Hyperactivity and intact hippocampus-dependent learning in mice lacking the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor

The effects of early-life predator stress on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors of adult rats

Childhood emotional trauma contributes significantly to certain psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. In experimental animals, however, whether or not early-life stress results in behavioral abnormalities in adult animals still remains controversial. Here, we investigated both short-term and long-term changes of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors of Wistar rats after being exposed to chronic feral cat stress in juvenile ages. The 2-week predator stress decreased spontaneous activities immediately following stress but did not increase depression- or anxiety-like behaviors 4 weeks after the stimulation in adulthood. Instead, juvenile predator stress had some protective effects, though not very obvious, in adulthood. We also exposed genetic depression model rats, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, to the same predator stress. In WKY rats, the same early-life predator stress did not enhance anxiety- or depression-like behaviors in both the short-term and long-term. However, the stressed WKY rats showed slightly reduced depression-like behaviors in adulthood. These results indicate that in both normal Wistar rats and WKY rats, early-life predator stress led to protective, rather than negative, effects in adulthood.

Divergent effects of muscarinic receptor subtype gene ablation on murine colon tumorigenesis reveals association of M3R and zinc finger protein 277 expression in colon neoplasia

Background

M3 and M1 subtype muscarinic receptors are co-expressed in normal and neoplastic intestinal epithelial cells. In mice, ablating Chrm3, the gene encoding M3R, robustly attenuates intestinal tumor formation. Here we investigated the effects of Chrm1 gene ablation, alone and in combination with Chrm3 ablation.

Methods

We used wild-type, Chrm1^-/-, Chrm3^-/- and combined Chrm1^-/-/Chrm3^-/- knockout (dual knockout) mice. Animals were treated with azoxymethane, an intestine-selective carcinogen. After 20 weeks, colon tumors were counted and analyzed histologically and by immunohistochemical staining. Tumor gene expression was analyzed using microarray and results validated by RT-PCR. Key findings were extended by analyzing gene and protein expression in human colon cancers and adjacent normal colon tissue.

Results

Azoxymethane-treated Chrm3^-/- mice had fewer and smaller colon tumors than wild-type mice. Reductions in colon tumor number and size were not observed in Chrm1^-/- or dual knockout mice. To gain genetic insight into these divergent phenotypes we used an unbiased microarray approach to compare gene expression in tumors from Chrm3^-/- to those in wild-type mice. We detected altered expression of 430 genes, validated by quantitative RT-PCR for the top 14 up- and 14 down-regulated genes. Comparing expression of this 28-gene subset in tumors from wild-type, Chrm3^-/-, Chrm1^-/- and dual knockout mice revealed significantly reduced expression of Zfp277, encoding zinc finger protein 277, in tissue from M3R-deficient and dual knockout mice, and parallel changes in Zfp277 protein expression. Notably, mRNA and protein for ZNF277, the human analogue of Zfp277, were increased in human colon cancer compared to adjacent normal colon, along with parallel changes in expression of M3R.

Conclusions

Our results identify a novel candidate mouse gene, Zfp277, whose expression pattern is compatible with a role in mediating divergent effects of Chrm3 and Chrm1 gene ablation on murine intestinal neoplasia. The biological importance of this observation is strengthened by finding increased expression of ZNF277 in human colon cancer with a parallel increase in M3R expression. The role of zinc finger protein 277 in colon cancer and its relationship to M3R expression and activation are worthy of further investigation.

M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in Alzheimer's disease

The degeneration of cholinergic neurons and cholinergic hypofunction are pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) mediate acetylcholine-induced neurotransmission and five mAChR subtypes (M1-M5) have been identified. Among them, M1 mAChR is widely expressed in the central nervous system and has been implicated in many physiological and pathological brain functions. In addition, M1 mAChR is postulated to be an important therapeutic target for AD and several other neurodegenerative diseases. In this article, we review recent progress in understanding the functional involvement of M1 mAChR in AD pathology and in developing M1 mAChR agonists for AD treatment.

Immunostimulating effects of extract of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus

As malfunction/absence of immune cells causes a variety of immunosuppressive disorders and chemical synthetic drugs for curing these diseases have many adverse effects, vigorous studies are being conducted. The Acanthopanax family has been used as traditional medicines for gastric ulcer, diabetes, etc. and culinary materials in East-South Asia. In this study, the immunostimulating properties of A. sessiliflorus were evaluated. A. sessiliflorus increased not only the splenocyte number but also immune-related cytokines such as TNF-α. However, it could not upregulate the expressions of IFN-γ and IL-2. A. sessiliflorus increased the swimming time, and comparison of organ weights relative to body weights for immune-related organs such as the spleen and thymus after a forced swim test showed that it could recover the spleen and thymus weights. It also increased the expression of TNF-α and slightly increased the concentration of IFN-γ but not IL-2. From the results, we concluded that as A. sessiliflorus has not only a host defense effect but also a stress-ameliorating property, further study it will be a promising material of immunostimulating material.

Different roles for M1 and M2 receptors within perirhinal cortex in object recognition and discrimination

Recognition and discrimination of objects and individuals are critical cognitive faculties in both humans and non-human animals, and cholinergic transmission has been shown to be essential for both of these functions. In the present study we focused on the role of M1 and M2 muscarinic receptors in perirhinal cortex (PRh)-dependent object recognition and discrimination. The selective M1 antagonists pirenzepine and the snake toxin MT-7, and a selective M2 antagonist, AF-DX 116, were infused directly into PRh. Pre-sample infusions of both pirenzepine and AF-DX 116 significantly impaired object recognition memory in a delay-dependent manner. However, pirenzepine and MT-7, but not AF-DX 116, impaired oddity discrimination performance in a perceptual difficulty-dependent manner. The findings indicate distinct functions for M1 and M2 receptors in object recognition and discrimination.

Development of allosteric modulators of GPCRs for treatment of CNS disorders

The discovery of allosteric modulators of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) provides a promising new strategy with potential for developing novel treatments for a variety of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Traditional drug discovery efforts targeting GPCRs have focused on developing ligands for orthosteric sites which bind endogenous ligands. Allosteric modulators target a site separate from the orthosteric site to modulate receptor function. These allosteric agents can either potentiate (positive allosteric modulator, PAM) or inhibit (negative allosteric modulator, NAM) the receptor response and often provide much greater subtype selectivity than orthosteric ligands for the same receptors. Experimental evidence has revealed more nuanced pharmacological modes of action of allosteric modulators, with some PAMs showing allosteric agonism in combination with positive allosteric modulation in response to endogenous ligand (ago-potentiators) as well as "bitopic" ligands that interact with both the allosteric and orthosteric sites. Drugs targeting the allosteric site allow for increased drug selectivity and potentially decreased adverse side effects. Promising evidence has demonstrated potential utility of a number of allosteric modulators of GPCRs in multiple CNS disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, as well as psychiatric or neurobehavioral diseases such as anxiety, schizophrenia, and addiction.

Phospholipase C-β1 and schizophrenia-related behaviors

Abnormal expression patterns of phospholipase C-β1(PLC-β1) in specific brain areas of patients with schizophrenia, and its high genetic linkage to the disorder implicated a pathogenetical involvement of PLC-β1 signaling system. The schizophrenia-related behavioral phenotypes displayed in the mutant mice lacking PLC-β1 (PLC-β1 KO) suggested that PLCβ1-linked signaling pathways may be involved in the neural system whose function is disrupted in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In the brain, PLC-β1 is known to be linked to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, metabotropic glutamatergic, serotonergic, and oxytocinergic systems. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the current knowledge regarding these schizophrenia-related behaviors and discuss the probable ways in which PLC-β1signalling can be involved in the neural mechanisms for each behavior, which may help suggest future directions for research in this area.

