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    Modeling microbiota-mediated risk for alcohol use disorder: a preclinical study of fecal transplantation from ethanol-exposed mice
    (Informa UK Limited, 2026-02-11)
    Luana Fornero
    ;
    Aranza Wille-Bille
    ;
    María Carolina Fabio
    ;
    Pedro Peñalver
    ;
    Leonardo Marengo
      1
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    No evidence for exosome treatment in reducing alcohol relapse – a failed confirmatory multi-center study
    (Elsevier BV, 2025-12)
    Marcus W. Meinhardt
    ;
    Bettina Habelt
    ;
    Ivan Skorodumov
    ;
    Cindy Schwarz
    ;
    Nadine Bernhardt
      1
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    Gut Microbiota‐Derived Extracellular Vesicles Influence Alcohol Intake Preferences in Rats
    (Wiley, 2025-03)
    Macarena Díaz‐Ubilla
    ;
    Aliosha I. Figueroa‐Valdés
    ;
    Hugo E. Tobar
    ;
    María Elena Quintanilla
    ;
    Eugenio Díaz
    <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>Growing preclinical and clinical evidence suggests a link between gut microbiota dysbiosis and problematic alcohol consumption. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators involved in bacteria‐to‐host communication. However, their potential role in mediating addictive behaviour remains unexplored. This study investigates the role of gut microbiota‐derived bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) in driving high alcohol consumption. bEVs were isolated from the gut microbiota of a high alcohol‐drinking rat strain (UChB rats), either ethanol‐naïve or following chronic alcohol consumption and administered intraperitoneally or orally to alcohol‐rejecting male and female Wistar rats. Both types of UChB‐derived bEVs increased Wistar's voluntary alcohol consumption (three bottle choice test) up to 10‐fold (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> &lt; 0.0001), indicating that bEVs are able and sufficient to transmit drinking behaviour across different rat strains. Molecular analysis revealed that bEVs administration did not induce systemic or brain inflammation in the recipient animals, suggesting that the increased alcohol intake triggered by UChB‐derived bEVs operates through an inflammation‐independent mechanism. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the vagus nerve mediates the bEV‐induced increase in alcohol consumption, as bilateral vagotomy completely abolished the high drinking behaviour induced by both intraperitoneally injected and orally administered bEVs. Thus, this study identifies bEVs as a novel mechanism underlying gut microbiota‐induced high alcohol intake in a vagus nerve‐dependent manner.</jats:p>
      7
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    Morphine self-administration is inhibited by the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine and the anti-inflammatory ibudilast; an effect enhanced by their co-administration
    (2024)
    María Elena Quintanilla
    ;
    Paola Morales
    ;
    Daniela Santapau
    ;
    Javiera Gallardo
    ;
    Rocío Rebolledo
    <jats:sec id="sec001"> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>The treatment of opioid addiction mainly involves the medical administration of methadone or other opioids, aimed at gradually reducing dependence and, consequently, the need for illicit opioid procurement. Thus, initiating opioid maintenance therapy with a lower level of dependence would be advantageous. There is compelling evidence indicating that opioids induce brain oxidative stress and associated glial activation, resulting in the dysregulation of glutamatergic homeostasis, which perpetuates drug intake. The present study aimed to determine whether inhibiting oxidative stress and/or neuroinflammation reduces morphine self-administration in an animal model of opioid dependence.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec002"> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Morphine dependence, assessed as voluntary morphine self-administration, was evaluated in Wistar-derived UChB rats. Following an extended period of morphine self-administration, animals were administered either the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC; 40 mg/kg/day), the anti-inflammatory ibudilast (7.5 mg/kg/day) or the combination of both agents. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation were evaluated in the hippocampus, a region involved in drug recall that feeds into the nucleus accumbens, where the levels of the glutamate transporters GLT-1 and xCT were further assessed.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec003"> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Daily administration of either NAC or ibudilast led to a mild reduction in voluntary morphine intake, while the co-administration of both therapeutic agents resulted in a marked inhibition (-57%) of morphine self-administration. The administration of NAC or ibudilast markedly reduced both the oxidative stress induced by chronic morphine intake and the activation of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus. However, only the combined administration of NAC + ibudilast was able to restore the normal levels of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 in the nucleus accumbens.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec004"> <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title> <jats:p>Separate or joint administration of an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent reduced voluntary opioid intake, which could have translational value for the treatment of opioid use disorders, particularly in settings where the continued maintenance of oral opioids is a therapeutic option.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
