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Peterson L, Nguyen J, Ghani N, Rodriguez-Echemendia P, Qiao H, Guwn SY, Man HY, Kantak KM. Molecular mechanisms underlying sex and treatment-dependent differences in an animal model of cue-exposure therapy for cocaine relapse prevention. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1425447. [PMID: 39176383 PMCID: PMC11339646 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1425447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 08/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Environmental enrichment combined with the glycine transporter-1 inhibitor Org24598 (EE+ORG) during cocaine-cue extinction (EXT) inhibited reacquisition of 1.0 mg/kg cocaine self-administration in male but not female rats in a previous investigation. In this investigation, we determined if this treatment benefit in males required EXT training and ascertained the molecular basis for the observed sex difference in treatment efficacy. Nine groups of male rats trained to self-administer 1.0 mg/kg cocaine or receiving yoked-saline underwent EXT or NoEXT with or without EE and/or ORG. Next, they underwent reacquisition of cocaine self-administration or were sacrificed for molecular analysis of 9 protein targets indicative of neuroplasticity in four brain regions. Two groups of female rats trained to self-administer 1.0 mg/kg cocaine also underwent EXT with or without EE + ORG and were sacrificed for molecular analysis, as above. EE + ORG facilitated the rate of EXT learning in both sexes, and importantly, the therapeutic benefit of EE + ORG for inhibiting cocaine relapse required EXT training. Males were more sensitive than females to neuroplasticity-inducing effects of EE + ORG, which prevented reductions in total GluA1 and PSD95 proteins selectively in basolateral amygdala of male rats trained to self-administer cocaine and receiving EXT. Females were deficient in expression of multiple protein targets, especially after EE + ORG. These included total GluA1 and PSD95 proteins in basolateral amygdala, and total TrkB protein in basolateral amygdala, dorsal hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Together, these results support the clinical view that sex-specific pharmacological and behavioral treatment approaches may be needed during cue exposure therapy to inhibit cocaine relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Peterson
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jonathan Nguyen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Naveed Ghani
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Hui Qiao
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Sun Young Guwn
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Heng-Ye Man
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kathleen M. Kantak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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2
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Réus GZ, Abitante MS, Manosso LM, de Moura AB, Borba LA, Botelho MEM, Darabas AC, Demo JP, Behenck JP, Arent CO, Garbossa L, Joaquim L, Cardoso TA, Petronilho F, Quevedo J. Environmental Enrichment Rescues Oxidative Stress and Behavioral Impairments Induced by Maternal Care Deprivation: Sex- and Developmental-Dependent Differences. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:6757-6773. [PMID: 34665408 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02588-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Stress is related to major depressive disorder (MDD). This study investigated the action that early stress, represented by maternal deprivation (MD), has on the behavior and oxidative stress of Wistar female and male rats. Also, it was evaluated whether changes induced by MD could be reversed by environmental enrichment (EE). Male and female rats were divided into a non-MD and MD group. The MD group was subdivided into 3 groups: (1) assessed on the 31st day after exposure to EE for 10 days, (2) assessed on the 41st day after exposure to EE for 20 days, and (3) assessed on the 61st day after exposure to EE for 40 days. Behavioral tests were performed (memory habituation and elevated plus maze). Oxidative stress parameters were evaluated peripherally. MD was able to promote anxiety-like behavior at postnatal day (PND) 41 and impair memory at PND 31 and PND 61 in male and PND 41 and PND 61 in female rats. MD was associated with increased oxidative stress parameters (reactive species to thiobarbituric acid levels (TBARS), carbonylated proteins, nitrite/nitrate concentration), and altered antioxidant defenses (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and sulfhydryl content) in different stages of development. The EE was able to reverse almost all behavioral and biochemical changes induced by MD; however, EE effects were sex and developmental period dependent. These findings reinforce the understanding of the gender variable as a biological factor in MDD related to MD and EE could be considered a treatment option for MDD treatment and its comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gislaine Z Réus
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil.