Inhibition of Myosin light-chain kinase attenuates cerebral edema after traumatic brain injury in postnatal mice

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children less than 8 years of age leads to decline in intelligence and executive functioning. Neurological outcomes after TBI correlate to development of cerebral edema, which affect survival rates after TBI. It has been shown that myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) increases cerebral edema and that pretreatment with an MLCK inhibitor (ML-7) reduces cerebral edema. The aim of this study was to determine whether inhibition of MLCK after TBI in postnatal day 24 (PND-24) mice would prevent breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and development of cerebral edema and improve neurological outcome. We used a closed head injury model of TBI. ML-7 or saline treatment was administered at 4 h and every 24 h until sacrifice or 5 days after TBI. Mice were sacrificed at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h and 7 days after impact. Mice treated with ML-7 after TBI had decreased levels of MLCK-expressing cells (20.7±4.8 vs. 149.3±40.6), less albumin extravasation (28.3±11.2 vs. 116.2±60.7 mm(2)) into surrounding parenchymal tissue, less Evans Blue extravasation (339±314 vs. 4017±560 ng/g), and showed a significant difference in wet/dry weight ratio (1.9±0.07 vs. 2.2±0.05 g), compared to saline-treated groups. Treatment with ML-7 also resulted in preserved neurological function measured by the wire hang test (57 vs. 21 sec) and two-object novel recognition test (old vs. new, 10.5 touches). We concluded that inhibition of MLCK reduces cerebral edema and preserves neurological function in PND-24 mice.

Development of M1 mAChR allosteric and bitopic ligands: prospective therapeutics for the treatment of cognitive deficits

Since the cholinergic hypothesis of memory dysfunction was first reported, extensive research efforts have focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which this intricate system contributes to the regulation of processes such as learning, memory, and higher executive function. Several cholinergic therapeutic targets for the treatment of cognitive deficits, psychotic symptoms, and the underlying pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, have since emerged. Clinically approved drugs now exist for some of these targets; however, they all may be considered suboptimal therapeutics in that they produce undesirable off-target activity leading to side effects, fail to address the wide variety of symptoms and underlying pathophysiology that characterize these disorders, and/or afford little to no therapeutic effect in subsets of patient populations. A promising target for which there are presently no approved therapies is the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1 mAChR). Despite avid investigation, development of agents that selectively activate this receptor via the orthosteric site has been hampered by the high sequence homology of the binding site between the five muscarinic receptor subtypes and the wide distribution of this receptor family in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery. Hence, a plethora of ligands targeting less structurally conserved allosteric sites of the M1 mAChR have been investigated. This Review aims to explain the rationale behind allosterically targeting the M1 mAChR, comprehensively summarize and critically evaluate the M1 mAChR allosteric ligand literature to date, highlight the challenges inherent in allosteric ligand investigation that are impeding their clinical advancement, and discuss potential methods for resolving these issues.

ENU-mutagenesis mice with a non-synonymous mutation in Grin1 exhibit abnormal anxiety-like behaviors, impaired fear memory, and decreased acoustic startle response

BACKGROUND

The Grin1 (glutamate receptor, ionotropic, NMDA1) gene expresses a subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors that is considered to play an important role in excitatory neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and brain development. Grin1 is a candidate susceptibility gene for neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In our previous study, we examined an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-generated mutant mouse strain (Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+) that has a non-synonymous mutation in Grin1. These mutant mice showed hyperactivity, increased novelty-seeking to objects, and abnormal social interactions. Therefore, Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ mice may serve as a potential animal model of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, other behavioral characteristics related to these disorders, such as working memory function and sensorimotor gating, have not been fully explored in these mutant mice. In this study, to further investigate the behavioral phenotypes of Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ mice, we subjected them to a comprehensive battery of behavioral tests.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in nociception between Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ and wild-type mice. The mutants did not display any abnormalities in the Porsolt forced swim and tail suspension tests. We confirmed the previous observations that the locomotor activity of these mutant mice increased in the open field and home cage activity tests. They displayed abnormal anxiety-like behaviors in the light/dark transition and the elevated plus maze tests. Both contextual and cued fear memory were severely deficient in the fear conditioning test. The mutant mice exhibited slightly impaired working memory in the eight-arm radial maze test. The startle amplitude was markedly decreased in Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ mice, whereas no significant differences between genotypes were detected in the prepulse inhibition (PPI) test. The mutant mice showed no obvious deficits in social behaviors in three different social interaction tests.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that the Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ mutation causes abnormal anxiety-like behaviors, a deficiency in fear memory, and a decreased startle amplitude in mice. Although Grin1(Rgsc174)/Grin1+ mice only partially recapitulate symptoms of patients with ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, they may serve as a unique animal model of a certain subpopulation of patients with these disorders.

The potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist GSK1034702 improves episodic memory in humans in the nicotine abstinence model of cognitive dysfunction

Episodic memory deficits are a core feature of neurodegenerative disorders. Muscarinic M(1) receptors play a critical role in modulating learning and memory and are highly expressed in the hippocampus. We examined the effect of GSK1034702, a potent M(1) receptor allosteric agonist, on cognitive function, and in particular episodic memory, in healthy smokers using the nicotine abstinence model of cognitive dysfunction. The study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design in which 20 male nicotine abstained smokers were tested following single doses of placebo, 4 and 8 mg GSK1034702. Compared to the baseline (nicotine on-state), nicotine abstinence showed statistical significance in reducing immediate (p=0.019) and delayed (p=0.02) recall. GSK1034702 (8 mg) significantly attenuated (i.e. improved) immediate recall (p=0.014) but not delayed recall. None of the other cognitive domains was modulated by either nicotine abstinence or GSK1034702. These findings suggest that stimulating M(1) receptor mediated neurotransmission in humans with GSK1034702 improves memory encoding potentially by modulating hippocampal function. Hence, selective M(1) receptor allosteric agonists may have therapeutic benefits in disorders of impaired learning including Alzheimer's disease.

The retinoic acid receptor agonist Am80 increases hippocampal ADAM10 in aged SAMP8 mice

The retinoic acid (RA, a vitamin A metabolite) receptor (RAR) is a transcription factor. Vitamin A/RA administration improves the Alzheimer's disease (AD)- and age-related attenuation of memory/learning in mouse models. Recently, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10) was identified as a key molecule in RA-mediated anti-AD mechanisms. We investigated the effect of chronic administration of the RAR agonist Am80 (tamibarotene) on ADAM10 expression in senescence-accelerated mice (SAMP8). Moreover, we estimated changes in the expression of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), amyloid beta (Aβ), and hairy/enhancer of split (Hes), which are mediated by ADAM10. Spatial working memory and the levels of a hippocampal proliferation marker (Ki67) were also assessed in these mice. ADAM10 mRNA and protein expression was significantly reduced in the hippocampus of 13-month-old SAMP8 mice; their expression improved significantly after Am80 administration. Further, after Am80 administration, the expression levels of Hes5 and Ki67 were restored and the deterioration of working memory was suppressed, whereas APP and Aβ levels remained unchanged. Our results suggest that Am80 administration effectively improves dementia by activating the hippocampal ADAM10-Notch-Hes5 proliferative pathway.

