Circuit-wide Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Brain Region-Specific Gene Networks Regulating Depression Susceptibility

Brain-wide Electrical Spatiotemporal Dynamics Encode Depression Vulnerability

Brain-wide fluctuations in local field potential oscillations reflect emergent network-level signals that mediate behavior. Cracking the code whereby these oscillations coordinate in time and space (spatiotemporal dynamics) to represent complex behaviors would provide fundamental insights into how the brain signals emotional pathology. Using machine learning, we discover a spatiotemporal dynamic network that predicts the emergence of major depressive disorder (MDD)-related behavioral dysfunction in mice subjected to chronic social defeat stress. Activity patterns in this network originate in prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum, relay through amygdala and ventral tegmental area, and converge in ventral hippocampus. This network is increased by acute threat, and it is also enhanced in three independent models of MDD vulnerability. Finally, we demonstrate that this vulnerability network is biologically distinct from the networks that encode dysfunction after stress. Thus, these findings reveal a convergent mechanism through which MDD vulnerability is mediated in the brain.

Estrogen receptor α drives pro-resilient transcription in mouse models of depression

Most people exposed to stress do not develop depression. Animal models have shown that stress resilience is an active state that requires broad transcriptional adaptations, but how this homeostatic process is regulated remains poorly understood. In this study, we analyze upstream regulators of genes differentially expressed after chronic social defeat stress. We identify estrogen receptor α (ERα) as the top regulator of pro-resilient transcriptional changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region implicated in depression. In accordance with these findings, nuclear ERα protein levels are altered by stress in male and female mice. Further, overexpression of ERα in the NAc promotes stress resilience in both sexes. Subsequent RNA-sequencing reveals that ERα overexpression in NAc reproduces the transcriptional signature of resilience in male, but not female, mice. These results indicate that NAc ERα is an important regulator of pro-resilient transcriptional changes, but with sex-specific downstream targets.

Early life stress confers lifelong stress susceptibility in mice via ventral tegmental area OTX2

Early life stress increases risk for depression. Here we establish a "two-hit" stress model in mice wherein stress at a specific postnatal period increases susceptibility to adult social defeat stress and causes long-lasting transcriptional alterations that prime the ventral tegmental area (VTA)-a brain reward region-to be in a depression-like state. We identify a role for the developmental transcription factor orthodenticle homeobox 2 (Otx2) as an upstream mediator of these enduring effects. Transient juvenile-but not adult-knockdown of Otx2 in VTA mimics early life stress by increasing stress susceptibility, whereas its overexpression reverses the effects of early life stress. This work establishes a mechanism by which early life stress encodes lifelong susceptibility to stress via long-lasting transcriptional programming in VTA mediated by Otx2.

Genetic variant in CACNA1C is associated with PTSD in traumatized police officers

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that may develop after a traumatic event. Here we aimed to identify epigenetic and genetic loci associated with PTSD. We included 73 traumatized police officers with extreme phenotypes regarding symptom severity despite similar trauma history: n = 34 had PTSD and n = 39 had minimal PTSD symptoms. Epigenetic and genetic profiles were based on the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We searched for differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and differentially methylated regions (DMRs). For genetic associations we analyzed the CpG-SNPs present on the array. We detected no genome-wide significant DMPs and we did not replicate previously reported DMPs associated with PTSD. However, GSE analysis of the top 100 DMPs showed enrichment of three genes involved in the dopaminergic neurogenesis pathway. Furthermore, we observed a suggestive association of one relatively large DMR between patients and controls, which was located at the PAX8 gene and previously associated with other psychiatric disorders. Finally, we validated five PTSD-associated CpG-SNPs identified with the array using sanger sequencing. We subsequently replicated the association of one common SNP (rs1990322) in the CACNA1C locus with PTSD in an independent cohort of traumatized children. The CACNA1C locus was previously associated with other psychiatric disorders, but not yet with PTSD. Thus, despite the small sample size, inclusion of extreme symptom severity phenotypes in a highly homogenous traumatized cohort enabled detection of epigenetic and genetic loci associated with PTSD. Moreover, here we showed that genetically confounded 450K probes are informative for genetic association analysis.