| | - Morgana S Abitante
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Luana M Manosso
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Airam B de Moura
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Laura A Borba
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Maria Eduarda M Botelho
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Ana Caroline Darabas
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Julia P Demo
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - João Paulo Behenck
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Camila O Arent
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
| | - Leandro Garbossa
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarão, SC, Brazil
| | - Larissa Joaquim
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarão, SC, Brazil
| | - Taiane A Cardoso
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Fabricia Petronilho
- Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarão, SC, Brazil
| | - João Quevedo
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil
- Translational Psychiatry Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA
- Center of Excellence On Mood Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
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3
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Bochiș TA, Imre K, Marc S, Vaduva C, Florea T, Dégi J, Voia OS, Pop C, Ţibru I. The Variation of Serotonin Values in Dogs in Different Environmental Conditions. Vet Sci 2022; 9:vetsci9100523. [PMID: 36288136 PMCID: PMC9607218 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci9100523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The multiple implications of serotonin in behavior manifestations have shaped the goal of the present study, which was to evaluate the variation of serum serotonin levels in different experimental groups of dogs to establish whether serum serotonin levels could serve as indicators of aggressive behavior, especially when adoption is considered. The experimental groups were divided into three variants: Variant 1—two groups of medium (n = 6) and small (n = 4) breed shelter dogs; Variant 2—dogs with owners (n = 15) and dogs without owners but in foster care (n = 10), after administration of pre-spaying/neutering anesthesia; and Variant 3—dogs in different behavioral states (n = 8), classified as follows: M1—happy, M2—aggressive, M3—calmed status, post-exposure to a stressful situation, compared to the reference time referred to as M0. Significant results were found between M1 and M2 (p ≤ 0.05, decrease of serotonin by 89.61 ng/mL), as well as between M2 and M3 (p ≤ 0.008, increase by 112.78 ng/mL). Following anesthesia, the average mean serotonin values were significantly lower (p ≤ 0.003), by 63.85 ng/mL, in stray dogs compared to dogs with owners, leading to a presumptive conclusion that serotonin levels could serve as indicators for potentially aggressive behaviors. Abstract Serotonin is considered to be the neurotransmitter that controls several types of behavior: aggressiveness, impulsivity, food selection, stimulation, sexual behavior, reaction to pain, and emotional manifestations. The aim of this study was to determine the serotonin values in 43 dogs, divided into three different experimental variants: (1) between two groups of medium (n = 6) and small (n = 4) breed shelter dogs; (2) in dogs with (n = 15) and without (n = 10) owners after administration of pre-spaying/neutering anesthesia; (3) in different behavioral states (n = 8) classified as follows: M1—happy, M2—aggressive, M3—calmed status, post-exposure to a stressful situation, compared to the reference time referred to as M0. There were no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) regarding the serotonin values between the two groups of medium and small breed shelter dogs. Following anesthesia, the average mean serotonin values were significantly lower (p ≤ 0.003), by 63.85 ng/mL, in stray dogs compared to dogs with owners. No significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) were found when comparing the reference time M0 to M1, M2, and M3. The differences decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.05), by 89.61 ng/mL, between M1 and M2 and increased significantly (p ≤ 0.008), by 112.78 ng/mL, between M2 and M3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timea Andrea Bochiș
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
- Correspondence: (T.A.B.); (O.S.V.)
| | - Kálmán Imre
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Simona Marc
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Cristina Vaduva
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Tiana Florea
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - János Dégi
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Octavian Sorin Voia
- Faculty of Animal Resources Bioengineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
- Correspondence: (T.A.B.); (O.S.V.)
| | - Călin Pop
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
| | - Ioan Ţibru
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, 300645 Timișoara, Romania
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Dandi E, Spandou E, Tata DA. Investigating the role of environmental enrichment initiated in adolescence against the detrimental effects of chronic unpredictable stress in adulthood: Sex-specific differences in behavioral and neuroendocrinological findings. Behav Processes 2022; 200:104707. [PMID: 35842198 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Environmental Enrichment (EE) improves cognitive function and enhances brain plasticity, while chronic stress increases emotionality, impairs learning and memory, and has adverse effects on brain anatomy and biochemistry. We explored the beneficial role of environmental enrichment initiated in adolescence against the negative outcomes of Chronic Unpredictable Stress (CUS) during adulthood on emotional behavior, cognitive function, as well as somatic and neuroendocrine markers in both sexes. Adolescent Wistar rats housed either in enriched or standard housing conditions for 10 weeks. On postnatal day 66, a subgroup from each housing condition was daily exposed to a 4-week stress protocol. Following stress, adult rats underwent behavioral testing to evaluate anxiety, exploration/locomotor activity, depressive-like behavior and spatial learning/memory. Upon completion of behavioral testing, animals were exposed to a 10-m stressful event to test the neuroendocrine response to acute stress. CUS decreased body weight gain and increased adrenal weight. Some stress-induced behavioral adverse effects were sex-specific since learning impairments were limited to males while depressive-like behavior to females. EE housing protected against CUS-related behavioral deficits and body weight loss. Exposure to CUS affected the neuroendocrine response of males to acute stress as revealed by the increased corticosterone levels. Our findings highlight the significant role of EE in adolescence as a protective factor against the negative effects of stress and underline the importance of inclusion of both sexes in animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenia Dandi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelia Spandou
