1
|
Kisby GE, Spencer PS. Genotoxic Damage During Brain Development Presages Prototypical Neurodegenerative Disease. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:752153. [PMID: 34924930 PMCID: PMC8675606 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.752153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Western Pacific Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC) is a disappearing prototypical neurodegenerative disorder (tau-dominated polyproteinopathy) linked with prior exposure to phytogenotoxins in cycad seed used for medicine and/or food. The principal cycad genotoxin, methylazoxymethanol (MAM), forms reactive carbon-centered ions that alkylate nucleic acids in fetal rodent brain and, depending on the timing of systemic administration, induces persistent developmental abnormalities of the cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and retina. Whereas administration of MAM prenatally or postnatally can produce animal models of epilepsy, schizophrenia or ataxia, administration to adult animals produces little effect on brain structure or function. The neurotoxic effects of MAM administered to rats during cortical brain development (specifically, gestation day 17) are used to model the histological, neurophysiological and behavioral deficits of human schizophrenia, a condition that may precede or follow clinical onset of motor neuron disease in subjects with sporadic ALS and ALS/PDC. While studies of migrants to and from communities impacted by ALS/PDC indicate the degenerative brain disorder may be acquired in juvenile and adult life, a proportion of indigenous cases shows neurodevelopmental aberrations in the cerebellum and retina consistent with MAM exposure in utero. MAM induces specific patterns of DNA damage and repair that associate with increased tau expression in primary rat neuronal cultures and with brain transcriptional changes that parallel those associated with human ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. We examine MAM in relation to neurodevelopment, epigenetic modification, DNA damage/replicative stress, genomic instability, somatic mutation, cell-cycle reentry and cellular senescence. Since the majority of neurodegenerative disease lacks a solely inherited genetic basis, research is needed to explore the hypothesis that early-life exposure to genotoxic agents may trigger or promote molecular events that culminate in neurodegeneration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Glen E Kisby
- College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Lebanon, OR, United States
| | - Peter S Spencer
- School of Medicine (Neurology), Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Büki A, Bohár Z, Kekesi G, Vécsei L, Horvath G. Wisket rat model of schizophrenia: Impaired motivation and, altered brain structure, but no anhedonia. Physiol Behav 2021; 244:113651. [PMID: 34800492 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
It is well-known that the poor cognition in schizophrenia is strongly linked to negative symptoms, including motivational deficit, which due to, at least partially, anhedonia. The goal of this study was to explore whether the schizophrenia-like Wisket animals with impaired motivation (obtained in the reward-based hole-board test), also show decreased hedonic behavior (investigated with the sucrose preference test). While neurochemical alterations of different neurotransmitter systems have been detected in the Wisket rats, no research has been performed on structural changes. Therefore, our additional aim was to reveal potential neuroanatomical and structural alterations in different brain regions in these rats. The rats showed decreased general motor activity (locomotion, rearing and exploration) and impaired task performance in the hole-board test compared to the controls, whereas no significant difference was observed in the sucrose preference test between the groups. The Wisket rats exhibited a significant decrease in the frontal cortical thickness and the hippocampal area, and moderate increases in the lateral ventricles and cell disarray in the CA3 subfield of hippocampus. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the hedonic behavior and neuroanatomical alterations in a multi-hit animal model of schizophrenia. The results obtained in the sucrose preference test suggest that anhedonic behavior might not be involved in the impaired motivation obtained in the hole-board test. The neuropathological changes agree with findings obtained in patients with schizophrenia, which refine the high face validity of the Wisket model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Büki
- Department of Physiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary.
| | - Zsuzsanna Bohár
- MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, Semmelweis u. 6, Szeged, H-6725, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Kekesi
- Department of Physiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary
| | - László Vécsei
- MTA-SZTE Neuroscience Research Group, Semmelweis u. 6, Szeged, H-6725, Hungary; Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u. 6., Szeged, H-6725, Hungary; Interdisciplinary Excellence Center, Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Semmelweis u. 6., Szeged, H-6725 Hungary
| | - Gyongyi Horvath
- Department of Physiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10., Szeged, H-6720, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Nath M, Wong TP, Srivastava LK. Neurodevelopmental insights into circuit dysconnectivity in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 104:110047. [PMID: 32721441 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is increasingly being recognized as a disorder of brain circuits of developmental origin. Animal models, however, have been technically limited in exploring the effects of early developmental circuit abnormalities on the maturation of the brain and associated behavioural outputs. This review discusses evidence of the developmental emergence of circuit abnormalities in schizophrenia, followed by a critical assessment on how animal models need to be adapted through optimized tools in order to spatially and temporally manipulate early developmental events, thereby providing insight into the causal contribution of developmental perturbations to schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Moushumi Nath
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada.