Non-neuronal functions of the m2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor

Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter whose effects are mediated by two classes of receptors. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are ion channels, whereas the muscarinic receptors belong to the large family of G protein coupled seven transmembrane helix receptors. Beyond its function in neuronal systems, it has become evident that acetylcholine also plays an important role in non-neuronal cells such as epithelial and immune cells. Furthermore, many cell types in the periphery are capable of synthesizing acetylcholine and express at least some of the receptors. In this review, we summarize the non-neuronal functions of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, especially those of the M₂ muscarinic receptor in epithelial cells. We will review the mechanisms of signaling by the M₂ receptor but also the cellular trafficking and ARF6 mediated endocytosis of this receptor, which play an important role in the regulation of signaling events. In addition, we provide an overview of the M₂ receptor in human pathological conditions such as autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Discovery of novel N-substituted oxindoles as selective m1 and m4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors partial agonists

Activation of the M1 and M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors is thought to play an important role in improving the symptoms of schizophrenia. However, discovery of selective agonists for these receptors has been a challenge, considering the high sequence homology and conservation of the orthosteric acetylcholine binding site among muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes. We report in this study the discovery of novel N-substituted oxindoles as potent muscarinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonists selective for M1 and M4 over M2, M3, and M5. Among these oxindoles, compound 1 showed high selectivity for the M1 and M4 receptors with remarkable penetration into the central nervous system. Compound 1 reversed methamphetamine- and apomorphine-induced psychosis-like behaviors with low potency to extrapyramidical and peripheral side effects.

Leveraging the cortical cholinergic system to enhance attention

Attentional impairments are found in a range of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the development of procognitive enhancers to alleviate these impairments has been hindered by a lack of comprehensive hypotheses regarding the circuitry mediating the targeted attentional functions. Here we discuss the role of the cortical cholinergic system in mediating cue detection and attentional control and propose two target mechanisms for cognition enhancers: stimulation of prefrontal α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) for the enhancement of cue detection and augmentation of tonic acetylcholine levels for the enhancement of attentional control. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'.

The muscarinic M1 receptor positive allosteric modulator PQCA improves cognitive measures in rat, cynomolgus macaque, and rhesus macaque

RATIONALE

The current standards of care for Alzheimer's disease, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, have limited efficacy due to a host of mechanism-related side effects arising from indiscriminate activation of muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. The M1 muscarinic receptor is predominantly expressed in the brain in regions involved in cognition, and therefore selective activation of the M1 receptor would be expected to boost cognitive performance with reduced risk of peripheral side effects.

OBJECTIVES

Here we investigated whether the selective M1 muscarinic receptor positive allosteric modulator, PQCA, improves cognitive performance and cerebral blood flow.

RESULTS

PQCA attenuated a scopolamine-induced deficit in novel object recognition in rat, self-ordered spatial search in cynomolgus macaque, and the object retrieval detour task in rhesus macaque. Beneficial effects in each of these assays and species were observed at similar plasma drug concentrations. Furthermore, at similar drug concentrations that were effective in the behavioral studies, PQCA increased blood flow in the frontal cortex of mice, providing a translational biomarker that could be used to guide dose selection for clinical studies.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide a framework for appropriately testing an M1 selective compound in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Impaired synaptic clustering of postsynaptic density proteins and altered signal transmission in hippocampal neurons, and disrupted learning behavior in PDZ1 and PDZ2 ligand binding-deficient PSD-95 knockin mice

Background

Postsynaptic density (PSD)-95-like membrane-associated guanylate kinases (PSD-MAGUKs) are scaffold proteins in PSDs that cluster signaling molecules near NMDA receptors. PSD-MAGUKs share a common domain structure, including three PDZ (PDZ1/2/3) domains in their N-terminus. While multiple domains enable the PSD-MAGUKs to bind various ligands, the contribution of each PDZ domain to synaptic organization and function is not fully understood. Here, we focused on the PDZ1/2 domains of PSD-95 that bind NMDA-type receptors, and studied the specific roles of the ligand binding of these domains in the assembly of PSD proteins, synaptic properties of hippocampal neurons, and behavior, using ligand binding-deficient PSD-95 cDNA knockin (KI) mice.

Results

The KI mice showed decreased accumulation of mutant PSD-95, PSD-93 and AMPA receptor subunits in the PSD fraction of the hippocampus. In the hippocampal CA1 region of young KI mice, basal synaptic efficacy was reduced and long-term potentiation (LTP) was enhanced with intact long-term depression. In adult KI mice, there was no significant change in the magnitude of LTP in CA1, but robustly enhanced LTP was induced at the medial perforant path-dentate gyrus synapses, suggesting that PSD-95 has an age- and subregion-dependent role. In a battery of behavioral tests, KI mice showed markedly abnormal anxiety-like behavior, impaired spatial reference and working memory, and impaired remote memory and pattern separation in fear conditioning test.

Conclusions

These findings reveal that PSD-95 including its ligand binding of the PDZ1/2 domains controls the synaptic clustering of PSD-MAGUKs and AMPA receptors, which may have an essential role in regulating hippocampal synaptic transmission, plasticity, and hippocampus-dependent behavior.

Emerging approaches for treatment of schizophrenia: modulation of cholinergic signaling

Currently available therapeutic agents for treatment of schizophrenia target signaling by monoaminergic neurotransmitters; however, these treatments do not adequately treat the range of symptoms observed in patients. While these therapies treat the positive symptoms, they do not have efficacy in treating the negative symptoms and cognitive deficits that are associated with the disease. Evidence suggests that molecules that modulate signaling by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) could provide a more comprehensive treatment of schizophrenia than currently prescribed antipsychotics. Molecules that broadly increase ACh-signaling have been demonstrated to have efficacy in treating numerous symptom clusters in schizophrenia patients. Unfortunately, these compounds induce adverse effects via activation of peripheral receptors that limit their clinical utility. One proposed strategy for retaining the efficacy of cholinergic treatments, without the adverse effects, is to target specific cholinergic receptor subtypes in the brain. Several cholinergic receptors are able to modulate brain circuits that are dysregulated in schizophrenia patients including receptors belonging to both the muscarinic family (i.e., M1, M4, and M5), and the nicotinic family (i.e., α7, α4β2). Recently, great strides have been made in developing small molecules with high specificity for these receptors, and several of these novel molecules have robust efficacy in several preclinical models predictive of both anti-psychotic and pro-cognitive effectiveness. Promising studies suggest that targeting M1 and α7 may be beneficial for pro-cognitive effects, while molecules that target M4 may be ideally suited to address the positive symptoms. Since these receptor subtypes are distinct from those responsible for the adverse effects observed with non-selective cholinergic treatments, there is hope that molecules targeting these receptors could provide novel therapeutics. Further research is needed to examine the utility of such compounds as therapeutics that could be used either alone, or in combination with existing medications, to better treat schizophrenia.

Cholinergic receptor alterations in the brain stem of spinal cord injured rats

Cholinergic receptors in upper motor neurons of brain stem control locomotion and coordination. Present study unravels cholinergic alterations in brain stem during spinal cord injury to understand signalling pathway changes which may be associated with spinal cord injury mediated motor deficits. We evaluated cholinergic function in brain stem by studying the expression of choline acetyl transferase and acetylcholine esterase. We quantified metabotropic muscarinic cholinergic receptors by receptor assays for total muscarinic, muscarinic M1 and M3 receptor subunits, gene expression studies using Real Time PCR and confocal imaging using FITC tagged secondary antibodies. The gene expression of ionotropic nicotinic cholinergic receptors and confocal imaging were also studied. The results from our study showed metabolic disturbance in cholinergic pathway as choline acetyl transferase is down regulated and acetylcholine esterase is up regulated in spinal cord injury group. The significant decrease in muscarinic receptors showed by decreased receptor number along with down regulated gene expression and confocal imaging accounts for dysfunction of metabotropic acetylcholine receptors in spinal cord injury group. Ionotropic acetylcholine receptor alterations were evident from the decreased gene expression of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and confocal imaging. The motor coordination was analysed by Grid walk test which showed an increased foot slips in spinal cord injured rats. The significant reduction in brain stem cholinergic function might have intensified the motor dysfunction and locomotor disabilities.