- Laboratory of Experimental Physiology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Despina A Tata
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Aldhshan MS, Mizuno TM. Effect of environmental enrichment on aggression and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcript variants in group-housed male mice. Behav Brain Res 2022; 433:113986. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Marion M, Hamilton J, Richardson B, Roeder N, Figueiredo A, Nubelo A, Hetelekides E, Penman S, Owada Y, Kagawa Y, Thanos PK. Environmental Enrichment Sex-dependently Rescues Memory Impairment in FABP5 KO Mice Not Mediated by Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. Behav Brain Res 2022; 425:113814. [PMID: 35202717 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are intracellular carriers of bioactive lipids and play a role in the trafficking of endocannabinoids as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids. Mice lacking the FABP5 gene have memory impairments. Environmental enrichment is a potent manipulation known to rescue or improve memory performance. The extent to which the memory impairments in FABP5 knockout (KO) mice can be rescued or improved through environmental conditions remains to be understood. To address this, we raised wild type (WT) and FABP5 KO mice in either socially isolated or environmental enrichment conditions during adolescence. Once in adulthood, mice were tested for Novel Object Recognition (NOR), T-maze, and Morris Water Maze (MWM) to evaluate memory performance. Mice were then euthanized to assess hippocampal brain-dervied neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations. MWM results showed that male FABP5 KO mice performed worse compared to WT counterparts. Male and female mice raised in an enriched environment improved performance regardless of genotype. Results on the NOR test showed that male FABP5 KO mice displayed lower object recognition compared to WT counterparts across both environments. No differences of genotype or environment were seen in female mice. T maze findings showed that impaired performance in socially isolated FABP5 KO mice. Adolescent environmental enrichment rescued this deficit in male, but not female, FABP5 KO mice. Lastly, environmental enrichment increased hippocampal BDNF levels in male WT mice only. Our results corroborate the previously observed role of the FABP5 gene on memory performance and identify an important interaction with the environment during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Marion
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - John Hamilton
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Brittany Richardson
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Nicole Roeder
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Antonio Figueiredo
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Amanda Nubelo
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Eleftherios Hetelekides
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Samantha Penman
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
| | - Yuji Owada
- Department of Organ Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Seiryo-cho 2-1, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
| | - Yoshiteru Kagawa
- Department of Organ Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Seiryo-cho 2-1, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
| | - Panayotis K Thanos
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Laboratory on Addictions (BNNLA), Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA; Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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Cosgrove JA, Kelly LK, Kiffmeyer EA, Kloth AD. Sex-dependent influence of postweaning environmental enrichment in Angelman syndrome model mice. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2468. [PMID: 34985196 PMCID: PMC8865162 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutation or loss of UBE3A and marked by intellectual disability, ataxia, autism-like symptoms, and other atypical behaviors. One route to treatment may lie in the role that environment plays early in postnatal life. Environmental enrichment (EE) is one manipulation that has shown therapeutic potential in preclinical models of many brain disorders, including neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we examined whether postweaning EE can rescue behavioral phenotypes in Ube3a maternal deletion mice (AS mice), and whether any improvements are sex-dependent. METHODS Male and female mice (C57BL/6J Ube3atm1Alb mice and wild-type (WT) littermates; ≥10 mice/group) were randomly assigned to standard housing (SH) or EE at weaning. EE had a larger footprint, a running wheel, and a variety of toys that promoted foraging, burrowing, and climbing. Following 6 weeks of EE, animals were submitted to a battery of tests that reliably elicit behavioral deficits in AS mice, including rotarod, open field, marble burying, and forced swim; weights were also monitored. RESULTS In male AS-EE mice, we found complete restoration of motor coordination, marble burying, and forced swim behavior to the level of WT-SH mice. We also observed a complete normalization of exploratory distance traveled in the open field, but we found no rescue of vertical behavior or center time. AS-EE mice also had weights comparable to WT-SH mice. Intriguingly, in the female AS-EE mice, we found a failure of EE to rescue the same behavioral deficits relative to female WT-SH mice. CONCLUSIONS Environmental enrichment is an effective route to correcting the most penetrant phenotypes in male AS mice but not female AS mice. This finding has important implications for the translatability of early behavioral intervention for AS patients, most importantly the potential dependency of treatment response on sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jameson A. Cosgrove
- Department of BiologyAugustana University2001 S. Summit AvenueSioux FallsSouth DakotaUSA
| | - Lauren K. Kelly
- Department of BiologyAugustana University2001 S. Summit AvenueSioux FallsSouth DakotaUSA
| | - Elizabeth A. Kiffmeyer
- Department of BiologyAugustana University2001 S. Summit AvenueSioux FallsSouth DakotaUSA
| | - Alexander D. Kloth
- Department of BiologyAugustana University2001 S. Summit AvenueSioux FallsSouth DakotaUSA