| | - Tak Pan Wong
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
| | - Lalit K Srivastava
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Eed A, Cerdán Cerdá A, Lerma J, De Santis S. Diffusion-weighted MRI in neurodegenerative and psychiatric animal models: Experimental strategies and main outcomes. J Neurosci Methods 2020; 343:108814. [PMID: 32569785 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Preclinical MRI approaches constitute a key tool to study a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric illnesses, allowing a more direct investigation of the disorder substrate and, at the same time, the possibility of back-translating such findings to human subjects. However, the lack of consensus on the optimal experimental scheme used to acquire the data has led to relatively high heterogeneity in the choice of protocols, which can potentially impact the comparison between results obtained by different groups, even using the same animal model. This is especially true for diffusion-weighted MRI data, where certain experimental choices can impact not only on the accuracy and precision of the extracted biomarkers, but also on their biological meaning. With this in mind, we extensively examined preclinical imaging studies that used diffusion-weighted MRI to investigate neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in rodent models. In this review, we discuss the main findings for each preclinical model, with a special focus on the analysis and comparison of the different acquisition strategies used across studies and their impact on the heterogeneity of the findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amr Eed
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC, UMH, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | | | - Juan Lerma
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC, UMH, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Silvia De Santis
- Instituto de Neurociencias, CSIC, UMH, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain; CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Horska K, Kotolova H, Karpisek M, Babinska Z, Hammer T, Prochazka J, Stark T, Micale V, Ruda-Kucerova J. Metabolic profile of methylazoxymethanol model of schizophrenia in rats and effects of three antipsychotics in long-acting formulation. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2020; 406:115214. [PMID: 32866524 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2020.115214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Mortality in psychiatric patients with severe mental illnesses reaches a 2-3 times higher mortality rate compared to the general population, primarily due to somatic comorbidities. A high prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity can be attributed to the adverse metabolic effects of atypical antipsychotics (atypical APs), but also to metabolic dysregulation present in drug-naïve patients. The metabolic aspects of neurodevelopmental schizophrenia-like models are understudied. This study evaluated the metabolic phenotype of a methylazoxymethanol (MAM) schizophrenia-like model together with the metabolic effects of three APs [olanzapine (OLA), risperidone (RIS) and haloperidol (HAL)] administered via long-acting formulations for 8 weeks in female rats. Body weight, feed efficiency, serum lipid profile, gastrointestinal and adipose tissue-derived hormones (leptin, ghrelin, glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1) were determined. The lipid profile was assessed in APs-naïve MAM and control cohorts of both sexes. Body weight was not altered by the MAM model, though cumulative food intake and feed efficiency was lowered in the MAM compared to CTR animals. The effect of the APs was also present; body weight gain was increased by OLA and RIS, while OLA induced lower weight gain in the MAM rats. Further, the MAM model showed lower abdominal adiposity, while OLA increased it. Serum lipid profile revealed MAM model-induced alterations in both sexes; total, HDL and LDL cholesterol levels were increased. The MAM model did not exert significant alterations in hormonal parameters except for elevation in leptin level. The results support intrinsic metabolic dysregulation in the MAM model in both sexes, but the MAM model did not manifest higher sensitivity to metabolic effects induced by antipsychotic treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Horska
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Kotolova
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Karpisek
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; R&D Department, Biovendor - Laboratorni Medicina, Karasek 1, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Babinska
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Hammer
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Prochazka
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Masaryk University, Palackeho trida 1946/1, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tibor Stark
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Neuronal Plasticity Group, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 97, I-95123 Catania, Italy; National Institute of Mental Health, Topolova 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Lee M, Kim EJ, Woo DC, Shim WH, Yum MS. In vivo MRI Successfully Reveals the Malformation of Cortical Development in Infant Rats. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:510. [PMID: 32508585 PMCID: PMC7251149 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: Malformations of cortical development (MCDs) are major causes of intractable epilepsies. To characterize the early neuroimaging findings of MCDs, we tried to identify the MRI features consistent with pathological findings in an infant rat MCD model, prenatally exposed to methylazoxymethanol (MAM), by using newly developed MRI techniques. Methods: At gestational day 15, two doses of MAM (15 mg/kg intraperitoneally) or normal saline were injected into pregnant rats. The offspring underwent in vivo MRI, including glutamate chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST), 1H-MR spectroscopy, and diffusion tensor imaging, at postnatal day (P) 15 using a 7T small-animal imaging system. Another set of prenatally MAM-exposed rats were sacrificed for histological staining. Results: At P15, the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) of rats with MCDs showed decreased neuronal nuclei, parvalbumin, and reelin expressions. Moreover, dendritic arborization of pyramidal cells in the RSC significantly decreased in infant rats with MCDs. In vivo MRI showed significantly decreased GluCEST (%) in the RSC of rats with MCDs (p = 0.000) and a significant correlation between GluCEST (%) and RSC thickness (r = 0.685, p = 0.003). The rats with MCDs showed reduced glutamate (p = 0.002), N-acetylaspartate (p = 0.002), and macromolecule and lipid levels (p = 0.027) and significantly reduced fractional anisotropy values in the RSC. Conclusion: In vivo MRI revealed reduced neuronal population and dendritic arborization in the RSC of infant rats with MCDs during the early postnatal period. These pathological changes of the cortex could serve as clinical imaging biomarkers of MCDs in infants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Minyoung Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center, Asan Medical Institute of Convergence Science and Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Kim
- Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Dong-Cheol Woo
- Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Woo-Hyun Shim
- Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.,Department of Radiology, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South Korea
| | - Mi-Sun Yum