Brain-region-specific Molecular Responses to Maternal Separation and Social Defeat Stress in Mice

The association between stress and mental illness has been well documented, but the molecular consequences of repeated exposure to stress have not been completely identified. The present study sought to elucidate the combinatorial effects of early-life maternal separation stress and adult social defeat stress on alterations in signal transduction and gene expression that have been previously implicated in susceptibility to psychosocial stress. Molecular analyses were performed in the prelimbic/infralimbic cortex, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens, three brain regions that have been suggested to play critical roles in determining stress responses. The current data reveal that both maternal separation and social defeat significantly impact the expression of genes involved in histone methylation and the β-catenin-, endogenous opioid-, neurotrophin-, and glucocorticoid signaling pathways. Although the effects of maternal separation and social defeat were largely non-overlapping, a subset of genes in each brain region were governed by additive, opposing, or other types of interactions between these stress paradigms, thus highlighting potential molecular mechanisms through which these stressors might coordinately regulate brain function and behavior.

Sex differences after chronic stress in the expression of opioid-, stress- and neuroplasticity-related genes in the rat hippocampus

Opioid peptides and their receptors re-organize within hippocampal neurons of female, but not male, rats following chronic immobilization stress (CIS) in a manner that promotes drug-related learning. This study was conducted to determine if there are also sex differences in gene expression in the hippocampus following CIS. Adult female and male rats were subjected to CIS (30 min/day) for 10 days. Twenty-four hours after the last stressor, the rats were euthanized, the brains were harvested and the medial (dentate gyrus/CA1) and lateral (CA2/CA3) dorsal hippocampus were isolated. Following total RNA isolation, cDNA was prepared for gene expression analysis using a RT² Profiler PCR expression array. This custom designed qPCR expression array contained genes for opioid peptides and receptors, as well as genes involved in stress-responses and candidate genes involved in synaptic plasticity, including those upregulated following oxycodone self-administration in mice. Few sex differences are seen in hippocampal gene expression in control (unstressed) rats. In response to CIS, gene expression in the hippocampus was altered in males but not females. In males, opioid, stress, plasticity and kinase/signaling genes were all down-regulated following CIS, except for the gene that codes for corticotropin releasing hormone, which was upregulated. Changes in opioid gene expression following chronic stress were limited to the CA2 and CA3 regions (lateral sample). In conclusion, modest sex- and regional-differences are seen in expression of the opioid receptor genes, as well as genes involved in stress and plasticity responses in the hippocampus following CIS.

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Unstressed female rats have less Arc expression in hippocampus than males.

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Chronic immobilization stress (CIS) down-regulates opioid gene expression in males.

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CIS up-regulates Crh but down-regulates other stress genes in male hippocampi.

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CIS down-regulates Arc and other plasticity genes in male hippocampi.

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CIS down-regulates select kinases and signaling molecules in male hippocampi.

Circuit-based frameworks of depressive behaviors: The role of reward circuitry and beyond

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common but serious neuropsychiatric affliction that comprises a diverse set of symptoms such as the inability to feel pleasure, lack of motivation, changes in appetite, and cognitive difficulties. Given the patient to patient symptomatic variability in MDD and differing severities of individual symptoms, it is likely that maladaptive changes in distinct brain areas may mediate discrete symptoms in MDD. The advent and recent surge of studies using viral-genetic approaches have allowed for circuit-specific dissection of networks underlying motivational behavior. In particular, areas such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and ventral pallidum (VP) are thought to generally promote reward, with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) providing top-down control of reward seeking. On the contrary, the lateral habenula (LHb) is considered to be the aversive center of the brain as it has been shown to encode negative valence. The behavioral symptoms of MDD may arise from a disruption in the reward circuitry, hyperactivity of aversive centers, or a combination of the two. Thus, gaining access to specific circuits within the brain and how separate motivational-relevant regions transmit and encode information between each other in the context of separate depression-related symptoms can provide critical knowledge towards symptom-specific treatment of MDD. Here, we review published literature emphasizing circuit- and cell type-specific dissection of depressive-like behaviors in animal models of depression with a particular focus on the chronic social defeat stress model of MDD.

