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Rishabh, Rohilla M, Bansal S, Bansal N, Chauhan S, Sharma S, Goyal N, Gupta S. Estrogen signalling and Alzheimer's disease: Decoding molecular mechanisms for therapeutic breakthrough. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:3466-3490. [PMID: 38726764 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16360] [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: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
In females, Alzheimer's disease (AD) incidences increases as compared to males due to estrogen deficiency after menopause. Estrogen therapy is the mainstay therapy for menopause and associated complications. Estrogen, a hormone with multifaceted physiological functions, has been implicated in AD pathophysiology. Estrogen plays a crucial role in amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and overall neuronal health by regulating various factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), intracellular calcium signalling, death domain-associated protein (Daxx) translocation, glutamatergic excitotoxicity, Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel, Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Receptor, estrogen-metabolising enzymes and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) protein polymorphisms. All these factors impact the physiology of postmenopausal women. Estrogen replacement therapies play an important treatment strategy to prevent AD after menopause. However, use of these therapies may lead to increased risks of breast cancer, venous thromboembolism and cardiovascular disease. Various therapeutic approaches have been used to mitigate the effects of estrogen on AD. These include hormone replacement therapy, Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs), Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ)-Selective Agonists, Transdermal Estrogen Delivery, Localised Estrogen Delivery, Combination Therapies, Estrogen Metabolism Modulation and Alternative Estrogenic Compounds like genistein from soy, a notable phytoestrogen from plant sources. However, mechanism via which these approaches modulate AD in postmenopausal women has not been explained earlier thoroughly. Present review will enlighten all the molecular mechanisms of estrogen and estrogen replacement therapies in AD. Along-with this, the association between estrogen, estrogen-metabolising enzymes and ApoE protein polymorphisms will also be discussed in postmenopausal AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rishabh
- Department of Pharmacology, M. M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Ambala, Haryana, India
| | - Manni Rohilla
- Department of Pharmacology, Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, India
| | - Seema Bansal
- Department of Pharmacology, M. M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Ambala, Haryana, India
| | - Nitin Bansal
- Department of Pharmacy, Chaudhary Bansilal University, Bhiwani, India
| | - Samrat Chauhan
- Department of Pharmacology, Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, India
| | - Sheenam Sharma
- Department of Pharmacology, M. M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Ambala, Haryana, India
| | - Navjyoti Goyal
- Department of Pharmacology, M. M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Ambala, Haryana, India
| | - Sumeet Gupta
- Department of Pharmacology, M. M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Ambala, Haryana, India
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Balietti M, Principi E, Giacomini L, Giorgetti B, Conti F. The effect of late-life environmental enrichment on stress and anxiety: The role of sex and age-related differences in coping with aversive stimuli. Heliyon 2024; 10:e32021. [PMID: 38867995 PMCID: PMC11168381 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Anxiety significantly diminishes the quality of life in older adults, and the drugs used for its treatment often come with risky side effects. Non-pharmacological protocols could be valuable, but more research is needed in this area. Environmental enrichment induces positive effects on anxiety-like behavior in young and adult animals; whether the same happens in aged animals is still elusive. The aged brain undergoes changes that contribute to make it "fragile" and consequently even mild, potentially positive stimuli can trigger dyshomeostasis, worsening rather than ameliorating functioning. Here, by combining behavioral analysis and measurement of serum and brain corticosterone levels, we show that late-life environmental enrichment can induce eustress or distress, depending on sex and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function. These findings pave the way for optimizing outcomes and minimizing undesired effects in the clinical setting, underscoring the need to overcome the limits of gender medicine and emphasizing the crucial role of individually tailored therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Balietti
- Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy
| | - Elisa Principi
- Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Luca Giacomini
- Center for Animal Welfare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | | | - Fiorenzo Conti
- Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy
- Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
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Oveisgharan S, Yu L, de Paiva Lopes K, Petyuk VA, Tasaki S, Vialle R, Menon V, Wang Y, De Jager PL, Schneider JA, Bennett DA. G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1, amyloid-β, and tau tangles in older adults. Commun Biol 2024; 7:569. [PMID: 38750228 PMCID: PMC11096330 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06272-9] [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: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau tangles are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Aβ is extracellular while tau tangles are typically intracellular, and it is unknown how these two proteinopathies are connected. Here, we use data of 1206 elders and test that RNA expression levels of GPER1, a transmembrane protein, modify the association of Aβ with tau tangles. GPER1 RNA expression is related to more tau tangles (p = 0.001). Moreover, GPER1 expression modifies the association of immunohistochemistry-derived Aβ load with tau tangles (p = 0.044). Similarly, GPER1 expression modifies the association between Aβ proteoforms and tau tangles: total Aβ protein (p = 0.030) and Aβ38 peptide (p = 0.002). Using single nuclei RNA-seq indicates that GPER1 RNA expression in astrocytes modifies the relation of Aβ load with tau tangles (p = 0.002), but not GPER1 in excitatory neurons or endothelial cells. We conclude that GPER1 may be a link between Aβ and tau tangles driven mainly by astrocytic GPER1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahram Oveisgharan
