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Zhuang Y, Li C, Zhao F, Yan Y, Pan H, Zhan J, Behnisch T. E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Uhrf2 Knockout Reveals a Critical Role in Social Behavior and Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1543. [PMID: 38338822 PMCID: PMC10855348 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The hippocampal formation, particularly the CA2 subregion, is critical for social memory formation and memory processing, relying on synaptic plasticity-a fundamental mechanism by which synapses strengthen. Given the role of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in various nervous system processes, including learning and memory, we were particularly interested in exploring the involvement of RING-type ubiquitin E3 ligases, such as UHRF2 (NIRF), in social behavior and synaptic plasticity. Our results revealed altered social behavior in mice with systemic Uhrf2 knockout, including changes in nest building, tube dominance, and the three-chamber social novelty test. In Uhrf2 knockout mice, the entorhinal cortex-CA2 circuit showed significant reductions in synaptic plasticity during paired-pulse facilitation and long-term potentiation, while the inability to evoke synaptic plasticity in the Schaffer-collateral CA2 synapses remained unaffected. These changes in synaptic plasticity correlated with significant changes in gene expression including genes related to vesicle trafficking and transcriptional regulation. The effects of Uhrf2 knockout on synaptic plasticity and the observed gene expression changes highlight UHRF2 as a regulator of learning and memory processes at both the cellular and systemic levels. Targeting E3 ubiquitin ligases, such as UHRF2, may hold therapeutic potential for memory-related disorders, warranting further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinghan Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Chuhan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Fang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hongjie Pan
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jianmin Zhan
- National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Thomas Behnisch
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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Haddad FL, Lu L, Baines KJ, Schmid S. Sensory filtering disruption caused by poly I:C - Timing of exposure and other experimental considerations. Brain Behav Immun Health 2021; 9:100156. [PMID: 34589898 PMCID: PMC8474281 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) in response to infection during pregnancy has been linked through various epidemiological and preclinical studies to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia in exposed offspring. Sensory filtering disruptions occur in both of these disorders and are typically measured using the acoustic startle response in both humans and rodents. Our study focuses on characterizing the baseline reactivity, habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response following exposure to MIA. We induced MIA using polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) at gestational day (GD) 9.5 or 14.5, and we tested sensory filtering phenotypes in adolescent and adult offspring. Our results show that startle reactivity was robustly increased in adult GD9.5 but not GD14.5 poly I:C offspring. In contrast to some previous studies, we found no consistent changes in short-term habituation, long-term habituation or prepulse inhibition of startle. Our study highlights the importance of MIA exposure timing and discusses sensory filtering phenotypes as they relate to ASD, schizophrenia and the poly I:C MIA model. Moreover, we analyze and discuss the potential impact of between- and within-litter variability on behavioural findings in poly I:C studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faraj L Haddad
- Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
| | - Lu Lu
- Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, Canada.,Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kelly J Baines
- Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
| | - Susanne Schmid
- Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
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Lipponen A, Natunen T, Hujo M, Ciszek R, Hämäläinen E, Tohka J, Hiltunen M, Paananen J, Poulsen D, Kansanen E, Ekolle Ndode-Ekane X, Levonen AL, Pitkänen A. In Vitro and In Vivo Pipeline for Validation of Disease-Modifying Effects of Systems Biology-Derived Network Treatments for Traumatic Brain Injury-Lessons Learned. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20215395. [PMID: 31671916 PMCID: PMC6861918 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20215395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We developed a pipeline for the discovery of transcriptomics-derived disease-modifying therapies and used it to validate treatments in vitro and in vivo that could be repurposed for TBI treatment. Desmethylclomipramine, ionomycin, sirolimus and trimipramine, identified by in silico LINCS analysis as candidate treatments modulating the TBI-induced transcriptomics networks, were tested in neuron-BV2 microglial co-cultures, using tumour necrosis factor α as a monitoring biomarker for neuroinflammation, nitrite for nitric oxide-mediated neurotoxicity and microtubule associated protein 2-based immunostaining for neuronal survival. Based on (a) therapeutic time window in silico, (b) blood-brain barrier penetration and water solubility, (c) anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in vitro (p < 0.05) and (d) target engagement of Nrf2 target genes (p < 0.05), desmethylclomipramine was validated in a lateral fluid-percussion model of TBI in rats. Despite the favourable in silico and in vitro outcomes, in vivo assessment of clomipramine, which metabolizes to desmethylclomipramine, failed to demonstrate favourable effects on motor and memory tests. In fact, clomipramine treatment worsened the composite neuroscore (p < 0.05). Weight loss (p < 0.05) and prolonged upregulation of plasma cytokines (p < 0.05) may have contributed to the worsened somatomotor outcome. Our pipeline provides a rational stepwise procedure for evaluating favourable and unfavourable effects of systems-biology discovered compounds that modulate post-TBI transcriptomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anssi Lipponen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Teemu Natunen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Mika Hujo
- School of Computing, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Robert Ciszek
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Elina Hämäläinen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Jussi Tohka
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Mikko Hiltunen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Jussi Paananen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
- Bioinformatics Center, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - David Poulsen
- Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St, 6071 CTRC, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA.
| | - Emilia Kansanen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Xavier Ekolle Ndode-Ekane
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Anna-Liisa Levonen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
| | - Asla Pitkänen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
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Social context influences sensorimotor gating in female African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. Behav Brain Res 2019; 370:111925. [PMID: 31102599 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Disruption in prepulse inhibition (PPI), a sensorimotor gating phenomenon found in many species, has been associated with various psychiatric disorders in humans. Social defeat has been identified as a mediator of naturally evoked reductions of PPI in African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni where males reversibly alter social status and their sensorimotor gating abilities. Here we investigated A. burtoni females, which establish a male-like social hierarchy with dominant (DOM) and subordinate (SUB) individuals when housed in communities without males. We asked if DOM and SUB females demonstrate socially induced PPI differences comparable to their male DOM and SUB counterparts. Results suggest that social defeat reduced PPI in SUB females as compared to DOM females (p = 0.033) and mixed-sex community female controls (p = 0.017). However, socially defeated females in same-sex communities remained proactive when engaging in antagonistic behaviors, which appears beneficial in avoiding substantial reductions in PPI as seen in reactive, socially defeated males. In open field swimming tests, SUB females exhibited increased anxiety-related behavior (thigmotaxis) as compared to females from mixed-sex communities (COM). Taken together, our results emphasize social defeat is a reliable modulator of PPI independent of sex, and anxiety related to social defeat might be a factor in mediating PPI plasticity.
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Socially induced plasticity in sensorimotor gating in the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. Behav Brain Res 2017; 332:32-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.05.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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