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center, Asan Medical Institute of Convergence Science and Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Stark T, Di Bartolomeo M, Di Marco R, Drazanova E, Platania CBM, Iannotti FA, Ruda-Kucerova J, D'Addario C, Kratka L, Pekarik V, Piscitelli F, Babinska Z, Fedotova J, Giurdanella G, Salomone S, Sulcova A, Bucolo C, Wotjak CT, Starcuk Z, Drago F, Mechoulam R, Di Marzo V, Micale V. Altered dopamine D3 receptor gene expression in MAM model of schizophrenia is reversed by peripubertal cannabidiol treatment. Biochem Pharmacol 2020; 177:114004. [PMID: 32360362 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Gestational methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) treatment produces offspring with adult phenotype relevant to schizophrenia, including positive- and negative-like symptoms, cognitive deficits, dopaminergic dysfunction, structural and functional abnormalities. Here we show that adult rats prenatally treated with MAM at gestational day 17 display significant increase in dopamine D3 receptor (D3) mRNA expression in prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and nucleus accumbens, accompanied by increased expression of dopamine D2 receptor (D2) mRNA exclusively in the PFC. Furthermore, a significant change in the blood perfusion at the level of the circle of Willis and hippocampus, paralleled by the enlargement of lateral ventricles, was also detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Peripubertal treatment with the non-euphoric phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (30 mg/kg) from postnatal day (PND) 19 to PND 39 was able to reverse in MAM exposed rats: i) the up-regulation of the dopamine D3 receptor mRNA (only partially prevented by haloperidol 0.6 mg/kg/day); and ii) the regional blood flow changes in MAM exposed rats. Molecular modelling predicted that cannabidiol could bind preferentially to dopamine D3 receptor, where it may act as a partial agonist according to conformation of ionic-lock, which is highly conserved in GPCRs. In summary, our results demonstrate that the mRNA expression of both dopamine D2 and D3 receptors is altered in the MAM model; however only the transcript levels of D3 are affected by cannabidiol treatment, likely suggesting that this gene might not only contribute to the schizophrenia symptoms but also represent an unexplored target for the antipsychotic activity of cannabidiol.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tibor Stark
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; RG "Neuronal Plasticity", Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Martina Di Bartolomeo
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Roberta Di Marco
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Eva Drazanova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | - Fabio Arturo Iannotti
- Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Endocannabinoid Research Group, Naples, Italy
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Claudio D'Addario
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Lucie Kratka
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimir Pekarik
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Fabiana Piscitelli
- Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Endocannabinoid Research Group, Naples, Italy
| | - Zuzana Babinska
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Julia Fedotova
- International Research Centre "Biotechnologies of the Third Millennium", ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, I.P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology RASci., St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Institute of Biology and Biomedicine, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
| | - Giovanni Giurdanella
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Salvatore Salomone
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Alexandra Sulcova
- ICCI - International Cannabis and Cannabinoid Institute, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Claudio Bucolo
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Carsten T Wotjak
- RG "Neuronal Plasticity", Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & KO KG, Germany
| | - Zenon Starcuk
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Raphael Mechoulam
- Institute for Drug Research, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Vincenzo Di Marzo
- Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Endocannabinoid Research Group, Naples, Italy; Canada Excellence Research Chair on the Microbiome-Endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health, Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada; Joint International Unit on Chemical and Biomolecular Research on the Microbiome and its Impact on Metabolic Health and Nutrition (UMI-MicroMeNu), Université Laval and Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, CNR, Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy; National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Drazanova E, Ruda-Kucerova J, Kratka L, Stark T, Kuchar M, Maryska M, Drago F, Starcuk Z, Micale V. Different effects of prenatal MAM vs. perinatal THC exposure on regional cerebral blood perfusion detected by Arterial Spin Labelling MRI in rats. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6062. [PMID: 30988364 PMCID: PMC6465353 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42532-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical studies consistently report structural impairments (i.e.: ventricular enlargement, decreased volume of anterior cingulate cortex or hippocampus) and functional abnormalities including changes in regional cerebral blood flow in individuals suffering from schizophrenia, which can be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. The aim of this study was to assess cerebral blood perfusion in several schizophrenia-related brain regions using Arterial Spin Labelling MRI (ASL MRI, 9.4 T Bruker BioSpec 94/30USR scanner) in rats. In this study, prenatal exposure to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM, 22 mg/kg) at gestational day (GD) 17 and the perinatal treatment with Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, 5 mg/kg) from GD15 to postnatal day 9 elicited behavioral deficits consistent with schizophrenia-like phenotype, which is in agreement with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. In MAM exposed rats a significant enlargement of lateral ventricles and perfusion changes (i.e.: increased blood perfusion in the circle of Willis and sensorimotor cortex and decreased perfusion in hippocampus) were detected. On the other hand, the THC perinatally exposed rats did not show differences in the cerebral blood perfusion in any region of interest. These results suggest that although both pre/perinatal insults showed some of the schizophrenia-like deficits, these are not strictly related to distinct hemodynamic features.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Drazanova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Kratka
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tibor Stark
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Kuchar
- Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Maryska
- Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Filippo Drago
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Zenon Starcuk
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Vincenzo Micale
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Río-Álamos C, Piludu MA, Gerbolés C, Barroso D, Oliveras I, Sánchez-González A, Cañete T, Tapias-Espinosa C, Sampedro-Viana D, Torrubia R, Tobeña A, Fernández-Teruel A. Volumetric brain differences between the Roman rat strains: Neonatal handling effects, sensorimotor gating and working memory. Behav Brain Res 2019; 361:74-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
|
10
|
Bator E, Latusz J, Głowacka U, Radaszkiewicz A, Mudlaff K, Maćkowiak M. Adolescent Social Isolation Affects Schizophrenia-Like Behavior in the MAM-E17 Model of Schizophrenia. Neurotox Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s12640-018-9888-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
|
11
|