Luminal cholinergic signalling in airway lining fluid: a novel mechanism for activating chloride secretion via Ca²⁺-dependent Cl⁻ and K⁺ channels

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Recent studies detected the expression of proteins involved in cholinergic metabolism in airway epithelial cells, although the function of this non-neuronal cholinergic system is not known in detail. Thus, this study focused on the effect of luminal ACh as a regulator of transepithelial ion transport in epithelial cells.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

RT-PCR experiments were performed using mouse tracheal epithelial cells for ChAT and organic cation transporter (OCT) transcripts. Components of tracheal airway lining fluid were analysed with desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) MS. Effects of nicotine on mouse tracheal epithelial ion transport were examined with Ussing-chamber experiments.

KEY RESULTS

Transcripts encoding ChAT and OCT1-3 were detected in mouse tracheal epithelial cells. The DESI experiments identified ACh in the airway lining fluid. Luminal ACh induced an immediate, dose-dependent increase in the transepithelial ion current (EC₅₀: 23.3 µM), characterized by a transient peak and sustained plateau current. This response was not affected by the Na⁺-channel inhibitor amiloride. The Cl⁻-channel inhibitor niflumic acid or the K⁺-channel blocker Ba²⁺ attenuated the ACh effect. The calcium ionophore A23187 mimicked the ACh effect. Luminal nicotine or muscarine increased the ion current. Experiments with receptor gene-deficient animals revealed the participation of muscarinic receptor subtypes M₁ and M₃.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The presence of luminal ACh and activation of transepithelial ion currents by luminal ACh receptors identifies a novel non-neuronal cholinergic pathway in the airway lining fluid. This pathway could represent a novel drug target in the airways.

The effects of perinatal choline supplementation on hippocampal cholinergic development in rats exposed to alcohol during the brain growth spurt

Prenatal alcohol exposure leads to long-lasting cognitive and attention deficits, as well as hyperactivity. Using a rat model, we have previously shown that perinatal supplementation with the essential nutrient, choline, can reduce the severity of some fetal alcohol effects, including hyperactivity and deficits in learning and memory. In fact, choline can mitigate alcohol-related learning deficits even when administered after developmental alcohol exposure, during the postnatal period. However, it is not yet known how choline is able to mitigate alcohol-related behavioral alterations. Choline may act by altering cholinergic signaling in the hippocampus. This study examined the effects of developmental alcohol exposure and perinatal choline supplementation on hippocampal M(1) and M(2/4) muscarinic receptors. Sprague-Dawley rat pups were orally intubated with ethanol (5.25 mg/kg/day) from postnatal days (PD) 4-9, a period of brain development equivalent to the human third trimester; control subjects received sham intubations. From PD 4-30, subjects were injected s.c. with choline chloride (100 mg/kg/day) or saline vehicle. Open field activity was assessed from PD 30 through 33, and brain tissue was collected on PD 35 for autoradiographic analysis. Ethanol-exposed subjects were more active compared to controls during the first 2 days of testing, an effect attenuated with choline supplementation. Developmental alcohol exposure significantly decreased the density of muscarinic M(1) receptors in the dorsal hippocampus, an effect that was not altered by choline supplementation. In contrast, developmental alcohol exposure significantly increased M(2/4) receptor density, an effect mitigated by choline supplementation. In fact, M(2/4) receptor density of subjects exposed to alcohol and treated with choline did not differ significantly from that of controls. These data suggest that developmental alcohol exposure can cause long-lasting changes in the hippocampal cholinergic system and that perinatal choline supplementation may attenuate alcohol-related behavioral changes by influencing cholinergic systems.

Novel muscarinic receptor mutant mouse models

Muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (mAChRs; M₁-M₅) regulate the activity of an extraordinarily large number of important physiological processes. During the past 10-15 years, studies with whole-body M₁-M₅ mAChR knockout mice have provided many new insights into the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the individual mAChR subtypes. This review will focus on the characterization of a novel generation of mAChR mutant mice, including mice in which distinct mAChR genes have been excised in a tissue- or cell type-specific fashion, various transgenic mouse lines that overexpress wild-type or different mutant M₃ mAChRs in certain tissues or cells only, as well as a novel M₃ mAChR knockin mouse strain deficient in agonist-induced M₃ mAChR phosphorylation. Phenotypic analysis of these new animal models has greatly advanced our understanding of the physiological roles of the various mAChR subtypes and has identified potential targets for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, drug addiction, cognitive disorders, and several other pathophysiological conditions.

M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors regulate long-term potentiation at hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cell synapses in an input-specific fashion

Muscarinic receptors have long been known as crucial players in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory, but our understanding of the cellular underpinnings and the receptor subtypes involved lags well behind. This holds in particular for the hippocampal CA3 region, where the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity depend on the type of afferent input. Williams and Johnston (Williams S, Johnston D. Science 242: 84-87, 1988; Williams S, Johnston D. J Neurophysiol 64: 1089-1097, 1990) demonstrated muscarinic depression of mossy fiber (MF) long-term potentiation (LTP) through a presynaptic site of action and Maeda et al. (Maeda T, Kaneko S, Satoh M. Brain Res 619: 324-330, 1993) proposed a bidirectional modulation of MF LTP by muscarinic receptor subtypes. Since then, this issue, as well as muscarinic regulation of plasticity at associational/commissural (A/C) fiber-CA3 synapses has remained largely neglected, not least because of the lack of highly selective ligands for the different muscarinic receptor subtypes. In the present study, we performed field potential and whole cell recordings from the hippocampal CA3 region of M(2) receptor knockout mice to determine the role of M(2) receptors in short-term and long-term plasticity at A/C and MF inputs to CA3 pyramidal cells. At the A/C synapse, M(2) receptors promoted short-term facilitation and LTP. Unexpectedly, M(2) receptors mediated the opposite effect on LTP at the MF synapse, which was significantly reduced, most likely involving a depressant effect of M(2) receptors on adenylyl cyclase activity in MF terminals. Our data demonstrate that cholinergic projections recruit M(2) receptors to redistribute the gain of LTP in CA3 pyramidal cells in an input-specific manner.

M4 muscarinic receptor knockout mice display abnormal social behavior and decreased prepulse inhibition

BACKGROUND

In the central nervous system (CNS), the muscarinic system plays key roles in learning and memory, as well as in the regulation of many sensory, motor, and autonomic processes, and is thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of several major diseases of the CNS, such as Alzheimer's disease, depression, and schizophrenia. Previous studies reveal that M4 muscarinic receptor knockout (M4R KO) mice displayed an increase in basal locomotor activity, an increase in sensitivity to the prepulse inhibition (PPI)-disrupting effect of psychotomimetics, and normal basal PPI. However, other behaviorally significant roles of M4R remain unclear.

RESULTS

In this study, to further investigate precise functional roles of M4R in the CNS, M4R KO mice were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests. M4R KO mice showed no significant impairments in nociception, neuromuscular strength, or motor coordination/learning. In open field, light/dark transition, and social interaction tests, consistent with previous studies, M4R KO mice displayed enhanced locomotor activity compared to their wild-type littermates. In the open field test, M4R KO mice exhibited novelty-induced locomotor hyperactivity. In the social interaction test, contacts between pairs of M4R KO mice lasted shorter than those of wild-type mice. In the sensorimotor gating test, M4R KO mice showed a decrease in PPI, whereas in the startle response test, in contrast to a previous study, M4R KO mice demonstrated normal startle response. M4R KO mice also displayed normal performance in the Morris water maze test.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that M4R is involved in regulation of locomotor activity, social behavior, and sensorimotor gating in mice. Together with decreased PPI, abnormal social behavior, which was newly identified in the present study, may represent a behavioral abnormality related to psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia.