      1Scopus© Citations 3
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    Scopus© Citations 21  1
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    Intravitreal administration of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells triggers a cytoprotective microenvironment in the retina of diabetic mice
    (2016) ;
    Cristhian A. Urzua
    ;
    Scarleth Montecino
    ;
    Karla Leal
    ;
    <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes and the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the Western world. The reduction in color/contrast sensitivity due to the loss of neural cells in the ganglion cell layer of the retina is an early event in the onset of diabetic retinopathy. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are an attractive tool for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, since they could differentiate into neuronal cells, produce high levels of neurotrophic factors and reduce oxidative stress. Our aim was to determine whether the intravitreal administration of adipose-derived MSCs was able to prevent the loss of retinal ganglion cells in diabetic mice.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Diabetes was induced in C57BL6 mice by the administration of streptozotocin. When retinal pro-damage mechanisms were present, animals received a single intravitreal dose of 2 × 10<jats:sup>5</jats:sup> adipose-derived MSCs or the vehicle. Four and 12 weeks later we evaluated: (a) retinal ganglion cell number (immunofluorescence); (b) neurotrophic factor levels (real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)); (c) retinal apoptotic rate (TUNEL); (d) retinal levels of reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage (ELISA); (e) electrical response of the retina (electroretinography); (f) pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factor levels (RT-qPCR and ELISA); and (g) retinal blood vessels (angiography). Furthermore, 1, 4, 8 and 12 weeks post-MSC administration, the presence of donor cells in the retina and their differentiation into neural and perivascular-like cells were assessed (immunofluorescence and flow cytometry).</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>MSC administration completely prevented retinal ganglion cell loss. Donor cells remained in the vitreous cavity and did not differentiate into neural or perivascular-like cells. Nevertheless, they increased the intraocular levels of several potent neurotrophic factors (nerve growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) and reduced the oxidative damage in the retina. Additionally, MSC administration has a neutral effect on the electrical response of the retina and did not result in a pathological neovascularization.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Intravitreal administration of adipose-derived MSCs triggers an effective cytoprotective microenvironment in the retina of diabetic mice. Thus, MSCs represent an interesting tool in order to prevent diabetic retinopathy.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
      1Scopus© Citations 109  1
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    Two-Month Voluntary Ethanol Consumption Promotes Mild Neuroinflammation in the Cerebellum but Not in the Prefrontal Cortex, Hippocampus, or Striatum of Mice
    (2024) ;
    Sarah Núñez
    ;
    Justine Castañeda
    ;
    ;
    María Rosa Bono
    <jats:p>Chronic ethanol exposure often triggers neuroinflammation in the brain’s reward system, potentially promoting the drive for ethanol consumption. A main marker of neuroinflammation is the microglia-derived monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1) in animal models of alcohol use disorder in which ethanol is forcefully given. However, there are conflicting findings on whether MCP1 is elevated when ethanol is taken voluntarily, which challenges its key role in promoting motivation for ethanol consumption. Here, we studied MCP1 mRNA levels in areas implicated in consumption motivation—specifically, the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum—as well as in the cerebellum, a brain area highly sensitive to ethanol, of C57BL/6 mice subjected to intermittent and voluntary ethanol consumption for two months. We found a significant increase in MCP1 mRNA levels in the cerebellum of mice that consumed ethanol compared to controls, whereas no significant changes were observed in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, or striatum or in microglia isolated from the hippocampus and striatum. To further characterize cerebellar neuroinflammation, we measured the expression changes in other proinflammatory markers and chemokines, revealing a significant increase in the proinflammatory microRNA miR-155. Notably, other classical proinflammatory markers, such as TNFα, IL6, and IL-1β, remained unaltered, suggesting mild neuroinflammation. These results suggest that the onset of neuroinflammation in motivation-related areas is not required for high voluntary consumption in C57BL/6 mice. In addition, cerebellar susceptibility to neuroinflammation may be a trigger to the cerebellar degeneration that occurs after chronic ethanol consumption in humans.</jats:p>
    Scopus© Citations 2  6
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    Scopus© Citations 10  1