Treatment resistant depression: A multi-scale, systems biology approach

An estimated 50% of depressed patients are inadequately treated by available interventions. Even with an eventual recovery, many patients require a trial and error approach, as there are no reliable guidelines to match patients to optimal treatments and many patients develop treatment resistance over time. This situation derives from the heterogeneity of depression and the lack of biomarkers for stratification by distinct depression subtypes. There is thus a dire need for novel therapies. To address these known challenges, we propose a multi-scale framework for fundamental research on depression, aimed at identifying the brain circuits that are dysfunctional in several animal models of depression as well the changes in gene expression that are associated with these models. When combined with human genetic and imaging studies, our preclinical studies are starting to identify candidate circuits and molecules that are altered both in models of disease and in patient populations. Targeting these circuits and mechanisms can lead to novel generations of antidepressants tailored to specific patient populations with distinctive types of molecular and circuit dysfunction.

Neuroepigenetic Editing

Studies of the mammalian nervous system have revealed widespread epigenetic regulation underlying gene expression intrinsic to basic neurobiological function as well as neurological disease. Over the past decade, a critical role has emerged for the neural regulation of chromatin-modifying enzymes during both development and adulthood, and in response to external stimuli. These biochemical data are complemented by numerous next generation sequencing (NGS) studies that quantify the extent of chromatin and DNA modifications in neurons. Neuroepigenetic editing tools can be applied to distinguish between the mere presence and functional relevance of such modifications to neural transcription and animal behavior. This review discusses current advances in neuroepigenetic editing, highlighting methodological considerations pertinent to neuroscience, such as delivery methods and the spatiotemporal specificity of editing. Although neuroepigenetic editing is a nascent field, the studies presented in this review demonstrate the enormous potential of this approach for basic neurobiological research and therapeutic application.

Understanding and Predicting Antidepressant Response: Using Animal Models to Move Toward Precision Psychiatry

There are two important gaps of knowledge in depression treatment, namely the lack of biomarkers predicting response to antidepressants and the limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying clinical improvement. However, individually tailored treatment strategies and individualized prescription are greatly needed given the huge socio-economic burden of depression, the latency until clinical improvement can be observed and the response variability to a particular compound. Still, individual patient-level antidepressant treatment outcomes are highly unpredictable. In contrast to other therapeutic areas and despite tremendous efforts during the past years, the genomics era so far has failed to provide biological or genetic predictors of clinical utility for routine use in depression treatment. Specifically, we suggest to (1) shift the focus from the group patterns to individual outcomes, (2) use dimensional classifications such as Research Domain Criteria, and (3) envision better planning and improved connections between pre-clinical and clinical studies within translational research units. In contrast to studies in patients, animal models enable both searches for peripheral biosignatures predicting treatment response and in depth-analyses of the neurobiological pathways shaping individual antidepressant response in the brain. While there is a considerable number of animal models available aiming at mimicking disease-like conditions such as those seen in depressive disorder, only a limited number of preclinical or truly translational investigations is dedicated to the issue of heterogeneity seen in response to antidepressant treatment. In this mini-review, we provide an overview on the current state of knowledge and propose a framework for successful translational studies into antidepressant treatment response.

Insight into the metabolic mechanism of Diterpene Ginkgolides on antidepressant effects for attenuating behavioural deficits compared with venlafaxine

Depression is a severe and chronic mental disorder, affecting about 322 million individuals worldwide. A recent study showed that diterpene ginkgolides (DG) have antidepressant-like effects on baseline behaviours in mice. Here, we examined the effects of DG and venlafaxine (VLX) in a chronic social defeat stress model of depression. Both DG and VLX attenuated stress-induced social deficits, despair behaviour and exploratory behaviour. To elucidate the metabolic changes underlying the antidepressive effects of DG and VLX, we investigated candidate functional pathways in the prefrontal cortex using a GC-MS-based metabolomics approach. Metabolic functions and pathways analysis revealed that DG and VLX affect protein biosynthesis and nucleotide metabolism to enhance cell proliferation, with DG having a weaker impact than VLX. Glutamate and aspartate metabolism played important roles in the antidepressant effects of DG and VLX. Tyrosine degradation and cell-to-cell signaling and interaction helped discriminate the two antidepressants. L-glutamic acid was negatively correlated, while hypoxanthine was positively correlated, with the social interaction ratio. Understanding the metabolic changes produced by DG and VLX should provide insight into the mechanisms of action of these drugs and aid in the development of novel therapies for depression.

