactions linking enzymatic Pd(II) reduction and Pd(0) deposition have not yet been identified. In this study we investigated Pd(II) reduction with formate as the electron donor in the presence of Gram-negative bacteria with no documented capacity for reducing metals for energy production: Cupriavidus necator, Pseudomonas putida, and Paracoccus denitrificans. Only large and close-packed Pd(0) aggregates were formed in cell-free buffer solutions. Pd(II) reduction in the presence of bacteria resulted in smaller, well-suspended Pd(0) particles that were associated with the cells (called "bioPd(0)" in the following). Nanosize Pd(0) particles (3-30 nm) were only observed in the presence of bacteria, and particles in this size range were located in the periplasmic space. Pd(0) nanoparticles were still deposited on autoclaved cells of C. necator that had no hydrogenase activity, suggesting a hydrogenase-independent formation mechanism. The catalytic properties of Pd(0) and bioPd(0) were determined by the amount of hydrogen released in a reaction with hypophosphite. Generally, bioPd(0) demonstrated a lower level of activity than the Pd(0) control, possibly due to the inaccessibility of the Pd(0) fraction embedded in the cell envelope. Our results demonstrate the suitability of bacterial cells for the recovery of Pd(0), and formation and immobilization of Pd(0) nanoparticles inside the cell envelope. However, procedures to make periplasmic Pd(0) catalytically accessible need to be developed for future nanobiotechnological applications.

In situ generated bulky palladium hydride complexes as catalysts for the efficient isomerization of olefins. Selective transformation of terminal alkenes to 2-alkenes.

Application of an in situ generated bulky palladium(II) hydride catalyst obtained from a 1:1:1 mixture of Pd(dba)(2), P(tBu)(3), and isobutyryl chloride provides an efficient protocol for the isomerization and migration of a variety of olefins. In addition to the isomerization of (Z)- to (E)-olefins, the conjugative migration of allylbenzenes, allyl ethers, and amines was effectively achieved in near-quantitative yields and with excellent functional group tolerance. Catalyst loadings in the range of 0.5-1.0 mol % were typically applied, but even loadings as low as 0.25 mol % could be achieved when the reactions were performed under neat conditions. More interestingly, the investigated catalyst proved to be selective for converting terminal alkenes to 2-alkenes. This one-carbon migration process for monosubstituted olefins provides an alternative catalyst, which bridges the gap between the allylation and propenylation/vinylation protocols. Several substrates, including homoallylic alcohols and amines, were selectively transformed into their corresponding 2-alkenes, and examples using enantiomerically enriched substrates provided products without epimerization at the allylic stereogenic carbon centers. Finally, some mechanistic investigations were undertaken to understand the nature of the active in situ generated Pd-H catalyst. These studies revealed that the catalytic system is highly dependent on the large steric demand of the P(tBu)(3) ligand. The use of an alternative ligand, cataCXium PinCy, also proved effective for generating an active catalyst, and it was demonstrated in some cases to display better selectivity for the one-carbon shifts of terminal olefins. A possible intermediate involved in the preparation of the active catalyst was characterized by its single-crystal X-ray structure, which revealed a monomeric tricoordinated palladium(II) acyl complex, bearing a chloride ligand.

A ligand free and room temperature protocol for Pd-catalyzed Kumada-Corriu couplings of unactivated alkenyl phosphates.

Kumada-Corriu cross-couplings of nonactivated cyclic and acyclic vinyl phosphates with aryl magnesium reagents afforded a series of 1,1-disubtituted alkenes in good yields for most cases when the reactions were performed at room temperature with the simple palladium salt, PdCl(2), without the presence of phosphine ligands.

Preparation of allyltin reagents grafted on solid support: clean and easily recyclable reagents for allylation of aldehydes.

The preparation of polymer-supported allyltin reagents was shown to be possible for both unfunctionalized and functionalized allyl units. These reagents were treated with aldehydes in the presence of cerium(III) or indium(III) salts to afford high yields of homoallylic alcohols, practically uncontaminated with organotin residues (less than 5 ppm). Some mechanism aspects are briefly discussed and the potential for regeneration and reuse of these supported reagents is pointed out.