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The Molecular Gut-Brain Axis in Early Brain Development. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315389. [PMID: 36499716 PMCID: PMC9739658 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Millions of nerves, immune factors, and hormones in the circulatory system connect the gut and the brain. In bidirectional communication, the gut microbiota play a crucial role in the gut-brain axis (GBA), wherein microbial metabolites of the gut microbiota regulate intestinal homeostasis, thereby influencing brain activity. Dynamic changes are observed in gut microbiota as well as during brain development. Altering the gut microbiota could serve as a therapeutic target for treating abnormalities associated with brain development. Neurophysiological development and immune regulatory disorders are affected by changes that occur in gut microbiota composition and function. The molecular aspects relevant to the GBA could help develop targeted therapies for neurodevelopmental diseases. Herein, we review the findings of recent studies on the role of the GBA in its underlying molecular mechanisms in the early stages of brain development. Furthermore, we discuss the bidirectional regulation of gut microbiota from mother to infant and the potential signaling pathways and roles of posttranscriptional modifications in brain functions. Our review summarizes the role of molecular GBA in early brain development and related disorders, providing cues for novel therapeutic targets.
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MacKay H, Gunasekara CJ, Yam KY, Srisai D, Yalamanchili HK, Li Y, Chen R, Coarfa C, Waterland RA. Sex-specific epigenetic development in the mouse hypothalamic arcuate nucleus pinpoints human genomic regions associated with body mass index. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabo3991. [PMID: 36170368 PMCID: PMC9519050 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo3991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recent genome-wide association studies corroborate classical research on developmental programming indicating that obesity is primarily a neurodevelopmental disease strongly influenced by nutrition during critical ontogenic windows. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate neurodevelopment; however, little is known about their role in establishing and maintaining the brain's energy balance circuitry. We generated neuron and glia methylomes and transcriptomes from male and female mouse hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, a key site for energy balance regulation, at time points spanning the closure of an established critical window for developmental programming of obesity risk. We find that postnatal epigenetic maturation is markedly cell type and sex specific and occurs in genomic regions enriched for heritability of body mass index in humans. Our results offer a potential explanation for both the limited ontogenic windows for and sex differences in sensitivity to developmental programming of obesity and provide a rich resource for epigenetic analyses of developmental programming of energy balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry MacKay
- USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Chathura J. Gunasekara
- USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kit-Yi Yam
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Dollada Srisai
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Hari Krishna Yalamanchili
- USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yumei Li
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Rui Chen
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Cristian Coarfa
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Robert A. Waterland
- USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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Ma S, Hangya B, Leonard CS, Wisden W, Gundlach AL. Dual-transmitter systems regulating arousal, attention, learning and memory. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 85:21-33. [PMID: 28757457 PMCID: PMC5747977 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 07/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
An array of neuromodulators, including monoamines and neuropeptides, regulate most behavioural and physiological traits. In the past decade, dramatic progress has been made in mapping neuromodulatory circuits, in analysing circuit dynamics, and interrogating circuit function using pharmacogenetic, optogenetic and imaging methods This review will focus on several distinct neural networks (acetylcholine/GABA/glutamate; histamine/GABA; orexin/glutamate; and relaxin-3/GABA) that originate from neural hubs that regulate wakefulness and related attentional and cognitive processes, and highlight approaches that have identified dual transmitter roles in these behavioural functions. Modulation of these different neural networks might be effective treatments of diseases related to arousal/sleep dysfunction and of cognitive dysfunction in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherie Ma
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Balázs Hangya
- 'Lendület' Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, Department of Cellular and Network Neurobiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - William Wisden
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew L Gundlach
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Liu Q, Chen Y, Li Q, Wu L, Wen T. Dcf1 regulates neuropeptide expression and maintains energy balance. Neurosci Lett 2017; 650:1-7. [PMID: 28377324 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.03.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 03/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an important neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a pivotal role in food intake and energy storage. Although many studies have focused on these functions, the regulation of NPY expression remains unclear. Here we showed that dendritic cell factor 1 (Dcf1) regulates NPY expression and maintains energy balance. We found that NPY expression is significantly reduced in the hypothalamus of Dcf1 knockout (Dcf1-/-, KO) mice. In contrast, Dcf1 overexpression significantly increases NPY expression in the cell line. We also found that Dcf1 acts upstream of the NPY gene to regulate NPY expression and modulates the NPY-NPY receptor 1-GABA signal. Notably, we observed a significant increase in the ATP concentration in Dcf1-/- mice, suggesting a greater demand for energy in the absence of Dcf1. We studied the relationship between Dcf1 and NPY and revealed that Dcf1 plays a critical role in energy balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Liu
- Laboratory of Molecular Neural Biology, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Yu Chen
- Laboratory of Molecular Neural Biology, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Qian Li
- Laboratory of Molecular Neural Biology, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Liang Wu
- Laboratory of Molecular Neural Biology, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Tieqiao Wen
- Laboratory of Molecular Neural Biology, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
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