Sex-specific transcriptional signatures in human depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disease burden worldwide. While the incidence, symptoms and treatment of MDD all point toward major sex differences, the molecular mechanisms underlying this sexual dimorphism remain largely unknown. Here, combining differential expression and gene coexpression network analyses, we provide a comprehensive characterization of male and female transcriptional profiles associated with MDD across six brain regions. We overlap our human profiles with those from a mouse model, chronic variable stress, and capitalize on converging pathways to define molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the expression of stress susceptibility in males and females. Our results show a major rearrangement of transcriptional patterns in MDD, with limited overlap between males and females, an effect seen in both depressed humans and stressed mice. We identify key regulators of sex-specific gene networks underlying MDD and confirm their sex-specific impact as mediators of stress susceptibility. For example, downregulation of the female-specific hub gene Dusp6 in mouse prefrontal cortex mimicked stress susceptibility in females, but not males, by increasing ERK signaling and pyramidal neuron excitability. Such Dusp6 downregulation also recapitulated the transcriptional remodeling that occurs in prefrontal cortex of depressed females. Together our findings reveal marked sexual dimorphism at the transcriptional level in MDD and highlight the importance of studying sex-specific treatments for this disorder.

Translational Identification of Transcriptional Signatures of Major Depression and Antidepressant Response

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent mental illness whose therapy management remains uncertain, with more than 20% of patients who do not achieve response to antidepressants. Therefore, identification of reliable biomarkers to predict response to treatment will greatly improve MDD patient medical care. Due to the inaccessibility and lack of brain tissues from living MDD patients to study depression, researches using animal models have been useful in improving sensitivity and specificity of identifying biomarkers. In the current study, we used the unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) model and correlated stress-induced depressive-like behavior (n = 8 unstressed vs. 8 stressed mice) as well as the fluoxetine-induced recovery (n = 8 stressed and fluoxetine-treated mice vs. 8 unstressed and fluoxetine-treated mice) with transcriptional signatures obtained by genome-wide microarray profiling from whole blood, dentate gyrus (DG), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Hierarchical clustering and rank-rank hypergeometric overlap (RRHO) procedures allowed us to identify gene transcripts with variations that correlate with behavioral profiles. As a translational validation, some of those transcripts were assayed by RT-qPCR with blood samples from 10 severe major depressive episode (MDE) patients and 10 healthy controls over the course of 30 weeks and four visits. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed candidate trait biomarkers (ARHGEF1, CMAS, IGHMBP2, PABPN1 and TBC1D10C), whereas univariate linear regression analyses uncovered candidates state biomarkers (CENPO, FUS and NUBP1), as well as prediction biomarkers predictive of antidepressant response (CENPO, NUBP1). These data suggest that such a translational approach may offer new leads for clinically valid panels of biomarkers for MDD.

SIRT1 Mediates Depression-Like Behaviors in the Nucleus Accumbens

Depression is a recurring and life-threatening illness that affects up to 120 million people worldwide. In the present study, we show that chronic social defeat stress, an ethologically validated model of depression in mice, increases SIRT1 levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region. Increases in SIRT1, a well characterized class III histone deacetylase, after chronic social defeat suggest a role for this enzyme in mediating depression-like behaviors. When resveratrol, a pharmacological activator of SIRT1, was directly infused bilaterally into the NAc, we observed an increase in depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Conversely, intra-NAc infusions of EX-527, a SIRT1 antagonist, reduced these behaviors; EX-527 also reduced acute stress responses in stress-naive mice. Next, we increased SIRT1 levels directly in NAc by use of viral-mediated gene transfer and observed an increase in depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors when mice were assessed in the open-field, elevated-plus-maze, and forced swim tests. Using a Cre-inducible viral vector system to overexpress SIRT1 selectively in dopamine D1 or D2 subpopulations of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAc, we found that SIRT1 promotes depressive-like behaviors only when overexpressed in D1 MSNs, with no effect seen in D2 MSNs. Conversely, selective ablation of SIRT1 in the NAc using viral-Cre in floxed Sirt1 mice resulted in decreased depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Together, these results demonstrate that SIRT1 plays an essential role in the NAc in regulating mood-related behavioral abnormalities and identifies a novel signaling pathway for the development of innovative antidepressants to treat major depressive disorders.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

In this study, we demonstrate a pivotal role for SIRT1 in anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region. We show that stress stably induces SIRT1 expression in this brain region and that altering SIRT1 activity using a pharmacological or genetic approach regulates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. These results suggest that SIRT1 plays an essential role in regulating mood-related behaviors and introduces a novel signaling pathway for the development of innovative antidepressants to treat depression and other stress-related disorders. A recent groundbreaking publication by the CONVERGE Consortium (2015) identified a reproducible association of the SIRT1 locus with major depression in humans. Therefore, our results are timely and have significant translational relevance.