Drazanova E, Ruda-Kucerova J, Kratka L, Horska K, Demlova R, Starcuk Z, Kasparek T. Poly(I:C) model of schizophrenia in rats induces sex-dependent functional brain changes detected by MRI that are not reversed by aripiprazole treatment. Brain Res Bull 2017; 137:146-155. [PMID: 29155259 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE One of the hallmarks of schizophrenia is altered brain structure, potentially due to antipsychotic treatment, the disorder itself or both. It was proposed that functional changes may precede the structural ones. In order to understand and potentially prevent this unwanted process, brain function assessment should be validated as a diagnostic tool. METHODS We used Arterial Spin Labelling MRI technique for the evaluation of brain perfusion in several brain regions in a neurodevelopmental poly(I:C) model of schizophrenia (8mg/kg on a gestational day 15) in rats taking into account sex-dependent effects and chronic treatment with aripiprazole (30days), an atypical antipsychotic acting as a partial agonist on dopaminergic receptors. RESULTS We found the sex of the animal to have a highly significant effect in all regions of interest, with females showing lower blood perfusion than males. However, both males and females treated prenatally with poly(I:C) showed enlargement of the lateral ventricles. Furthermore, we detected increased perfusion in the circle of Willis, hippocampus, and sensorimotor cortex, which was not influenced by chronic atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole treatment in male poly(I:C) rats. CONCLUSION We hypothesize that perfusion alterations may be caused by the hyperdopaminergic activity in the poly(I:C) model, and the absence of aripiprazole effect on perfusion in brain regions related to schizophrenia may be due to its partial agonistic mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Drazanova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Scientific Instruments, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Ruda-Kucerova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Lucie Kratka
- Institute of Scientific Instruments, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Katerina Horska
- Department of Human Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Regina Demlova
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zenon Starcuk
- Institute of Scientific Instruments, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Kasparek
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital and Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Neary JL, Perez SM, Peterson K, Lodge DJ, Carless MA. Comparative analysis of MBD-seq and MeDIP-seq and estimation of gene expression changes in a rodent model of schizophrenia. Genomics 2017; 109:204-213. [PMID: 28365388 PMCID: PMC5526217 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2017.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
We conducted a comparative study of multiplexed affinity enrichment sequence methodologies (MBD-seq and MeDIP-seq) in a rodent model of schizophrenia, induced by in utero methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) exposure. We also examined related gene expression changes using a pooled sample approach. MBD-seq and MeDIP-seq identified 769 and 1771 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between F2 offspring of MAM-exposed rats and saline control rats, respectively. The assays showed good concordance, with ~56% of MBD-seq-detected DMRs being identified by or proximal to MeDIP-seq DMRs. There was no significant overlap between DMRs and differentially expressed genes, suggesting that DNA methylation regulatory effects may act upon more distal genes, or are too subtle to detect using our approach. Methylation and gene expression gene ontology enrichment analyses identified biological processes important to schizophrenia pathophysiology, including neuron differentiation, prepulse inhibition, amphetamine response, and glutamatergic synaptic transmission regulation, reinforcing the utility of the MAM rodent model for schizophrenia research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Neary
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, 7620 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA.
| | - Stephanie M Perez
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
| | - Kara Peterson
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, 7620 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA.
| | - Daniel J Lodge
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Neuroscience, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.
| | - Melanie A Carless
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, 7620 NW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Kim EH, Yum MS, Lee M, Kim EJ, Shim WH, Ko TS. A New Rat Model of Epileptic Spasms Based on Methylazoxymethanol-Induced Malformations of Cortical Development. Front Neurol 2017; 8:271. [PMID: 28659857 PMCID: PMC5466970 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Malformations of cortical development (MCDs) can cause medically intractable epilepsies and cognitive disabilities in children. We developed a new model of MCD-associated epileptic spasms by treating rats prenatally with methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) to induce cortical malformations and postnatally with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) to induce spasms. To produce cortical malformations to infant rats, two dosages of MAM (15 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) were injected to pregnant rats at gestational day 15. In prenatally MAM-exposed rats and the controls, spasms were triggered by single (6 mg/kg on postnatal day 12 (P12) or 10 mg/kg on P13 or 15 mg/kg on P15) or multiple doses (P12, P13, and P15) of NMDA. In prenatally MAM-exposed rats with single NMDA-provoked spasms at P15, we obtain the intracranial electroencephalography and examine the pretreatment response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or vigabatrin. Rat pups prenatally exposed to MAM exhibited a significantly greater number of spasms in response to single and multiple postnatal NMDA doses than vehicle-exposed controls. Vigabatrin treatment prior to a single NMDA dose on P15 significantly suppressed spasms in MAM group rats (p < 0.05), while ACTH did not. The MAM group also showed significantly higher fast oscillation (25–100 Hz) power during NMDA-induced spasms than controls (p = 0.047). This new model of MCD-based epileptic spasms with corresponding features of human spasms will be valuable for future research of the developmental epilepsy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Hee Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Mi-Sun Yum
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Minyoung Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Woo-Hyun Shim
- Department of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Tae-Sung Ko
- Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Hypofrontality and Posterior Hyperactivity in Early Schizophrenia: Imaging and Behavior in a Preclinical Model. Biol Psychiatry 2017; 81:503-513. [PMID: 27450031 PMCID: PMC5130616 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder typically diagnosed from late adolescence to adulthood. Subthreshold behavioral symptoms (e.g., cognitive deficits and substance abuse) often precede the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, these prodromal symptoms have not been consistently associated with structural and functional brain biomarkers, limiting the chance of early diagnosis of schizophrenia. METHODS Using an extensively multimodal range of magnetic resonance methods (for anatomy, metabolism, and function), we screened early biomarkers in a methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) rat model of schizophrenia and saline-treated control (SHAM) rats, in conjunction with immunohistochemistry, myelin staining, and a novel three-choice, reversal-learning task to identify early behavioral markers corresponding the subthreshold symptoms. RESULTS MAM (vs. SHAM) rats had lower/higher structural connectivity in anterior/posterior corpus callosum. The orbitofrontal cortex of MAM rats showed lower resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging functional connectivity in conjunction with lower neuronal density, lower glucose oxidation, and attenuated neurotransmission (hypofrontality). In contrast, these measures were all higher in visual cortex of MAM rats (posterior hyperactivity), which might parallel perceptual problems in schizophrenia. In behavioral studies, MAM (vs. SHAM) rats displayed abnormal orbitofrontal cortex-mediated decision-making processes, resulting in a novel reward-sensitive hyperflexible phenotype, which might reflect vulnerability of prodromal patients to substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS We identified two novel biomarkers of early schizophrenia in a preclinical rat model: hypofrontality associated with the hyperflexible phenotype, and posterior hyperactivity. Because each of these magnetic resonance methods is clinically translatable, these markers could contribute to early diagnosis and the development of novel therapies of schizophrenia.
