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Sideromenos S, Nikou M, Czuczu B, Thalheimer N, Gundacker A, Horvath O, Cuenca Rico L, Stöhrmann P, Niello M, Partonen T, Pollak DD. The metabolic regulator USF-1 is involved in the control of affective behaviour in mice. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:497. [PMID: 36450713 PMCID: PMC9712601 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02266-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological studies indicate a bidirectional association between metabolic disturbances, including obesity and related pathological states, and mood disorders, most prominently major depression. However, the biological mechanisms mediating the comorbid relationship between the deranged metabolic and mood states remain incompletely understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the enhanced activation of brown fat tissue (BAT), known to beneficially regulate obesity and accompanying dysfunctional metabolic states, is also paralleled by an alteration of affective behaviour. We used upstream stimulatory factor 1 (USF-1) knock-out (KO) mice as a genetic model of constitutively activated BAT and positive cardiometabolic traits and found a reduction of depression-like and anxiety-like behaviours associated with USF-1 deficiency. Surgical removal of interscapular BAT did not impact the behavioural phenotype of USF-1 KO mice. Further, the absence of USF-1 did not lead to alterations of adult hippocampal neural progenitor cell proliferation, differentiation, or survival. RNA-seq analysis characterised the molecular signature of USF-1 deficiency in the hippocampus and revealed a significant increase in the expression of several members of the X-linked lymphocyte-regulated (xlr) genes, including xlr3b and xlr4b. Xlr genes are the mouse orthologues of the human FAM9 gene family and are implicated in the regulation of dendritic branching, dendritic spine number and morphology. The transcriptional changes were associated with morphological alterations in hippocampal neurons, manifested in reduced dendritic length and complexity in USF-1 KO mice. Collectively these data suggest that the metabolic regulator USF-1 is involved in the control of affective behaviour in mice and that this modulation of mood states is unrelated to USF-1-dependent BAT activation, but reflected in structural changes in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spyros Sideromenos
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Nikou
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Czuczu
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nikolas Thalheimer
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna Gundacker
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Orsolya Horvath
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Laura Cuenca Rico
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Stöhrmann
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marco Niello
- Institute for Pharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Timo Partonen
- Mental Health Team, Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Daniela D Pollak
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Schwarzspanierstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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Lo Iacono L, Mancini C, Babicola L, Pietrosanto M, Di Segni M, D'Addario SL, Municchi D, Ielpo D, Pascucci T, Cabib S, Ferlazzo F, D'Amato FR, Andolina D, Helmer-Citterich M, Cifani C, Ventura R. Early life adversity affecting the attachment bond alters ventral tegmental area transcriptomic patterning and behavior almost exclusively in female mice. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100406. [PMID: 34660854 PMCID: PMC8503667 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Early life experiences that affect the attachment bond formation can alter developmental trajectories and result in pathological outcomes in a sex-related manner. However, the molecular basis of sex differences is quite unknown. The dopaminergic system originating from the ventral tegmental area has been proposed to be a key mediator of this process. Here we exploited a murine model of early adversity (Repeated Cross Fostering, RCF) to test how interfering with the attachment bond formation affects the VTA-related functions in a sex-specific manner. Through a comprehensive behavioral screening, within the NiH RDoC framework, and by next-generation RNA-Seq experiments, we analyzed the long-lasting effect of RCF on behavioral and transcriptional profiles related to the VTA, across two different inbred strains of mouse in both sexes. We found that RCF impacted to an extremely greater extent VTA-related behaviors in females than in males and this result mirrored the transcriptional alterations in the VTA that were almost exclusively observed in females. The sexual dimorphism was conserved across two different inbred strains in spite of their divergent long lasting consequences of RCF exposure. Our data suggest that to be female primes a sub-set of genes to respond to early environmental perturbations. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first evidence of an almost exclusive effect of early life experiences on females, thus mirroring the extremely stronger impact of precocious aversive events reported in clinical studies in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa Lo Iacono
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | | | - Lucy Babicola
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | - Marco Pietrosanto
- Centre for Molecular Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Sebastian Luca D'Addario
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Diana Municchi
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Donald Ielpo
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Tiziana Pascucci
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Simona Cabib
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Ferlazzo
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca R D'Amato
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology Institute, National Research Council, Via E Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo Scalo, Roma, Italy
| | - Diego Andolina
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | - Manuela Helmer-Citterich
- Centre for Molecular Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Cifani
- University of Camerino School of Pharmacy, Camerino, Italy
| | - Rossella Ventura
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
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3
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D'Addario SL, Di Segni M, Ledonne A, Piscitelli R, Babicola L, Martini A, Spoleti E, Mancini C, Ielpo D, D'Amato FR, Andolina D, Ragozzino D, Mercuri NB, Cifani C, Renzi M, Guatteo E, Ventura R. Resilience to anhedonia-passive coping induced by early life experience is linked to a long-lasting reduction of I h current in VTA dopaminergic neurons. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 14:100324. [PMID: 33937445 PMCID: PMC8079665 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to aversive events during sensitive developmental periods can affect the preferential coping strategy adopted by individuals later in life, leading to either stress-related psychiatric disorders, including depression, or to well-adaptation to future adversity and sources of stress, a behavior phenotype termed “resilience”. We have previously shown that interfering with the development of mother-pups bond with the Repeated Cross Fostering (RCF) stress protocol can induce resilience to depression-like phenotype in adult C57BL/6J female mice. Here, we used patch-clamp recording in midbrain slice combined with both in vivo and ex vivo pharmacology to test our hypothesis of a link between electrophysiological modifications of dopaminergic neurons in the intermediate Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of RCF animals and behavioral resilience. We found reduced hyperpolarization-activated (Ih) cation current amplitude and evoked firing in VTA dopaminergic neurons from both young and adult RCF female mice. In vivo, VTA-specific pharmacological manipulation of the Ih current reverted the pro-resilient phenotype in adult early-stressed mice or mimicked behavioral resilience in adult control animals. This is the first evidence showing how pro-resilience behavior induced by early events is linked to a long-lasting reduction of Ih current and excitability in VTA dopaminergic neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Luca D'Addario
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 00184, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Rosamaria Piscitelli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Dept. of Motor Science and Wellness, 'Parthenope' University, Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Lucy Babicola
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | | | - Elena Spoleti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Camilla Mancini
- University of Camerino School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Products, Camerino, Italy
| | - Donald Ielpo
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Behavioral Neuroscience PhD Programme, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 00184, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca R D'Amato
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology Institute, National Research Council, Via E Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo Scalo, Roma, Italy
| | - Diego Andolina
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
| | - Davide Ragozzino
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Nicola B Mercuri
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Dept. of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Cifani
- University of Camerino School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Health Products, Camerino, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Renzi
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Ezia Guatteo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy.,Dept. of Motor Science and Wellness, 'Parthenope' University, Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Rossella Ventura
- Dept. of Psychology and Center "Daniel Bovet", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
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