30 YEARS OF THE MINERALOCORTICOID RECEPTOR: The brain mineralocorticoid receptor: a saga in three episodes

In 1968, Bruce McEwen discovered that ³H-corticosterone administered to adrenalectomised rats is retained in neurons of hippocampus rather than those of hypothalamus. This discovery signalled the expansion of endocrinology into the science of higher brain regions. With this in mind, our contribution highlights the saga of the brain mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in three episodes. First, the precloning era dominated by the conundrum of two types of corticosterone-binding receptors in the brain, which led to the identification of the high-affinity corticosterone receptor as the 'promiscuous' MR cloned in 1987 by Jeff Arriza and Ron Evans in addition to the classical glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Then, the post-cloning period aimed to disentangle the function of the brain MR from that of the closely related GR on different levels of biological complexity. Finally, the synthesis section that highlights the two faces of brain MR: Salt and Stress. 'Salt' refers to the regulation of salt appetite, and reciprocal arousal, motivation and reward, by a network of aldosterone-selective MR-expressing neurons projecting from nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and circumventricular organs. 'Stress' is about the limbic-forebrain nuclear and membrane MRs, which act as a switch in the selection of the best response to cope with a stressor. For this purpose, activation of the limbic MR promotes selective attention, memory retrieval and the appraisal process, while driving emotional expressions of fear and aggression. Subsequently, rising glucocorticoid concentrations activate GRs in limbic-forebrain circuitry underlying executive functions and memory storage, which contribute in balance with MR-mediated actions to homeostasis, excitability and behavioural adaptation.

Tet1 in Nucleus Accumbens Opposes Depression- and Anxiety-Like Behaviors

Depression is a leading cause of disease burden, yet current therapies fully treat <50% of affected individuals. Increasing evidence implicates epigenetic mechanisms in depression and antidepressant action. Here we examined a possible role for the DNA dioxygenase, ten-eleven translocation protein 1 (TET1), in depression-related behavioral abnormalities. We applied chronic social defeat stress, an ethologically validated mouse model of depression-like behaviors, and examined Tet1 expression changes in nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region. We show decreased Tet1 expression in NAc in stress-susceptible mice only. Surprisingly, selective knockout of Tet1 in NAc neurons of adult mice produced antidepressant-like effects in several behavioral assays. To identify Tet1 targets that mediate these actions, we performed RNAseq on NAc after conditional deletion of Tet1 and found that immune-related genes are the most highly dysregulated. Moreover, many of these genes are also upregulated in the NAc of resilient mice after chronic social defeat stress. These findings reveal a novel role for TET1, an enzyme important for DNA hydroxymethylation, in the brain's reward circuitry in modulating stress responses in mice. We also identify a subset of genes that are regulated by TET1 in this circuitry. These findings provide new insight into the pathophysiology of depression, which can aid in future antidepressant drug discovery efforts.

Neural Substrates of Depression and Resilience

There is an urgent need for more effective medications to treat major depressive disorder, as fewer than half of depressed patients achieve full remission and many are not responsive with currently available antidepressant medications or psychotherapy. It is known that prolonged stressful events are an important risk factor for major depressive disorder. However, there are prominent individual variations in response to stress: a relatively small proportion of people (10-20%) experiencing prolonged stress develop stress-related psychiatric disorders, including depression (susceptibility to stress), whereas most stress-exposed individuals maintain normal psychological functioning (resilience to stress). There have been growing efforts to investigate the neural basis of susceptibility versus resilience to depression. An accumulating body of evidence is revealing the genetic, epigenetic, and neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie stress susceptibility, as well as the active mechanisms that underlie the resilience phenotype. In this review, we discuss, mainly based on our own work, key pathological mechanisms of susceptibility that are identified as potential therapeutic targets for depression treatment. We also review novel mechanisms that promote natural resilience as an alternative strategy to achieve treatment efficacy. These studies are opening new avenues to develop conceptually novel therapeutic strategies for depression treatment.