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Schmidt M, Rossetti AC, Brandwein C, Riva MA, Gass P, Elsner P, Hesse-Macabata J, Hipler UC, Smesny S, Milleit B. Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Deficiency is Associated with Cognitive Impairment and Elevated Phospholipase A2 Activity in Plasma of Mice. Neuroscience 2022; 480:167-177. [PMID: 34801657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Decreased levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) are a common finding in schizophrenia. Another well-documented protein linked to schizophrenia is intracellular Ca2+-independent Phospholipase (PLA2). However, the potential association between PLA2 and BDNF with regard to schizophrenia has yet to be examined. In the present study, male and female BDNF knockout mice, a possible genetic model of schizophrenia, were exposed to prenatal stress and tested in the nest test, open field test and T-maze. Following behavioral tests, whole brain and plasma samples were harvested to measure the activity of PLA2. BDNF knockout mice showed cognitive deficits in the T-maze. Furthermore, there was a quadratic association of PLA2 with performance in the open field test. Moreover, BDNF deficiency and female sex were associated with elevated plasma PLA2 levels. The cognitive impairment of BDNF heterozygous mice as well as their increased PLA2 activity in plasma is consistent with findings in schizophrenia patients. The particular elevation of PLA2 activity in females may partly explain sex differences of clinical symptoms in schizophrenia (e.g. age of onset, severity of symptoms). Additionally, PLA2 was significantly correlated with body and adrenal weight after weaning, whereby the latter emphasizes the possible connection of PLA2 with steroidogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Schmidt
- RG Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Andrea Carlo Rossetti
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti, 9, I-20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Christiane Brandwein
- RG Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Marco Andrea Riva
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti, 9, I-20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Peter Gass
- RG Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Elsner
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jena, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Jana Hesse-Macabata
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Erfurter Straße 35, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Uta-Christina Hipler
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Erfurter Straße 35, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Stefan Smesny
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jena, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Berko Milleit
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jena, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Erfurter Straße 35, D-07743 Jena, Germany
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Cutuli D, Landolfo E, Petrosini L, Gelfo F. Environmental Enrichment Effects on the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in Healthy Condition, Alzheimer's Disease, and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 85:975-992. [PMID: 34897089 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein belonging to the neurotrophin family, is known to be heavily involved in synaptic plasticity processes that support brain development, post-lesion regeneration, and cognitive performances, such as learning and memory. Evidence indicates that BDNF expression can be epigenetically regulated by environmental stimuli and thus can mediate the experience-dependent brain plasticity. Environmental enrichment (EE), an experimental paradigm based on the exposure to complex stimulations, constitutes an efficient means to investigate the effects of high-level experience on behavior, cognitive processes, and neurobiological correlates, as the BDNF expression. In fact, BDNF exerts a key role in mediating and promoting EE-induced plastic changes and functional improvements in healthy and pathological conditions. This review is specifically aimed at providing an updated framework of the available evidence on the EE effects on brain and serum BDNF levels, by taking into account both changes in protein expression and regulation of gene expression. A further purpose of the present review is analyzing the potential of BDNF regulation in coping with neurodegenerative processes characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD), given BDNF expression alterations are described in AD patients. Moreover, attention is also paid to EE effects on BDNF expression in other neurodegenerative disease. To investigate such a topic, evidence provided by experimental studies is considered. A deeper understanding of environmental ability in modulating BDNF expression in the brain may be fundamental in designing more tuned and effective applications of complex environmental stimulations as managing approaches to AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenia Landolfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Gelfo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Rome, Italy
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10
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Borba LA, Broseghini LDR, Manosso LM, de Moura AB, Botelho MEM, Arent CO, Behenck JP, Hilsendeger A, Kammer LH, Valvassori SS, Quevedo J, Réus GZ. Environmental enrichment improves lifelong persistent behavioral and epigenetic changes induced by early-life stress. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 138:107-116. [PMID: 33848966 PMCID: PMC10494235 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) in Wistar rats subjected to maternal deprivation (MD). MD was performed in the first post-natal days (PND) ten for 3 h/day. The groups were: control; deprived without EE; and deprived with EE. The EE was applied for 3 h/day. Forced swimming test (FST) and open field test were performed, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus were evaluated on 31, 41, and 61 PND. MD altered spontaneous locomotor activity and immobility time in FST, but the effects were sex- and developmental period dependent. In deprived females at PND 31, 41, and 61, HDAC and DNMT increased in the PFC and hippocampus. In females exposed to EE for 20 days, there was a decrease of HDAC in the hippocampus and DNMT in the PFC and hippocampus. Exposure of females to EE for 40 days can reverse HDAC and DNMT increase in all brain areas. In deprived males at PND 31, 41, and 61, HDAC and DNMT increased in the hippocampus, and in the group exposed to EE for 40 days, there was a decrease in hippocampal activity. In PFC of male deprived rats at PND 61 and EE for 40 days, there was a reduction of HDAC and DNMT. MD induced lifelong persistent behavioral and epigenetic changes, and such effects were more evident in female than male rats. EE can be considered an essential non-pharmacological strategy to treat long-term trauma-induced early life changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Borba
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Lia D R Broseghini
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Luana M Manosso
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Airam B de Moura
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Maria Eduarda M Botelho
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Camila O Arent
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - João Paulo Behenck
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Amanda Hilsendeger
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Letícia H Kammer
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - Samira S Valvassori
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil
| | - João Quevedo
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil; Translational Psychiatry Program, Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA; Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Gislaine Z Réus
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC), Criciuma, SC, Brazil.