Collapse
|
15
|
Gomes FV, Rincón-Cortés M, Grace AA. Adolescence as a period of vulnerability and intervention in schizophrenia: Insights from the MAM model. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 70:260-270. [PMID: 27235082 PMCID: PMC5074867 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Revised: 05/24/2016] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Adolescence is a time of extensive neuroanatomical, functional and chemical reorganization of the brain, which parallels substantial maturational changes in behavior and cognition. Environmental factors that impinge on the timing of these developmental factors, including stress and drug exposure, increase the risk for psychiatric disorders. Indeed, antecedents to affective and psychotic disorders, which have clinical and pathophysiological overlap, are commonly associated with risk factors during adolescence that predispose to these disorders. In the context of schizophrenia, psychosis typically begins in late adolescence/early adulthood, which has been replicated by animal models. Rats exposed during gestational day (GD) 17 to the mitotoxin methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) exhibit behavioral, pharmacological, and anatomical characteristics consistent with an animal model of schizophrenia. Here we provide an overview of adolescent changes within the dopamine system and the PFC and review recent findings regarding the effects of stress and cannabis exposure during the peripubertal period as risk factors for the emergence of schizophrenia-like deficits. Finally, we discuss peripubertal interventions appearing to circumvent the emergence of adult schizophrenia-like deficits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Felipe V Gomes
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, United States
| | | | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
O'Reilly KC, Perica MI, Fenton AA. Memory deficits with intact cognitive control in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) exposure model of neurodevelopmental insult. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2016; 134 Pt B:294-303. [PMID: 27485950 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Revised: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairments are amongst the most debilitating deficits of schizophrenia and the best predictor of functional outcome. Schizophrenia is hypothesized to have a neurodevelopmental origin, making animal models of neurodevelopmental insult important for testing predictions that early insults will impair cognitive function. Rats exposed to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 display morphological, physiological and behavioral abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia. Here we investigate the cognitive abilities of adult MAM rats. We examined brain activity in MAM rats by histochemically assessing cytochrome oxidase enzyme activity, a metabolic marker of neuronal activity. To assess cognition, we used a hippocampus-dependent two-frame active place avoidance paradigm to examine learning and spatial memory, as well as cognitive control and flexibility using the same environment and evaluating the same set of behaviors. We confirmed that adult MAM rats have altered hippocampal morphology and brain function, and that they are hyperactive in an open field. The latter likely indicates MAM rats have a sensorimotor gating deficit that is common to many animal models used for schizophrenia research. On first inspection, cognitive control seems impaired in MAM rats, indicated by more errors during the two-frame active place avoidance task. Because MAM rats are hyperactive throughout place avoidance training, we considered the possibility that the hyperlocomotion may account for the apparent cognitive deficits. These deficits were reduced on the basis of measures of cognitive performance that account for motor activity differences. However, though other aspects of memory are intact, the ability of MAM rats to express trial-to-trial memory is delayed compared to control rats. These findings suggest that spatial learning and cognitive abilities are largely intact, that the most prominent cognitive deficit is specific to acquiring memory in the MAM neurodevelopmental model, and that hyperactivity can confound assessments of cognition in animal models of mental dysfunction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kally C O'Reilly
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States
| | - Maria I Perica
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States
| | - André A Fenton
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States; Department of Physiology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Wu H, Wang X, Gao Y, Lin F, Song T, Zou Y, Xu L, Lei H. NMDA receptor antagonism by repetitive MK801 administration induces schizophrenia-like structural changes in the rat brain as revealed by voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroscience 2016; 322:221-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.02.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
|
18
|
Landek-Salgado MA, Faust TE, Sawa A. Molecular substrates of schizophrenia: homeostatic signaling to connectivity. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21:10-28. [PMID: 26390828 PMCID: PMC4684728 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2014] [Revised: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 06/25/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a devastating psychiatric condition affecting numerous brain systems. Recent studies have identified genetic factors that confer an increased risk of SZ and participate in the disease etiopathogenesis. In parallel to such bottom-up approaches, other studies have extensively reported biological changes in patients by brain imaging, neurochemical and pharmacological approaches. This review highlights the molecular substrates identified through studies with SZ patients, namely those using top-down approaches, while also referring to the fruitful outcomes of recent genetic studies. We have subclassified the molecular substrates by system, focusing on elements of neurotransmission, targets in white matter-associated connectivity, immune/inflammatory and oxidative stress-related substrates, and molecules in endocrine and metabolic cascades. We further touch on cross-talk among these systems and comment on the utility of animal models in charting the developmental progression and interaction of these substrates. Based on this comprehensive information, we propose a framework for SZ research based on the hypothesis of an imbalance in homeostatic signaling from immune/inflammatory, oxidative stress, endocrine and metabolic cascades that, at least in part, underlies deficits in neural connectivity relevant to SZ. Thus, this review aims to provide information that is translationally useful and complementary to pathogenic hypotheses that have emerged from genetic studies. Based on such advances in SZ research, it is highly expected that we will discover biomarkers that may help in the early intervention, diagnosis or treatment of SZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M A Landek-Salgado
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - T E Faust
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - A Sawa