NeuroD Factors Discriminate Mineralocorticoid From Glucocorticoid Receptor DNA Binding in the Male Rat Brain

In the limbic brain, mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) both function as receptors for the naturally occurring glucocorticoids (corticosterone/cortisol) but mediate distinct effects on cellular physiology via transcriptional mechanisms. The transcriptional basis for specificity of these MR- vs GR-mediated effects is unknown. To address this conundrum, we have identified the extent of MR/GR DNA-binding selectivity in the rat hippocampus using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing. We found 918 and 1450 nonoverlapping binding sites for MR and GR, respectively. Furthermore, 475 loci were co-occupied by MR and GR. De novo motif analysis resulted in a similar binding motif for both receptors at 100% of the target loci, which matched the known glucocorticoid response element (GRE). In addition, the Atoh/NeuroD consensus sequence was found in co-occurrence with all MR-specific binding sites but was absent for GR-specific or MR-GR overlapping sites. Basic helix-loop-helix family members Neurod1, Neurod2, and Neurod6 showed hippocampal expression and were hypothesized to bind the Atoh motif. Neurod2 was detected at rat hippocampal MR binding sites but not at GR-exclusive sites. All three NeuroD transcription factors acted as DNA-binding-dependent coactivators for both MR and GR in reporter assays in heterologous HEK293 cells, likely via indirect interactions with the receptors. In conclusion, a NeuroD family member binding to an additional motif near the GRE seems to drive specificity for MR over GR binding at hippocampal binding sites.

Effect of stress on human biology: Epigenetics, adaptation, inheritance, and social significance

I present a brief introduction to epigenetics, focused primarily on methylation of the genome and various regulatory RNAs, modifications of associated histones, and their importance in enabling us to adapt to real and changing environmental, developmental, and social circumstances. Following this is a more extensive overview of how it impacts our inheritance, our entire life (which changes as we age), and how we interact with others. Throughout, I emphasize the critical influence that stress, of many varieties exerts, via epigenetic means, on much of how we live and survive, mostly in the brain. I end with a short section on multigenerational transmission, drugs, and the importance of both social life and early life experiences in the development of adult diseases. There will be nothing about cancer. Although epigenetics is critical in that field, it is a whole different cobweb of complications (some involving stress).

Neuropathic pain promotes adaptive changes in gene expression in brain networks involved in stress and depression

Neuropathic pain is a complex chronic condition characterized by various sensory, cognitive, and affective symptoms. A large percentage of patients with neuropathic pain are also afflicted with depression and anxiety disorders, a pattern that is also seen in animal models. Furthermore, clinical and preclinical studies indicate that chronic pain corresponds with adaptations in several brain networks involved in mood, motivation, and reward. Chronic stress is also a major risk factor for depression. We investigated whether chronic pain and stress affect similar molecular mechanisms and whether chronic pain can affect gene expression patterns that are involved in depression. Using two mouse models of neuropathic pain and depression [spared nerve injury (SNI) and chronic unpredictable stress (CUS)], we performed next-generation RNA sequencing and pathway analysis to monitor changes in gene expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and the periaqueductal gray (PAG). In addition to finding unique transcriptome profiles across these regions, we identified a substantial number of signaling pathway-associated genes with similar changes in expression in both SNI and CUS mice. Many of these genes have been implicated in depression, anxiety, and chronic pain in patients. Our study provides a resource of the changes in gene expression induced by long-term neuropathic pain in three distinct brain regions and reveals molecular connections between pain and chronic stress.

Chronic social stress leads to altered sleep homeostasis in mice

Disturbed sleep and altered sleep homeostasis are core features of many psychiatric disorders such as depression. Chronic uncontrollable stress is considered an important factor in the development of depression, but little is known on how chronic stress affects sleep regulation and sleep homeostasis. We therefore examined the effects of chronic social stress (CSS) on sleep regulation in mice. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were implanted for electrocortical recordings (ECoG) and underwent either a 10-day CSS protocol or control handling (CON). Subsequently, ECoG was assessed across a 24-h post-stress baseline, followed by a 4-h sleep deprivation, and then a 20-h recovery period. After sleep deprivation, CSS mice showed a blunted increase in sleep pressure compared to CON mice, as measured using slow wave activity (SWA, electroencephalographic power between 1-4Hz) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Vigilance states did not differ between CSS and CON mice during post-stress baseline, sleep deprivation or recovery, with the exception of CSS mice exhibiting increased REM sleep during recovery sleep. Behavior during sleep deprivation was not affected by CSS. Our data provide evidence that CSS alters the homeostatic regulation of sleep SWA in mice. In contrast to acute social stress, which results in a faster SWA build-up, CSS decelerates the homeostatic build up. These findings are discussed in relation to the causal contribution of stress-induced sleep disturbance to depression.