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11
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Cooper DD, Frenguelli BG. The influence of sensory experience on the glutamatergic synapse. Neuropharmacology 2021; 193:108620. [PMID: 34048870 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The ability of glutamatergic synaptic strength to change in response to prevailing neuronal activity is believed to underlie the capacity of animals, including humans, to learn from experience. This learning better equips animals to safely navigate challenging and potentially harmful environments, while reinforcing behaviours that are conducive to survival. Early descriptions of the influence of experience on behaviour were provided by Donald Hebb who showed that an enriched environment improved performance of rats in a variety of behavioural tasks, challenging the widely-held view at the time that psychological development and intelligence were largely predetermined through genetic inheritance. Subsequent studies in a variety of species provided detailed cellular and molecular insights into the neurobiological adaptations associated with enrichment and its counterparts, isolation and deprivation. Here we review those experience-dependent changes that occur at the glutamatergic synapse, and which likely underlie the enhanced cognition associated with enrichment. We focus on the importance of signalling initiated by the release of BDNF and a prime downstream effector, MSK1, in orchestrating the many structural and functional neuronal adaptations associated with enrichment. In particular we discuss the MSK1-dependent expansion of the dynamic range of the glutamatergic synapse, which may allow enhanced information storage or processing, and the establishment of a genomic homeostasis that may both stabilise the enriched brain, and may make it better able to respond to novel experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel D Cooper
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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12
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Harb M, Jagusch J, Durairaja A, Endres T, Leßmann V, Fendt M. BDNF haploinsufficiency induces behavioral endophenotypes of schizophrenia in male mice that are rescued by enriched environment. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:233. [PMID: 33888685 PMCID: PMC8062437 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01365-z] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is implicated in a number of processes that are crucial for healthy functioning of the brain. Schizophrenia is associated with low BDNF levels in the brain and blood, however, not much is known about BDNF's role in the different symptoms of schizophrenia. Here, we used BDNF-haploinsufficient (BDNF+/-) mice to investigate the role of BDNF in different mouse behavioral endophenotypes of schizophrenia. Furthermore, we assessed if an enriched environment can prevent the observed changes. In this study, male mature adult wild-type and BDNF+/- mice were tested in mouse paradigms for cognitive flexibility (attentional set shifting), sensorimotor gating (prepulse inhibition), and associative emotional learning (safety and fear conditioning). Before these tests, half of the mice had a 2-month exposure to an enriched environment, including running wheels. After the tests, BDNF brain levels were quantified. BDNF+/- mice had general deficits in the attentional set-shifting task, increased startle magnitudes, and prepulse inhibition deficits. Contextual fear learning was not affected but safety learning was absent. Enriched environment housing completely prevented the observed behavioral deficits in BDNF+/- mice. Notably, the behavioral performance of the mice was negatively correlated with BDNF protein levels. These novel findings strongly suggest that decreased BDNF levels are associated with several behavioral endophenotypes of schizophrenia. Furthermore, an enriched environment increases BDNF protein to wild-type levels and is thereby able to rescue these behavioral endophenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Harb
- grid.5807.a0000 0001 1018 4307Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Justina Jagusch
- grid.5807.a0000 0001 1018 4307Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Archana Durairaja
- grid.5807.a0000 0001 1018 4307Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Endres
- grid.5807.a0000 0001 1018 4307Institute of Physiology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Volkmar Leßmann
- Institute of Physiology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. .,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Markus Fendt
- Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. .,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
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13
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Schott BH, Kronenberg G, Schmidt U, Düsedau HP, Ehrentraut S, Geisel O, von Bohlen Und Halbach O, Gass P, Dunay IR, Hellweg R. Robustly High Hippocampal BDNF levels under Acute Stress in Mice Lacking the Full-length p75 Neurotrophin Receptor. PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY 2021; 54:205-213. [PMID: 33592642 DOI: 10.1055/a-1363-1680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exerts its effects on neural plasticity via 2 distinct receptor types, the tyrosine kinase TrkB and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). The latter can promote inflammation and cell death while TrkB is critically involved in plasticity and memory, particularly in the hippocampus. Acute and chronic stress have been associated with suppression of hippocampal BDNF expression and impaired hippocampal plasticity. We hypothesized that p75NTR might be involved in the hippocampal stress response, in particular in stress-induced BDNF