- Department of Psychiatry, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Marek GJ, Day M, Hudzik TJ. The Utility of Impulsive Bias and Altered Decision Making as Predictors of Drug Efficacy and Target Selection: Rethinking Behavioral Screening for Antidepressant Drugs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 356:534-48. [DOI: 10.1124/jpet.115.229922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
20
|
Nicotinic modulation of auditory evoked potential electroencephalography in a rodent neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Biochem Pharmacol 2015; 97:482-487. [PMID: 26032639 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2015.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic disease that has been hypothesized to be linked to neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Schizophrenia patients exhibit impairments in basic sensory processing including sensory gating deficits in P50 and mismatch negativity (MMN). Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists have been reported to attenuate these deficits. Gestational exposure of rats to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at embryonic day 17 leads to developmental disruption of the limbic-cortical system. MAM exposed offspring show neuropathological and behavioral changes that have similarities with those seen in schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to assess whether N40 auditory sensory gating (the rodent form of P50 gating) and MMN deficits as measures of auditory evoked potential (AEP) electroencephalography (EEG) are present in MAM rats and whether nAChR agonists could attend the deficit. E17 male MAM and sham rats were implanted with cortical electrodes at 2 months of age. EEG recordings evaluating N40 gating and MMN paradigms were done comparing effects of vehicle (saline), nicotine and the α7 agonist ABT-107. Deficits were seen for MAM rats compared to sham animals in both N40 auditory sensory gating and MMN AEP recordings. There was a strong trend for N40 deficits to be attenuated by both nicotine (0.16mg/kg i.p. base) and ABT-107 (1.0mg/kg i.p. base). MMN deficits were significantly attenuated by ABT-107 but not by nicotine. These data support the MAM model as a useful tool for translating pharmacodynamic effects in clinical medicine studies of novel therapeutic treatments for schizophrenia.
Collapse
|
21
|
Ma E, Song T, Zhang H, Lu J, Wang L, Zhao Q, Guo R, Li M, Ma G, Lu G, Li K. The reduction of volume and fiber bundle connections in the hippocampus of EGR3 transgenic schizophrenia rats. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2015; 11:1625-38. [PMID: 26170675 PMCID: PMC4494618 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s81440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE There is a growing consensus that schizophrenia is ultimately caused by abnormal communication between spatially disparate brain structures. White matter fasciculi represent the primary infrastructure for long distance communication in the brain. In this study, we aimed to investigate the white matter connection in schizophrenia susceptible brain regions of early growth response factor 3 (EGR3) expressing rats. METHODS A rat model of schizophrenia was created by the transfection of the EGR3 gene into rat hippocampus. All animals were placed in a fixation system using a commercial rat-dedicated coil. Schizophrenia susceptible brain regions were scanned using in vivo diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. The volume, quantity, average length of fiber bundles, fractional anisotropy, apparent diffusion coefficient, the relative heterosexual fraction, and volume ratio were collected in the whole brain and schizophrenia related brain areas (the hippocampus, thalamus, and prefrontal lobe). MedINRIA software was used for data processing of diffusion tensor and fiber bundles tracking. The fibronectin in relevant brain regions was also analyzed. RESULTS There was a significant decrease in the volume of the fiber beam through the left hippocampus dentate in the schizophrenia model group in comparison to the control group and the risperidone treatment group (P<0.05). A significant reduction in the volume and number of the fiber bundles was also observed in left prefrontal-left hippocampus, left hippocampus-left thalamus, left prefrontal-left hippocampus-left thalamus areas in the model group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION The volume of hippocampus and the number of fiber bundles were reduced in EGR3 transgenic schizophrenia rats, and are the most sensitive indicators in schizophrenia. The diffusion tensor imaging technique plays an important role in the evaluation of patients with schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ensen Ma
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China ; Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianbin Song
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Shunyi Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Radiology, First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Xicheng, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Liwen Wang
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qichao Zhao
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Runcai Guo
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Miao Li
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guolin Ma
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangming Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Kefeng Li
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA ; Tianjin SunnyPeak Biotech Co., Ltd, Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Alterations in spatial memory and anxiety in the MAM E17 rat model of hippocampal pathology in schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:4099-112. [PMID: 25633092 PMCID: PMC4970796 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3862-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 12/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Adult rats exposed to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at embryonic day 17 (E17) display robust pathological alterations in the hippocampus. However, discrepancies exist in the literature regarding the behavioural effects of this pre-natal manipulation. Therefore, a systematic assessment of MAM E17-induced behavioural alterations was conducted using a battery of dorsal and ventral hippocampus-dependent tests. Compared to saline controls, MAM E17-treated rats displayed deficits in spatial reference memory in both the aversive hidden platform watermaze task and an appetitive Y-maze task. Deficits in the spatial reference memory watermaze task were replicated across three different cohorts and two laboratories. In contrast, there was little, or no, effect on the non-spatial, visible platform watermaze task or an appetitive, non-spatial, visual discrimination task, respectively. MAM rats were also impaired in the spatial novelty preference task which assesses short-term memory, and displayed reduced anxiety levels in the elevated plus maze task. Thus, MAM E17 administration resulted in abnormal spatial information processing and reduced anxiety in a number of hippocampus-dependent behavioural tests, paralleling the effects of dorsal and ventral hippocampal lesions, respectively. These findings corroborate recent pathological and physiological studies, further highlighting the usefulness of MAM E17 as a model of hippocampal dysfunction in at least some aspects of schizophrenia.