Contribution of both M1 and M4 receptors to muscarinic agonist-mediated attenuation of the cocaine discriminative stimulus in mice

RATIONALE

We previously showed that muscarinic agonists with M(1) and/or M(4) receptor affinities attenuated cocaine discrimination and self-administration in wild-type mice but not in M(1)/M(4) double-knockout mice.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to elucidate the respective contributions of M(1) and M(4) receptors to this effect.

METHODS

Knockout mice lacking either the M(1) subtype (M (1) (-/-) ) or the M(4) subtype (M (4) (-/-) ) and wild-type mice were trained to discriminate 10 mg/kg cocaine from saline. Muscarinic ligands were tested for modulation of cocaine discrimination: xanomeline (M(1)/M(4)-preferring agonist), VU0357017 (M(1)-selective partial agonist), 77-LH-28-1 (M(1) agonist), and BQCA (M(1)-selective positive allosteric modulator).

RESULTS

Xanomeline produced rightward shifts in the cocaine dose-effect curve in all three genotypes, but most robustly in wild-type mice. VU0357017 produced rightward shifts in the cocaine dose-effect curve in wild-type and M (4) (-/-) mice, but not in M (1) (-/-) mice. Response rates were suppressed by xanomeline in wild-type and M (1) (-/-) but not in M (4) (-/-) mice and were unaltered by VU0357017. 77-LH-28-1 and BQCA also showed evidence of attenuating cocaine's discriminative stimulus, but at doses that suppressed responding or had other undesirable effects. Intriguingly, both VU0357017 and 77-LH-28-1 exhibited U-shaped dose-effect functions in attenuating cocaine discrimination. None of the drugs substituted for the cocaine stimulus.

CONCLUSIONS

Attenuation of the cocaine stimulus by VU0357017 depended upon M(1) receptors, and full effects of xanomeline depended upon both M(1) and M(4) receptors. Therefore M(1)-selective agonists and mixed M(1)/M(4) agonists may be promising leads for developing medications that block cocaine's effects.

Protection by an antioxidant of rotenone-induced neuromotor decline, reactive oxygen species generation and cellular stress in mouse brain

Exposure to environmental toxins, including rotenone, results in central nervous system and systemic toxicity. Rotenone is a widely used pesticide and a mitochondrial complex I (CI) inhibitor. This study reports effectiveness of a synthetic lipoylcarnitine antioxidant compound, lipoylcarnitine methyl ester iodide (PMX-500F), for treatment of chronic rotenone induced neurological deficits in mice. Mice (C57BL/6NTac; two months of age) received oral administration of rotenone (30 mg/kg/day) or vehicle, preceded by intraperitoneal injection of PMX-500F (19 mg/kg) or vehicle for four weeks. In the Rota-rod test, rotenone treatment had no effect (P>0.05); however, PMX-500F treatment improved locomotor coordination and endurance (latency to fall time; P<0.05). For neuromuscular strength (wire hang test), rotenone treated mice showed reduced latency to fall compared to control mice (P<0.05). PMX-500F treatment improved the outcome in both control and rotenone exposed mice (P<0.05). Rotenone administration increased ROS generation in the forebrain and midbrain regions, but not in the cerebellum (P<0.05). Co-treatment with PMX-500F normalized the ROS in forebrain and midbrain regions to that of the control concentrations. In rotenone administered mice, activated stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (pSAPK/JNK) was higher in forebrain and midbrain lysates than in control mice (P<0.05) and treatment with PMX-500F reduced pSAPK/JNK to control levels. The pSAPK/JNK levels in the cerebellum were similar in all four groups (P>0.05). Total SAPK/JNK was not altered by either rotenone or PMX-500F treatment (P>0.05). These results illustrate that an antioxidant, here PMX-500F, provides protection against rotenone induced decline in neuromotor function, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cellular stress.

Muscarinic mechanisms in psychotic disorders

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease with several broad symptom clusters and the current monoamine-based treatments do not adequately treat the disease, especially negative and cognitive symptoms. A proposed alternative approach for treating schizophrenia is through the use of compounds that activate certain muscarinic receptor subtypes, the so-called muscarinic cholinergic hypothesis theory. This theory has been revitalized with a number of recent and provocative findings including postmortem reports in schizophrenia patients showing decreased numbers of muscarinic M(1) and M(4) receptors in brain regions associated with schizophrenia as well as decreased muscarinic receptors in an in vivo imaging study. Studies with M(4) knockout mice have shown that there is a reciprocal relationship between M(4) and dopamine receptor function, and a number of muscarinic agonists have shown antidopaminergic activity in a variety of preclinical assays predictive of antipsychotic efficacy in the clinic. Furthermore, the M(1)/M(4) preferring partial agonist xanomeline has been shown to have antipsychotic-like and pro-cognitive activity in preclinical models and in clinical trials to decrease psychotic-like behaviors in Alzheimer's patients and positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, we propose that an agonist with M(1) and M(4) interactions would effectively treat core symptom clusters associated with schizophrenia. Currently, research is focused on developing subtype-selective muscarinic agonists and positive allosteric modulators that have reduced propensity for parasympathetic side-effects, but retain the therapeutic benefit observed with their less selective predecessors.

Muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists and allosteric modulators for the treatment of schizophrenia

Muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (mAChRs and nAChRs) are emerging as important targets for the development of novel treatments for the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Preclinical and early proof-of-concept clinical studies have provided strong evidence that activators of specific mAChR (M(1) and M(4)) and nAChR (α(7) and α(2)β(4)) subtypes are effective in animal models of antipsychotic-like activity and/or cognitive enhancement, and in the treatment of positive and cognitive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. While early attempts to develop selective mAChR and nAChR agonists provided important preliminary findings, these compounds have ultimately failed in clinical development due to a lack of true subtype selectivity and subsequent dose-limiting adverse effects. In recent years, there have been major advances in the discovery of highly selective activators for the different mAChR and nAChR subtypes with suitable properties for optimization as potential candidates for clinical trials. One novel strategy has been to identify ligands that activate a specific receptor subtype through actions at sites that are distinct from the highly conserved ACh-binding site, termed allosteric sites. These allosteric activators, both allosteric agonists and positive allosteric modulators, of mAChR and nAChR subtypes demonstrate unique mechanisms of action and high selectivity in vivo, and may provide innovative treatment strategies for schizophrenia.

Muscarinic agonists and antagonists in schizophrenia: recent therapeutic advances and future directions

Existing therapies for schizophrenia have limited efficacy, and significant residual positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms remain in many individuals with the disorder even after treatment with the current arsenal of antipsychotic drugs. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that selective activation of the muscarinic cholinergic system may represent novel therapeutic mechanisms for the treatment of schizophrenia. The therapeutic relevance of earlier muscarinic agonists was limited by their lack of receptor selectivity and adverse event profile arising from activation of nontarget muscarinic receptors. Recent advances in developing compounds that are selective to muscarinic receptor subtypes or activate allosteric receptor sites offer tremendous promise for therapeutic targeting of specific muscarinic receptor subtypes in schizophrenia.