suppression, which might be accompanied by increased neuroinflammation. METHOD We assessed hippocampal BDNF protein concentrations in wild-type mice compared that in mice lacking the long form of the p75NTR (p75NTRExIII-/-) with or without prior exposure to a 1-hour restraint stress challenge. Hippocampal BDNF concentrations were measured using an optimized ELISA. Furthermore, whole-brain mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 (Il6) was assessed with RT-PCR. RESULTS Deletion of full-length p75NTR was associated with higher hippocampal BDNF protein concentration in the stress condition, suggesting persistently high hippocampal BDNF levels in p75NTR-deficient mice, even under stress. Stress elicited increased whole-brain Il6 mRNA expression irrespective of genotype; however, p75NTRExIII-/- mice showed elevated baseline Il6 expression and thus a lower relative increase. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide evidence for a role of p75NTR signaling in the regulation of hippocampal BDNF levels, particularly under stress. Furthermore, p75NTR signaling modulates baseline but not stress-related Il6 gene expression in mice. Our findings implicate p75NTR signaling as a potential pathomechanism in BDNF-dependent modulation of risk for neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn H Schott
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Department of Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Golo Kronenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,University of Leicester and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Ulrike Schmidt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Henning P Düsedau
- Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Ehrentraut
- Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Olga Geisel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Peter Gass
- Central Institute for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University, Mannheim Faculty, Germany
| | - Ildiko Rita Dunay
- Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Rainer Hellweg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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14
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Van der Mierden S, Spineli LM, Talbot SR, Yiannakou C, Zentrich E, Weegh N, Struve B, Zur Brügge TF, Bleich A, Leenaars CHC. Extracting data from graphs: A case-study on animal research with implications for meta-analyses. Res Synth Methods 2021; 12:701-710. [PMID: 33555134 DOI: 10.1002/jrsm.1481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Systematic reviews with meta-analyses are powerful tools that can answer research questions based on data from published studies. Ideally, all relevant data is directly available in the text or tables, but often it is only presented in graphs. In those cases, the data can be extracted from graphs, but this potentially introduces errors. Here, we investigate to what extent the extracted outcome and error values differ from the original data and if these differences could affect the results of a meta-analysis. Six extractors extracted 36 outcome values and corresponding errors from 22 articles. Differences between extractors were compared using overall concordance correlation coefficients (OCCC), differences between the original and extracted data were compared using concordance correlation coefficients (CCC). To test the possible influence on meta-analyses, random-effects meta-analyses on mean difference comparing original and extracted data were performed. The OCCCs and CCCs were high for both outcome values and errors, CCCs were >0.99 for the outcome and >0.92 for errors. The meta-analyses showed that the overall effect on outcome was very small (median: 0.025, interquartile range: 0.016-0.046). Therefore, data extraction from graphs is a good method to harvest data if it is not provided in the text or tables, and the original authors cannot provide the data.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Loukia Maria Spineli
- Midwifery Research and Education Unit, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Steven R Talbot
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Christina Yiannakou
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Eva Zentrich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Nora Weegh
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Birgitta Struve
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - André Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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15
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Petermann M, Kronenberg G, Mosienko V, Bader M, Alenina N, Hellweg R, Klempin F. Alterations in BDNF Protein Concentrations in the Hippocampus do not Explain the Pro-Neurogenic Effect of Citalopram on Adult Neurogenesis. PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY 2020; 54:101-105. [PMID: 33197939 DOI: 10.1055/a-1291-8079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the pro-neurogenic effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In this study, we used Tph2 -/- mice lacking brain serotonin to dissect the interplay between BDNF and the serotonin system in mediating the effects of antidepressant pharmacotherapy on adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. METHODS Besides citalopram (CIT), we tested tianeptine (TIA), an antidepressant whose mechanism of action is not well understood. Specifically, we examined cell survival and endogenous concentrations of BDNF following daily injection of the drugs. RESULTS Twenty-one days of CIT, but not of TIA, led to a significant increase in the survival of newly generated cells in the dentate gyrus of wild-type mice, without a significant effect on BDNF protein levels by either treatment. In Tph2 -/- mice, adult neurogenesis was consistently increased. Furthermore, Tph2 -/- mice showed increased BDNF protein levels, which were not affected by TIA but were significantly reduced by CIT. DISCUSSION We conclude that the effects of CIT on adult neurogenesis are not explained by changes in BDNF protein concentrations in the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Petermann