Collapse
|
23
|
Millan MJ, Fone K, Steckler T, Horan WP. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: clinical characteristics, pathophysiological substrates, experimental models and prospects for improved treatment. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 24:645-92. [PMID: 24820238 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2014.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex and multifactorial disorder generally diagnosed in young adults at the time of the first psychotic episode of delusions and hallucinations. These positive symptoms can be controlled in most patients by currently-available antipsychotics. Conversely, they are poorly effective against concomitant neurocognitive dysfunction, deficits in social cognition and negative symptoms (NS), which strongly contribute to poor functional outcome. The precise notion of NS has evolved over the past century, with recent studies - underpinned by novel rating methods - suggesting two major sub-domains: "decreased emotional expression", incorporating blunted affect and poverty of speech, and "avolition", which embraces amotivation, asociality and "anhedonia" (inability to anticipate pleasure). Recent studies implicate a dysfunction of frontocortico-temporal networks in the aetiology of NS, together with a disruption of cortico-striatal circuits, though other structures are also involved, like the insular and parietal cortices, amygdala and thalamus. At the cellular level, a disruption of GABAergic-glutamatergic balance, dopaminergic signalling and, possibly, oxytocinergic and cannibinoidergic transmission may be involved. Several agents are currently under clinical investigation for the potentially improved control of NS, including oxytocin itself, N-Methyl-d-Aspartate receptor modulators and minocycline. Further, magnetic-electrical "stimulation" strategies to recruit cortical circuits and "cognitive-behavioural-psychosocial" therapies likewise hold promise. To acquire novel insights into the causes and treatment of NS, experimental study is crucial, and opportunities are emerging for improved genetic, pharmacological and developmental modelling, together with more refined readouts related to deficits in reward, sociality and "expression". The present article comprises an integrative overview of the above issues as a platform for this Special Issue of European Neuropsychopharmacology in which five clinical and five preclinical articles treat individual themes in greater detail. This Volume provides, then, a framework for progress in the understanding - and ultimately control - of the debilitating NS of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark J Millan
- Pole of Innovation in Neuropsychiatry, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, Paris, France.
| | - Kevin Fone
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, Queen׳s Medical Centre, Nottingham University, Nottingham NG72UH, UK
| | - Thomas Steckler
- Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - William P Horan
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, University of California, Los Angeles, MIRECC 210A, Bldg. 210, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Kisby GE, Moore H, Spencer PS. Animal models of brain maldevelopment induced by cycad plant genotoxins. BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH. PART C, EMBRYO TODAY : REVIEWS 2013; 99:247-55. [PMID: 24339036 PMCID: PMC4183057 DOI: 10.1002/bdrc.21052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Cycads are long-lived tropical and subtropical plants that contain azoxyglycosides (e.g., cycasin, macrozamin) and neurotoxic amino acids (notably β-N-methylamino-l-alanine l-BMAA), toxins that have been implicated in the etiology of a disappearing neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia complex that has been present in high incidence among three genetically distinct populations in the western Pacific. The neuropathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism-dementia complex includes features suggestive of brain maldevelopment, an experimentally proven property of cycasin attributable to the genotoxic action of its aglycone methylazoxymethanol (MAM). This property of MAM has been exploited by neurobiologists as a tool to study perturbations of brain development. Depending on the neurodevelopmental stage, MAM can induce features in laboratory animals that model certain characteristics of epilepsy, schizophrenia, or ataxia. Studies in DNA repair-deficient mice show that MAM perturbs brain development through a DNA damage-mediated mechanism. The brain DNA lesions produced by systemic MAM appear to modulate the expression of genes that regulate neurodevelopment and contribute to neurodegeneration. Epigenetic changes (histone lysine methylation) have also been detected in the underdeveloped brain after MAM administration. The DNA damage and epigenetic changes produced by MAM and, perhaps by chemically related substances (e.g., nitrosamines, nitrosoureas, hydrazines), might be an important mechanism by which early-life exposure to genotoxicants can induce long-term brain dysfunction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Glen E. Kisby
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest, Lebanon, Oregon, 97355
| | - Holly Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and Department of Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
| | - Peter S. Spencer
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxciology; and Global Health Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, 97201
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Preclinical evaluation of non-imidazole histamine H3 receptor antagonists in comparison to atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2013; 16:889-904. [PMID: 22906530 DOI: 10.1017/s1461145712000739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia (CDS) are implicated as a core symptom cluster of the disease and are associated with poor daily life functioning. Unfortunately, current antipsychotic agents provide little alleviation of CDS, representing a critical unmet therapeutic need. Here we investigated the effects of ABT-239 and A-431404, non-imidazole histamine H(3) receptor (H(3)R) antagonists, in animal models with relevance to CDS. As N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor hypofunction is considered an important factor in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, acute administration of ketamine or MK-801 was used to induce cognitive impairments. The assays employed in the current studies were spontaneous alternation in cross-maze, used as an indication of working memory, and inhibitory avoidance (IA), used to assess long-term memory retention. Risperidone and olanzapine were also tested to directly compare the effects of H(3)R antagonists to two widely used antipsychotics. ABT-239 and A-431404, but not risperidone and olanzapine, attenuated ketamine-induced deficits on spontaneous alternation in cross-maze, while none of these compounds affected alternation performance on their own. ABT-239 and A-431404 also attenuated MK-801-induced impairments in IA; no effects were observed when given alone. Risperidone and olanzapine, however, failed to attenuate MK-801-induced deficits in IA and produced dose-dependent impairments when given alone. ABT-239 was also investigated in methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) treated rats, a neurodevelopmental model for schizophrenia. Chronic, but not acute, treatment with ABT-239 significantly improved spontaneous alternation impairments in MAM rats tested in cross-maze. In summary, these results suggest H(3)R antagonists may have the potential to ameliorate CDS.