Muscarinic receptor pharmacology and circuitry for the modulation of cognition

The muscarinic cholinergic system constitutes an important part of the neuronal circuitry that modulates normal cognition. Muscarinic receptor antagonists are well known to produce or exacerbate impairments in attention, learning, and memory. Conversely, both direct-acting muscarinic receptor agonists and indirect-acting muscarinic cholinergic agonists, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, have shown cognition-enhancing properties, including improvements in normal cognitive function, reversal of cognitive deficits induced by muscarinic receptor antagonists, and attenuation of cognitive deficits in psychiatric and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. However, until recently, the lack of small molecule ligands that antagonize or activate specific muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtypes with high selectivity has been a major obstacle in defining the relative contributions of individual mAChRs to different aspects of cognitive function and for the development of novel therapeutic agents. These limitations may be potentially overcome by the recent discovery of novel mAChR subtype-selective compounds, notably allosteric agonists and positive allosteric modulators, which exhibit greater selectivity for individual mAChR subtypes than previous mAChR orthosteric agonists. In preclinical studies, these novel ligands have shown promising efficacy in several models for the enhancement of cognition. In this chapter, we will review the muscarinic cholinergic circuitry and pharmacology of mAChR agonists and antagonists relevant to the modulation of different aspects of cognition in animals and clinical populations.

Synaptic dysfunction in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia alters basic brain processes of perception, emotion, and judgment to cause hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and cognitive deficits. Unlike neurodegeneration diseases that have irreversible neuronal degeneration and death, schizophrenia lacks agreeable pathological hallmarks, which makes it one of the least understood psychiatric disorders. With identification of schizophrenia susceptibility genes, recent studies have begun to shed light on underlying pathological mechanisms. Schizophrenia is believed to result from problems during neural development that lead to improper function of synaptic transmission and plasticity, and in agreement, many of the susceptibility genes encode proteins critical for neural development. Some, however, are also expressed at high levels in adult brain. Here, we will review evidence for altered neurotransmission at glutamatergic, GABAergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic synapses in schizophrenia and discuss roles of susceptibility genes in neural development as well as in synaptic plasticity and how their malfunction may contribute to pathogenic mechanisms of schizophrenia. We propose that mouse models with precise temporal and spatial control of mutation or overexpression would be useful to delineate schizophrenia pathogenic mechanisms.

Intracranial V. cholerae sialidase protects against excitotoxic neurodegeneration

Converging evidence shows that GD3 ganglioside is a critical effector in a number of apoptotic pathways, and GM1 ganglioside has neuroprotective and noötropic properties. Targeted deletion of GD3 synthase (GD3S) eliminates GD3 and increases GM1 levels. Primary neurons from GD3S−/− mice are resistant to neurotoxicity induced by amyloid-β or hyperhomocysteinemia, and when GD3S is eliminated in the APP/PSEN1 double-transgenic model of Alzheimer's disease the plaque-associated oxidative stress and inflammatory response are absent. To date, no small-molecule inhibitor of GD3S exists. In the present study we used sialidase from Vibrio cholerae (VCS) to produce a brain ganglioside profile that approximates that of GD3S deletion. VCS hydrolyzes GD1a and complex b-series gangliosides to GM1, and the apoptogenic GD3 is degraded. VCS was infused by osmotic minipump into the dorsal third ventricle in mice over a 4-week period. Sensorimotor behaviors, anxiety, and cognition were unaffected in VCS-treated mice. To determine whether VCS was neuroprotective in vivo, we injected kainic acid on the 25th day of infusion to induce status epilepticus. Kainic acid induced a robust lesion of the CA3 hippocampal subfield in aCSF-treated controls. In contrast, all hippocampal regions in VCS-treated mice were largely intact. VCS did not protect against seizures. These results demonstrate that strategic degradation of complex gangliosides and GD3 can be used to achieve neuroprotection without adversely affecting behavior.

Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subtypes as Potential Drug Targets for the Treatment of Schizophrenia, Drug Abuse and Parkinson's Disease

The neurotransmitter dopamine plays important roles in modulating cognitive, affective, and motor functions. Dysregulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission is thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric and neurological disorders, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and drug abuse. Dopaminergic systems are regulated by cholinergic, especially muscarinic, input. Not surprisingly, increasing evidence implicates muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated pathways as potential targets for the treatment of these disorders classically viewed as "dopamine based". There are five known muscarinic receptor subtypes (M(1) to M(5)). Due to their overlapping expression patterns and the lack of receptor subtype-specific ligands, the roles of the individual muscarinic receptors have long remained elusive. During the past decade, studies with knock-out mice lacking specific muscarinic receptor subtypes have greatly advanced our knowledge of the physiological roles of the M(1)-M(5) receptors. Recently, new ligands have been developed that can interact with allosteric sites on different muscarinic receptor subtypes, rather than the conventional (orthosteric) acetylcholine binding site. Such agents may lead to the development of novel classes of drugs useful for the treatment of psychosis, drug abuse and Parkinson's disease. The present review highlights recent studies carried out using muscarinic receptor knock-out mice and new subtype-selective allosteric ligands to assess the roles of M(1), M(4), and M(5) receptors in various central processes that are under strong dopaminergic control. The outcome of these studies opens new perspectives for the use of novel muscarinic drugs for several severe disorders of the CNS.

Roles of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype in the regulation of basal ganglia function and implications for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Antagonists of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) were among the first treatments for Parkinson's disease. However, the clinical utility of mAChR antagonists is limited by adverse effects associated with the blockade of multiple mAChR subtypes. Understanding the roles of specific mAChR subtypes in regulating basal ganglia and motor function could lead to the development of novel agents that have antiparkinsonian activity with fewer adverse effects. Using the novel, highly selective M1 antagonist N-[3-oxo-3-[4-(4-pyridinyl)-1-piperazinyl]propyl]-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4-sulfonamide (VU0255035) and the M1 positive allosteric modulator benzylquinolone carboxylic acid, we investigated the roles of M1 receptors in cholinergic excitation and regulation of synaptic transmission in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and neurons in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). Electrophysiological studies demonstrate that M1 activation has excitatory effects on MSNs but plays little or no role in mAChR-mediated increases in firing frequency or the regulation of synaptic transmission in STN and SNr neurons. On the basis of this profile, M1-selective antagonists may have weak antiparkinsonian activity but would not have the full efficacy observed in nonselective mAChR antagonists. Consistent with this, the M1-selective antagonist VU0255035 partially reversed reserpine-induced akinesia and decreased haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rats but did not have the full efficacy observed with the nonselective mAChR antagonist scopolamine. These results suggest that the M1 receptor participates in the overall regulation of basal ganglia function and antiparkinsonian effects of mAChR antagonists but that other mAChR subtype(s) also play important roles at multiple levels of the basal ganglia motor circuit.

Intact attentional processing but abnormal responding in M1 muscarinic receptor-deficient mice using an automated touchscreen method

Cholinergic receptors have been implicated in schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. However, to better target therapeutically the appropriate receptor subsystems, we need to understand more about the functions of those subsystems. In the current series of experiments, we assessed the functional role of M(1) receptors in cognition by testing M(1) receptor-deficient mice (M1R(-/-)) on the five-choice serial reaction time test of attentional and response functions, carried out using a computer-automated touchscreen test system. In addition, we tested these mice on several tasks featuring learning, memory and perceptual challenges. An advantage of the touchscreen method is that each test in the battery is carried out in the same task setting, using the same types of stimuli, responses and feedback, thus providing a high level of control and task comparability. The surprising finding, given the predominance of the M(1) receptor in cortex, was the complete lack of effect of M(1) deletion on measures of attentional function per se. Moreover, M1R(-/-) mice performed relatively normally on tests of learning, memory and perception, although they were impaired in object recognition memory with, but not without an interposed delay interval. They did, however, show clear abnormalities on a variety of response measures: M1R(-/-) mice displayed fewer omissions, more premature responses, and increased perseverative responding compared to wild-types. These data suggest that M1R(-/-) mice display abnormal responding in the face of relatively preserved attention, learning and perception.

