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Thomou C, Nussbaumer M, Grammenou E, Komini C, Vlaikou AM, Papageorgiou MP, Filiou MD. Early Handling Exerts Anxiolytic Effects and Alters Brain Mitochondrial Dynamics in Adult High Anxiety Mice. Mol Neurobiol 2024:10.1007/s12035-024-04116-5. [PMID: 38761326 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-024-04116-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Early handling (EH), the brief separation of pups from their mother during early life, has been shown to exert beneficial effects. However, the impact of EH in a high anxiety background as well as the role of brain mitochondria in shaping EH-driven responses remain elusive.Here, we used a high (HAB) vs. normal (NAB) anxiety-related behavior mouse model to study how EH affects pup and dam behavior in divergent anxiety backgrounds. We also investigated EH-induced effects at the protein and mRNA levels in adult male HAB mice in the hypothalamus, the prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus by examining the same mitochondrial/energy pathways and mitochondrial dynamics mechanisms (fission, fusion, biogenesis, and mitophagy) in all three brain regions.EH exerts anxiolytic effects in adult HAB but not NAB male mice and does not affect HAB or NAB maternal behavior, although basal HAB vs. NAB maternal behaviors differ. In adult HAB male mice, EH does not impact oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and oxidative stress in any of the brain regions studied but leads to increased protein expression of glycolysis enzymes and a correlation of anxiety-related behavior with Krebs cycle enzymes in HAB mice in the hypothalamus. Intriguingly, EH alters mitochondrial dynamics by increasing hypothalamic DRP1, OPA1, and PGC1a protein levels. At the mRNA level, we observe altered, EH-driven mitochondrial dynamics mRNA signatures which predominantly affect the prefrontal cortex.Taken together, our results show that EH exerts anxiolytic effects in adulthood in high anxiety and modulates mitochondrial dynamics pathways in a brain region-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Thomou
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Markus Nussbaumer
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Eleni Grammenou
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Chrysoula Komini
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Angeliki-Maria Vlaikou
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Maria P Papageorgiou
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece
| | - Michaela D Filiou
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Ioannina, Greece.
- Institute of Biosciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
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Blalock ZN, Wu GWY, Lindqvist D, Trumpff C, Flory JD, Lin J, Reus VI, Rampersaud R, Hammamieh R, Gautam A, Doyle FJ, Marmar CR, Jett M, Yehuda R, Wolkowitz OM, Mellon SH. Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA levels and glucocorticoid sensitivity in a cohort of male veterans with and without combat-related PTSD. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:22. [PMID: 38200001 PMCID: PMC10781666 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02721-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) is a biomarker of cellular injury or cellular stress and is a potential novel biomarker of psychological stress and of various brain, somatic, and psychiatric disorders. No studies have yet analyzed ccf-mtDNA levels in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), despite evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in this condition. In the current study, we compared plasma ccf-mtDNA levels in combat trauma-exposed male veterans with PTSD (n = 111) with those who did not develop PTSD (n = 121) and also investigated the relationship between ccf mt-DNA levels and glucocorticoid sensitivity. In unadjusted analyses, ccf-mtDNA levels did not differ significantly between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups (t = 1.312, p = 0.191, Cohen's d = 0.172). In a sensitivity analysis excluding participants with diabetes and those using antidepressant medication and controlling for age, the PTSD group had lower ccf-mtDNA levels than did the non-PTSD group (F(1, 179) = 5.971, p = 0.016, partial η2 = 0.033). Across the entire sample, ccf-mtDNA levels were negatively correlated with post-dexamethasone adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) decline (r = -0.171, p = 0.020) and cortisol decline (r = -0.149, p = 0.034) (viz., greater ACTH and cortisol suppression was associated with lower ccf-mtDNA levels) both with and without controlling for age, antidepressant status and diabetes status. Ccf-mtDNA levels were also significantly positively associated with IC50-DEX (the concentration of dexamethasone at which 50% of lysozyme activity is inhibited), a measure of lymphocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity, after controlling for age, antidepressant status, and diabetes status (β = 0.142, p = 0.038), suggesting that increased lymphocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity is associated with lower ccf-mtDNA levels. Although no overall group differences were found in unadjusted analyses, excluding subjects with diabetes and those taking antidepressants, which may affect ccf-mtDNA levels, as well as controlling for age, revealed decreased ccf-mtDNA levels in PTSD. In both adjusted and unadjusted analyses, low ccf-mtDNA levels were associated with relatively increased glucocorticoid sensitivity, often reported in PTSD, suggesting a link between mitochondrial and glucocorticoid-related abnormalities in PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary N Blalock
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gwyneth W Y Wu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Daniel Lindqvist
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Caroline Trumpff
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA
| | - Janine D Flory
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jue Lin
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Victor I Reus
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ryan Rampersaud
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rasha Hammamieh
- Integrative Systems Biology, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, USACEHR, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Aarti Gautam
- Integrative Systems Biology, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, USACEHR, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Francis J Doyle
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Charles R Marmar
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marti Jett
- Integrative Systems Biology, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, USACEHR, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Rachel Yehuda
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Owen M Wolkowitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Synthia H Mellon
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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