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Golo Kronenberg
- University of Leicester and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, UK.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Valentina Mosienko
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,current address: University of Exeter, College of Medicine and Health, EX4 4PS, Exeter, UK
| | - Michael Bader
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Berlin, Germany.,University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Natalia Alenina
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Rainer Hellweg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friederike Klempin
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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16
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Sbrini G, Brivio P, Bosch K, Homberg JR, Calabrese F. Enrichment Environment Positively Influences Depression- and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Serotonin Transporter Knockout Rats through the Modulation of Neuroplasticity, Spine, and GABAergic Markers. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11111248. [PMID: 33114023 PMCID: PMC7690660 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The serotonin transporter (5-HTT in humans, SERT in rodents) is the main regulator of serotonergic transmission in the brain. The short allelic variant of the 5-HTT gene is in humans associated with psychopathologies and may enhance the vulnerability to develop depression after exposure to stressful events. Interestingly, the short allele also increases the sensitivity to a positive environment, which may buffer the vulnerability to depression. Since this polymorphism does not exist in rodents, male SERT knockout (SERT−/−) rats were tested to explore the molecular mechanisms based on this increased predisposition. This article investigates the influences of a positive manipulation, namely, enriched environment (EE), on the depressive-like behavior observed in SERT−/− rats. We found that one month of EE exposure normalized the anhedonic and anxious-like phenotype characteristics of this animal model. Moreover, we observed that EE exposure also restored the molecular alterations in the prefrontal cortex by positively modulating the expression of the neurotrophin Bdnf, and of spines and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic markers. Overall, our data confirm the depression-like phenotype of SERT−/− rats and highlight the ability of EE to restore behavioral and molecular alterations, thus promoting the opportunity to use EE as a supporting non-pharmacological approach to treat mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Sbrini
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.S.); (P.B.)
| | - Paola Brivio
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.S.); (P.B.)
| | - Kari Bosch
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (K.B.); (J.R.H.)
| | - Judith Regina Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (K.B.); (J.R.H.)
| | - Francesca Calabrese
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy; (G.S.); (P.B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +02-50318277
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17
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Kantak KM, Gauthier JM, Mathieson E, Knyazhanskaya E, Rodriguez-Echemendia P, Man HY. Sex differences in the effects of a combined behavioral and pharmacological treatment strategy for cocaine relapse prevention in an animal model of cue exposure therapy. Behav Brain Res 2020; 395:112839. [PMID: 32750464 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Brief interventions of environmental enrichment (EE) or the glycine transporter-1 inhibitor Org24598 administered with cocaine-cue extinction training were shown previously to inhibit reacquisition of cocaine self-administration in male rats trained to self-administer a moderate 0.3 mg/kg dose of cocaine. Determining how EE and Org24598 synergize in combination in an animal model of cue exposure therapy is novel. Important changes made in this investigation were increasing the cocaine training dose to 1.0 mg/kg and determining sex differences. Adult male and female rats self-administering 1.0 mg/kg cocaine for 35-40 daily sessions exhibited an addiction-like phenotype under a second-order schedule of cocaine delivery and cue presentation. Rats next underwent 6 weekly extinction training sessions for which treatments consisted of EE or NoEE and Vehicle or Org24598 (3.0 mg/kg in males; 3.0 or 7.5 mg/kg in females). Rats then were tested for reacquisition of cocaine self-administration for 15 daily sessions. In males, the combined EE +3.0 mg/kg Org24598 treatment facilitated extinction learning and inhibited reacquisition of cocaine self-administration to a greater extent than no treatment and to individual EE or 3.0 mg/kg Org24598 treatments. In females, EE +7.5 mg/kg Org24598 facilitated extinction learning, but did not inhibit reacquisition of cocaine self-administration. Thus, there were sex differences in the ability of EE + Org24598 administered in conjunction with extinction training to inhibit cocaine relapse in rats exhibiting an addiction-like phenotype. These findings suggest that this multimodal treatment approach might be a feasible option during cue exposure therapy in cocaine-dependent men, but not women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M Kantak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, USA; Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, USA.