Elimination of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter in the striatum reveals regulation of behaviour by cholinergic-glutamatergic co-transmission

A novel mouse model that eliminates cholinergic neurotransmission in the striatum while leaving glutamate release intact reveals differential effects on cocaine-induced behavior and dopaminergic responses.

Cholinergic neurons in the striatum are thought to play major regulatory functions in motor behaviour and reward. These neurons express two vesicular transporters that can load either acetylcholine or glutamate into synaptic vesicles. Consequently cholinergic neurons can release both neurotransmitters, making it difficult to discern their individual contributions for the regulation of striatal functions. Here we have dissected the specific roles of acetylcholine release for striatal-dependent behaviour in mice by selective elimination of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) from striatal cholinergic neurons. Analysis of several behavioural parameters indicates that elimination of VAChT had only marginal consequences in striatum-related tasks and did not affect spontaneous locomotion, cocaine-induced hyperactivity, or its reward properties. However, dopaminergic sensitivity of medium spiny neurons (MSN) and the behavioural outputs in response to direct dopaminergic agonists were enhanced, likely due to increased expression/function of dopamine receptors in the striatum. These observations indicate that previous functions attributed to striatal cholinergic neurons in spontaneous locomotor activity and in the rewarding responses to cocaine are mediated by glutamate and not by acetylcholine release. Our experiments demonstrate how one population of neurons can use two distinct neurotransmitters to differentially regulate a given circuitry. The data also raise the possibility of using VAChT as a target to boost dopaminergic function and decrease high striatal cholinergic activity, common neurochemical alterations in individuals affected with Parkinson's disease.

The neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine play opposite roles in the striatum (a brain region involved in motor control and reward-related behaviour), and their balance is thought to be critical for striatal function. Acetylcholine in the striatum has been linked to a number of functions, including control of locomotor activity and response to drugs of abuse. However, striatal cholinergic interneurons can also release glutamate (in addition to acetylcholine) and it is presently unclear how these two neurotransmitters regulate striatal-dependent behaviour. Previous work has attempted to resolve this issue by ablating cholinergic neurons in the striatum, but this causes loss of both cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission. In this study, we created a novel genetic mouse model which allowed us to selectively interfere with secretion of acetylcholine in the striatum, while leaving total striatal glutamate release intact. In these mice, we observed minimally altered behavioural responses to cocaine, suggesting that striatal glutamate, rather than acetylcholine, is critical for cocaine-induced behavioural manifestations. Furthermore, elimination of striatal acetylcholine release affects how striatal output neurons respond to dopamine, by up-regulating dopaminergic receptors and changing behavioural responses to dopaminergic agonists. Our experiments highlight a previously unappreciated physiological role of cholinergic-glutamatergic co-transmission and demonstrate how a population of neurons can use two distinct neurotransmitters to differentially regulate behaviour.

The M₁/M₄ preferring agonist xanomeline reverses amphetamine-, MK801- and scopolamine-induced abnormalities of latent inhibition: putative efficacy against positive, negative and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia

A major challenge in developing schizophrenia pharmacotherapy is treating the different symptoms of this disorder, typically divided into positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. M₁/M₄ muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) agonists have emerged as a promising therapeutic target, particularly for positive and cognitive symptoms. Here, we examined the activity of the M₁/M₄ mAChR-preferring agonist xanomeline in four pharmacological latent inhibition (LI) models. LI is the poorer conditioning to a stimulus previously experienced as irrelevant during repeated non-reinforced pre-exposure to that stimulus. No-drug controls displayed LI if non-reinforced pre-exposure to a tone was followed by weak, but not strong, conditioning (2 vs. 5 tone-shock pairings). Amphetamine (1 mg/kg)- or scopolamine (0.15 mg/kg)-treated rats failed to show LI with weak conditioning, whereas MK801 (0.05 mg/kg)- or scopolamine (1.5 mg/kg)-treated rats persisted in displaying LI with strong conditioning. Xanomeline (5 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg) reversed amphetamine- and scopolamine-induced LI disruption, effects considered predictive of activity against positive symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition, xanomeline alleviated MK801-induced abnormally persistent LI. Activity of xanomeline on NMDA antagonist-induced behaviour was demonstrated here for the first time and suggests that the drug is effective against negative/cognitive symptoms. Finally, xanomeline alleviated abnormally persistent LI induced by scopolamine, which was suggested to model antipsychotic drug-resistant cognitive impairments, providing further evidence for the cognition-enhancing capacity of xanomeline. Although the use of xanomeline in schizophrenia was discontinued due to cholinergic-related side-effects, our findings suggest that M₁/M₄ mAChR agonism should be an important target in drug development in schizophrenia, potentially beneficial for treatment of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms.

Behavioral alterations associated with targeted disruption of exons 2 and 3 of the Disc1 gene in the mouse

Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is a promising candidate gene for susceptibility to psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. DISC1 appears to be involved in neurogenesis, neuronal migration, axon/dendrite formation and synapse formation; during these processes, DISC1 acts as a scaffold protein by interacting with various partners. However, the lack of Disc1 knockout mice and a well-characterized antibody to DISC1 has made it difficult to determine the exact role of DISC1 in vivo. In this study, we generated mice lacking exons 2 and 3 of the Disc1 gene and prepared specific antibodies to the N- and C-termini of DISC1. The Disc1 mutant mice are viable and fertile, and no gross phenotypes, such as disorganization of the brain's cytoarchitecture, were observed. Western blot analysis revealed that the DISC1-specific antibodies recognize a protein with an apparent molecular mass of ~100 kDa in brain extracts from wild-type mice but not in brain extracts from DISC1 mutant mice. Immunochemical studies demonstrated that DISC1 is mainly localized to the vicinity of the Golgi apparatus in hippocampal neurons and astrocytes. A deficiency of full-length Disc1 induced a threshold shift in the induction of long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus. The Disc1 mutant mice displayed abnormal emotional behavior as assessed by the elevated plus-maze and cliff-avoidance tests, thereby suggesting that a deficiency of full-length DISC1 may result in lower anxiety and/or higher impulsivity. Based on these results, we suggest that full-length Disc1-deficient mice and DISC1-specific antibodies are powerful tools for dissecting the pathophysiological functions of DISC1.