Collapse
|
26
|
Spencer P, Fry RC, Kisby GE. Unraveling 50-Year-Old Clues Linking Neurodegeneration and Cancer to Cycad Toxins: Are microRNAs Common Mediators? Front Genet 2012; 3:192. [PMID: 23060898 PMCID: PMC3460211 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2012.00192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2012] [Accepted: 09/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Recognition of overlapping molecular signaling activated by a chemical trigger of cancer and neurodegeneration is new, but the path to this discovery has been long and potholed. Six conferences (1962–1972) examined the puzzling neurotoxic and carcinogenic properties of a then-novel toxin [cycasin: methylazoxymethanol (MAM)-β-d-glucoside] in cycad plants used traditionally for food and medicine on Guam where a complex neurodegenerative disease plagued the indigenous population. Affected families showed combinations of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), parkinsonism (P), and/or a dementia (D) akin to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Modernization saw declining disease rates on Guam and remarkable changes in clinical phenotype (ALS was replaced by P-D and then by D) and in two genetically distinct ALS-PDC-affected populations (Kii-Japan, West Papua-Indonesia) that used cycad seed medicinally. MAM forms DNA lesions – repaired by O6-methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) – that perturb mouse brain development and induce malignant tumors in peripheral organs. The brains of young adult MGMT-deficient mice given a single dose of MAM show DNA lesion-linked changes in cell-signaling pathways associated with miRNA-1, which is implicated in colon, liver, and prostate cancers, and in neurological disease, notably AD. MAM is metabolized to formaldehyde, a human carcinogen. Formaldehyde-responsive miRNAs predicted to modulate MAM-associated genes in the brains of MGMT-deficient mice include miR-17-5p and miR-18d, which regulate genes involved in tumor suppression, DNA repair, amyloid deposition, and neurotransmission. These findings marry cycad-associated ALS-PDC with colon, liver, and prostate cancer; they also add to evidence linking changes in microRNA status both to ALS, AD, and parkinsonism, and to cancer initiation and progression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Spencer
- Global Health Center, Oregon Health and Science University Portland, OR, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Ikeda K. [Innovation of animal models for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (CIS)]. Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi 2012; 140:102-6. [PMID: 22975822 DOI: 10.1254/fpj.140.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
28
|
Lutkenhoff E, Karlsgodt KH, Gutman B, Stein JL, Thompson PM, Cannon TD, Jentsch JD. Structural and functional neuroimaging phenotypes in dysbindin mutant mice. Neuroimage 2012; 62:120-9. [PMID: 22584233 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2011] [Revised: 05/02/2012] [Accepted: 05/05/2012] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder that is associated with a number of structural and functional neurophenotypes. DTNBP1, the gene encoding dysbindin-1, is a promising candidate gene for schizophrenia. Use of a mouse model carrying a large genomic deletion exclusively within the dysbindin gene permits a direct investigation of the gene in isolation. Here, we use manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to explore the regional alterations in brain structure and function caused by loss of the gene encoding dysbindin-1. We report novel findings that uniquely inform our understanding of the relationship of dysbindin-1 to known schizophrenia phenotypes. First, in mutant mice, analysis of the rate of manganese uptake into the brain over a 24-hour period, putatively indexing basal cellular activity, revealed differences in dopamine rich brain regions, as well as in CA1 and dentate subregions of the hippocampus formation. Finally, novel tensor-based morphometry techniques were applied to the mouse MRI data, providing evidence for structural volume deficits in cortical regions, subiculum and dentate gyrus, and the striatum of dysbindin mutant mice. The affected cortical regions were primarily localized to the sensory cortices in particular the auditory cortex. This work represents the first application of manganese-enhanced small animal imaging to a mouse model of schizophrenia endophenotypes, and a novel combination of functional and structural measures. It revealed both hypothesized and novel structural and functional neural alterations related to dysbindin-1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan Lutkenhoff
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|