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Lei Yu
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Katia de Paiva Lopes
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vladislav A Petyuk
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Shinya Tasaki
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ricardo Vialle
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vilas Menon
- Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yanling Wang
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Philip L De Jager
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie A Schneider
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
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Prokai-Tatrai K, Prokai L. The impact of 17β-estradiol on the estrogen-deficient female brain: from mechanisms to therapy with hot flushes as target symptoms. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2024; 14:1310432. [PMID: 38260155 PMCID: PMC10800853 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1310432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex steroids are essential for whole body development and functions. Among these steroids, 17β-estradiol (E2) has been known as the principal "female" hormone. However, E2's actions are not restricted to reproduction, as it plays a myriad of important roles throughout the body including the brain. In fact, this hormone also has profound effects on the female brain throughout the life span. The brain receives this gonadal hormone from the circulation, and local formation of E2 from testosterone via aromatase has been shown. Therefore, the brain appears to be not only a target but also a producer of this steroid. The beneficial broad actions of the hormone in the brain are the end result of well-orchestrated delayed genomic and rapid non-genomic responses. A drastic and steady decline in circulating E2 in a female occurs naturally over an extended period of time starting with the perimenopausal transition, as ovarian functions are gradually declining until the complete cessation of the menstrual cycle. The waning of endogenous E2 in the blood leads to an estrogen-deficient brain. This adversely impacts neural and behavioral functions and may lead to a constellation of maladies such as vasomotor symptoms with varying severity among women and, also, over time within an individual. Vasomotor symptoms triggered apparently by estrogen deficiency are related to abnormal changes in the hypothalamus particularly involving its preoptic and anterior areas. However, conventional hormone therapies to "re-estrogenize" the brain carry risks due to multiple confounding factors including unwanted hormonal exposure of the periphery. In this review, we focus on hot flushes as the archetypic manifestation of estrogen deprivation in the brain. Beyond our current mechanistic understanding of the symptoms, we highlight the arduous process and various obstacles of developing effective and safe therapies for hot flushes using E2. We discuss our preclinical efforts to constrain E2's beneficial actions to the brain by the DHED prodrug our laboratory developed to treat maladies associated with the hypoestrogenic brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Prokai-Tatrai
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, United States
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Huang Y, Sun W, Gao F, Ma H, Yuan T, Liu Z, Liu H, Hu J, Bai J, Zhang X, Wang R. Brain-Derived Estrogen Regulates Neurogenesis, Learning and Memory with Aging in Female Rats. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:760. [PMID: 37372046 DOI: 10.3390/biology12060760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Although 17β-estradiol (E2) can be locally synthesized in the brain, whether and how brain-derived E2 (BDE2) impacts neurogenesis with aging is largely unclear. In this study, we examined the hippocampal neural stem cells, neurogenesis, and gliogenesis of 1, 3, 6, 14, and 18-month (Mon) female rats. Female forebrain neuronal aromatase knockout (FBN-ARO-KO) rats and letrozole-treated rats were also employed. We demonstraed that (1) the number of neural stem cells declined over 14-Mon age, and the differentiation of astrocytes and microglia markedly elevated and exhibited excessive activation. KO rats showed declines in astrocyte A2 subtype and elevation in A1 subtype at 18 Mon; (2) neurogenesis sharply dropped from 1-Mon age; (3) KO suppressed dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis at 1, 6 and 18 Mon. Additionally, KO and letrozole treatment led to declined neurogenesis at 1-Mon age, compared to age-matched WT controls; (4) FBN-ARO-KO inhibited CREB-BDNF activation, and decreased protein levels of neurofilament, spinophilin and PSD95. Notably, hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory was impaired in juvenile (1 Mon) and adulthood (6 Mon) KO rats. Taken together, we demonstrated that BDE2 plays a pivotal role for hippocampal neurogenesis, as well as learning and memory during female aging, especially in juvenile and middle age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Huang
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Wuxiang Sun
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Fujia Gao
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Haoran Ma
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Tao Yuan
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Zixuan Liu
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Huiyu Liu
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Jiewei Hu
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Jing Bai
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
| | - Ruimin Wang
- Neurobiology Institute, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
- School of Basic Medical Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
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