Brain region-specific metabolite networks regulate antidepressant effects of venlafaxine

Administration of venlafaxine significantly altered the metabolic profiles of both the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and the altered metabolites had significant brain region specificities.

Histone Modifications in Major Depressive Disorder and Related Rodent Models

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifactorial disease, weakly linked to multiple genetic risk factors. In contrast to that, environmental factors and "gene × environment" interaction between specific risk genes and environmental factors, such as severe or early stress exposure, have been strongly linked to MDD vulnerability. Stressors can act on the interface between an organism and the environment, the epigenome. The molecular foundation for the impact of stressors on the risk to develop MDD is based on the hormonal stress response itself: the glucocorticoid receptor (GR, encoded by NR3C1). NR3C1 can directly interact with the epigenome in the cell nucleus. Besides DNA methylation, histone modifications have been reported to be crucial targets for the interaction with the stress response system. Here, we review critical findings on the impact of the most relevant histone modifications, i.e. histone acetylation and methylation, in the context of MDD and related animal models. We discuss new treatment options which have been based on these findings, including histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) and drugs targeting specific histone marks, closely linked to psychiatric disease. In this context we talk about contemporary and future approaches required to fully understand (1) the epigenetics of stress-related disease and (2) the mode of action of potential MDD drugs targeting histone modifications. This includes harnessing the unprecedented potentials of genome-wide analysis of the epigenome and transcriptome, in a cell type-specific manner, and the use of epigenome editing technologies to clearly link epigenetic marks on specific genomic loci to functional relevance.

Integrative Analysis of Sex-Specific microRNA Networks Following Stress in Mouse Nucleus Accumbens

Adult women are twice as likely as men to suffer from affective and anxiety disorders, although the mechanisms underlying heightened female stress susceptibility are incompletely understood. Recent findings in mouse Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) suggest a role for DNA methylation-driven sex differences in genome-wide transcriptional profiles. However, the role of another epigenetic process-microRNA (miR) regulation-has yet to be explored. We exposed male and female mice to Subchronic Variable Stress (SCVS), a stress paradigm that produces depression-like behavior in female, but not male, mice, and performed next generation mRNA and miR sequencing on NAc tissue. We applied a combination of differential expression, miR-mRNA network and functional enrichment analyses to characterize the transcriptional and post-transcriptional landscape of sex differences in NAc stress response. We find that male and female mice exhibit largely non-overlapping miR and mRNA profiles following SCVS. The two sexes also show enrichment of different molecular pathways and functions. Collectively, our results suggest that males and females mount fundamentally different transcriptional and post-transcriptional responses to SCVS and engage sex-specific molecular processes following stress. These findings have implications for the pathophysiology and treatment of stress-related disorders in women.

Aberrant H3.3 dynamics in NAc promote vulnerability to depressive-like behavior

Human major depressive disorder (MDD), along with related mood disorders, is among the world's greatest public health concerns; however, its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Persistent changes in gene expression are known to promote physiological aberrations implicated in MDD. More recently, histone mechanisms affecting cell type- and regional-specific chromatin structures have also been shown to contribute to transcriptional programs related to depressive behaviors, as well as responses to antidepressants. Although much emphasis has been placed in recent years on roles for histone posttranslational modifications and chromatin-remodeling events in the etiology of MDD, it has become increasingly clear that replication-independent histone variants (e.g., H3.3), which differ in primary amino acid sequence from their canonical counterparts, similarly play critical roles in the regulation of activity-dependent neuronal transcription, synaptic connectivity, and behavioral plasticity. Here, we demonstrate a role for increased H3.3 dynamics in the nucleus accumbens (NAc)-a key limbic brain reward region-in the regulation of aberrant social stress-mediated gene expression and the precipitation of depressive-like behaviors in mice. We find that molecular blockade of these dynamics promotes resilience to chronic social stress and results in a partial renormalization of stress-associated transcriptional patterns in the NAc. In sum, our findings establish H3.3 dynamics as a critical, and previously undocumented, regulator of mood and suggest that future therapies aimed at modulating striatal histone dynamics may potentiate beneficial behavioral adaptations to negative emotional stimuli.