Loss of muscarinic M1 receptor exacerbates Alzheimer's disease-like pathology and cognitive decline

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by tau-laden neurofibrillary tangles and β-amyloid deposits. Dysregulation of cholinergic neurotransmission has been implicated in AD pathogenesis, contributing to the associated memory impairments; yet, the exact mechanisms remain to be defined. Activating the muscarinic acetylcholine M(1) receptors (M(1)Rs) reduces AD-like pathological features and enhances cognition in AD transgenic models. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which M(1)Rs affect AD pathophysiological features, we crossed the 3xTgAD and transgenic mice expressing human Swedish, Dutch, and Iowa triple-mutant amyloid precursor protein (Tg-SwDI), two widely used animal models, with the M(1)R(-/-) mice. Our data show that M(1)R deletion in the 3xTgAD and Tg-SwDI mice exacerbates the cognitive impairment through mechanisms dependent on the transcriptional dysregulation of genes required for memory and through acceleration of AD-related synaptotoxicity. Ablating the M(1)R increased plaque and tangle levels in the brains of 3xTgAD mice and elevated cerebrovascular deposition of fibrillar Aβ in Tg-SwDI mice. Notably, tau hyperphosphorylation and potentiation of amyloidogenic processing in the mice with AD lacking M(1)R were attributed to changes in the glycogen synthase kinase 3β and protein kinase C activities. Finally, deleting the M(1)R increased the astrocytic and microglial response associated with Aβ plaques. Our data highlight the significant role that disrupting the M(1)R plays in exacerbating AD-related cognitive decline and pathological features and provide critical preclinical evidence to justify further development and evaluation of selective M(1)R agonists for treating AD.

m1 Acetylcholine Receptor Expression is Decreased in Hippocampal CA1 region of Aged Epileptic Animals

In the present study, we investigated the possible additive effects of epilepsy and aging on the expression of m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) in the rat hippocampus. Young (3 months) and Aged (20 months) male, Wistar rats were treated with pilocarpine to induce status epilepticus (SE). Immunohistochemical procedure for m1 AChR detection was performed 2 months after pilocarpine-induced SE. In the CA1 pyramidal region m1 AChR staining was significantly decreased in aged epileptic animals when compared to young epileptic and aged control rats, indicating that the aging effect is worsened by the epileptic condition. However, the Nissl-stained cell analysis indicated that the number of pyramidal CA1 neurons was similarly reduced in both epileptic groups, young and aged animals. Therefore, our data suggest that the progressive reduction of m1 AChR expression in CA1 pyramidal cells of aged epileptic rats might bear relevance to the associated progressive cognitive impairment.

Mouse models of genetic effects on cognition: relevance to schizophrenia

Cognitive dysfunction is a core feature of schizophrenia. Growing evidence indicates that a wide variety of genetic mutations and polymorphisms impact cognition and may thus be implicated in various aspects of this mental disorder. Despite differences between human and rodent brain structure and function, genetic mouse models have contributed critical information about brain mechanisms involved in cognitive processes. Here, we summarize discoveries of genetic modifications in mice that impact cognition. Based on functional hypotheses, gene modifications within five model systems are described: 1) dopamine (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, DAT, COMT, MAO); 2) glutamate (GluR-A, NR1, NR2A, NR2B, GRM2, GRM3, GLAST); 3) GABA (α(5), γ(2), α(4), δGABA(A), GABA(B(1)), GAT1); 4) acetylcholine (nAChRβ2, α7, CHRM1); and 5) calcium (CaMKII-α, neurogranin, CaMKKβ, CaMKIV). We also consider other risk-associated genes for schizophrenia such as dysbindin (DTNBP1), neuregulin (NRG1), disrupted-in-schizophrenia1 (DISC1), reelin and proline dehydrogenase (PRODH). Because of the presumed importance of environmental factors, we further consider genetic modifications within the stress-sensitive systems of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the endocannabinoid systems. We highlight the missing information and limitations of cognitive assays in genetically modified mice models relevant to schizophrenia pathology.

Lithium treatment attenuates muscarinic M(1) receptor dysfunction

OBJECTIVE

Altered muscarinic acetylcholine receptor levels and receptor-coupled signaling processes have been reported in mood disorders. M(1) , one of five muscarinic receptor subtypes, couples to the phospholipase C/protein kinase C and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. Mood stabilizers regulate these pathways. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that suppress translation in a sequence-selective manner. Lithium downregulates several miRNAs, including let-7b and let-7c. One predicted target of let-7b and let-7c is the M(1) receptor. We hypothesized that miRNAs regulate M(1) receptor translation, and that disrupted M(1) expression leads to aberrant behaviors and disrupted downstream signaling pathways that are rescued by lithium treatment.

METHODS

The effects of miRNAs and chronic treatment with mood stabilizers on M(1) levels were tested in primary cultures and in rat frontal cortex. Effects of M(1) ablation and chronic treatment with mood stabilizers on several signaling cascades and M(1) -modulated behaviors were examined in wild-type and M(1) knockout mice.

RESULTS

  Let-7b, but not let-7c, negatively regulated M(1) levels. Chronic treatment with lithium, but not valproate, increased M(1) levels in the rat cortex. M(1) knockout mice exhibit ERK pathway deficits and behavioral hyperactivity; chronic treatment with lithium attenuated these deficits and hyperactivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Lithium treatment can affect M(1) receptor function through intracellular signaling enhancement and, in situations without M(1) ablation, concomitant receptor upregulation via mechanisms involving miRNAs. Muscarinic dysfunction may contribute to mood disorders, while M(1) receptors and the downstream ERK pathway may serve as potential therapeutic targets for alleviating manic symptoms such as psychomotor hyperactivity.

Cholinergic depletion in the nucleus accumbens: effects on amphetamine response and sensorimotor gating

A delicate balance between dopaminergic and cholinergic activity in the ventral striatum or nucleus accumbens (N.Acc) appears to be important for optimal performance of a wide range of behaviours. While functional interactions between these systems are complex, some data suggest that acetylcholine in the N.Acc. may dampen the effects of excessive dopamine (DA) release. We proposed that a reduction in the density of cholinergic interneurons in the N.Acc would result in behavioural alterations suggestive of a hyper-responsiveness of the N.Acc DA system. The present study aimed to produce a sustainable depletion of cholinergic neurons in the N.Acc in the rat and study the effects of such lesions on DA-dependent behaviour. A novel saporin immunotoxin targeting choline acetyltransferase was microinjected bilaterally into the N.Acc of adult rats. We confirmed histologically that two weeks post-injection, animals show a local, selective depletion of cholinergic interneurons (mean cell loss of 44%). Cholinergic-depleted rats showed a marked increase in the locomotor activating effects of amphetamine. In addition, such lesions induced a disruption of sensorimotor gating processes, reflected in a reduction in the prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response, which was reversed by haloperidol. These data are suggestive of pronounced hyper-responsiveness of the meso-accumbens DA system which may be of relevance to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a condition where selective reduction in the number of ventral striatal cholinergic neurons has been demonstrated.

Novel strains of mice deficient for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter: insights on transcriptional regulation and control of locomotor behavior

Defining the contribution of acetylcholine to specific behaviors has been challenging, mainly because of the difficulty in generating suitable animal models of cholinergic dysfunction. We have recently shown that, by targeting the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) gene, it is possible to generate genetically modified mice with cholinergic deficiency. Here we describe novel VAChT mutant lines. VAChT gene is embedded within the first intron of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, which provides a unique arrangement and regulation for these two genes. We generated a VAChT allele that is flanked by loxP sequences and carries the resistance cassette placed in a ChAT intronic region (FloxNeo allele). We show that mice with the FloxNeo allele exhibit differential VAChT expression in distinct neuronal populations. These mice show relatively intact VAChT expression in somatomotor cholinergic neurons, but pronounced decrease in other cholinergic neurons in the brain. VAChT mutant mice present preserved neuromuscular function, but altered brain cholinergic function and are hyperactive. Genetic removal of the resistance cassette rescues VAChT expression and the hyperactivity phenotype. These results suggest that release of ACh in the brain is normally required to “turn down” neuronal circuits controlling locomotion.

Muscarinic receptors: their roles in disorders of the central nervous system and potential as therapeutic targets

Phylogenetically, acetylcholine is an ancient neurochemical. Therefore, it is not surprising that cholinergic neurons project extensively throughout the central nervous system, innervating a wide range of structures within the brain. In fact, acetylcholine is involved in processes that underpin some of our most basic central functions. Both muscarinic and nicotinic receptor families, which mediate cholinergic transmission, have been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurological disorders. The question that remains to be definitively answered is whether or not these receptors are viable targets for the development of future therapeutic agents.