| | - Jamie M Gauthier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | - Elon Mathieson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | | | | | - Heng-Ye Man
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, USA; Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, USA
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18
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Neurobiology of environmental enrichment in pigs: hanges in monoaminergic neurotransmitters in several brain areas and in the hippocampal proteome. J Proteomics 2020; 229:103943. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.103943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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19
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Niu Y, Wang T, Liang S, Li W, Hu X, Wu X, Jin F. Sex-dependent aberrant PFC development in the adolescent offspring rats exposed to variable prenatal stress. Int J Dev Neurosci 2020; 80:464-476. [PMID: 32358823 DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a remarkable period of brain development. Prenatal stress can increase the risk of various neuropsychiatric disorders. This research investigated neurochemical and behavioural changes in the offspring rats (especially adolescences) who were treated with repeated variable prenatal stress (PNS) during the third week of gestation. The study tested the concentration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cluster of differentiation 68 (CD68), synaptotagmin-1(Syt-1), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA), glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and oestrogen receptors (ERs) in the PFC (prefrontal cortex). We also tested prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) (a measure of sensorimotor gating). The main results were as follows: PNS increased the BDNF and CD68 concentrations in adolescent females, and increased the Syt-1 concentration in adolescent males. The increases in BDNF/CD68 concentration (in females) and Syt-1/DA concentration (in males) with age were disturbed by PNS, and PNS changed the sex differences in CD68 concentration in adolescence and disturbed the sex differences in the Syt-1 concentration (in adolescence) and DA concentration (in adults). In conclusion, we found that PNS lead to Sex-dependent aberrant PFC development, and might accelerate the development of the adolescent PFC, and so that lessened the age difference (between adolescence and adulthood) and the sex difference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxia Niu
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,School of Vocational Education, Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Tao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Shan Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoli Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Jin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
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20
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Rayment DJ, Peters RA, Marston LC, De Groef B. Relationships between serum serotonin, plasma cortisol, and behavioral factors in a mixed-breed, -sex, and -age group of pet dogs. J Vet Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2020.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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21
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Brenes JC, Fornaguera J, Sequeira-Cordero A. Environmental Enrichment and Physical Exercise Attenuate the Depressive-Like Effects Induced by Social Isolation Stress in Rats. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:804. [PMID: 32547399 PMCID: PMC7272682 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We assessed the antidepressant-like effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and physical exercise (PE) compared with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine against the depression-related neurobehavioral alterations induced by postweaning social isolation (SI) in rats. After 1 month of SI, rats were submitted to PE (treadmill), EE, or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg), which were compared with naïve SI and group-housed rats. After 1 month, behavior was analyzed in the open field (OFT), the sucrose preference (SPT), and the forced swimming (FST) tests. Afterward, the hippocampal serotonin contents, its metabolite, and turnover were measured. SI induced a depression-related phenotype characterized by a marginal bodyweight gain, anxiety, anhedonia, behavioral despair, and alterations of serotonin metabolism. EE produced the widest and largest antidepressive-like effect, followed by PE and fluoxetine, which were almost equivalent. The treatments, however, affected differentially the neurobehavioral domains investigated. EE exerted its largest effect on anhedonia and was the only treatment inducing anxiolytic-like effects. Fluoxetine, in contrast, produced its largest effect on serotonin metabolism, followed by its anti-behavioral despair action. PE was a middle-ground treatment with broader behavioral outcomes than fluoxetine, but ineffective to reverse the serotonergic alterations induced by SI. The most responsive test to the treatments was the FST, followed closely by the SPT. Although OFT locomotion and body weight varied considerably between groups, they were barely responsive to PE and fluoxetine. From a translational standpoint, our data suggest that exercise and recreational activities may have broader health benefits than antidepressants to overcome confinement and the consequences of chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C Brenes
- Institute for Psychological Research, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Jaime Fornaguera
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Biochemistry Department, School of Medicine, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Andrey Sequeira-Cordero
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.,Institute of Health Research, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
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22
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Rojas-Carvajal M, Sequeira-Cordero A, Brenes JC. Neurobehavioral Effects of Restricted and Unpredictable Environmental Enrichment in Rats. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:674. [PMID: 32477137 PMCID: PMC7235364 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
To study how motivational factors modulate experience-dependent neurobehavioral plasticity, we modify a protocol of environmental enrichment (EE) in rats. We assumed that the benefits derived from EE might vary according to the level of incentive salience attributed to it. To enhance the rewarding properties of EE, access to the EE cage varied randomly from 2 to 48 h for 30 days (REE). The REE group was enriched only 50% of the time and was compared to standard housing and continuous EE (CEE) groups. As behavioral readout, we analyzed the spontaneous activity and the ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) within the EE cage weekly, and in the open field test at the end of the experiment. In the cage, REE increased the utilization of materials, physical activity, and the rate of appetitive USVs. In the OF, the CEE-induced enhancements in novelty habituation and social signaling were equaled by the REE. At the neural level, we measured the expression of genes related to neural plasticity and epigenetic regulations in different brain regions. In the dorsal striatum and hippocampus, REE upregulated the expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, its tropomyosin kinase B receptor, and the DNA methyltransferase 3A. Altogether, our results suggest that the higher activity within the cage and the augmented incentive motivation provoked by the REE boosted its neurobehavioral effects equaling or surpassing those observed in the CEE condition. As constant exposures to treatments or stimulating environments are virtually impossible for humans, restricted EE protocols would have greater translational value than traditional ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mijail Rojas-Carvajal
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Institute for Psychological Research, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
| | - Andrey Sequeira-Cordero
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Institute for Health Research, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
| | - Juan C Brenes
- Neuroscience Research Center, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Institute for Psychological Research, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
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23
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Zhao X, Rondón-Ortiz AN, Lima EP, Puracchio M, Roderick RC, Kentner AC. Therapeutic efficacy of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrine, and synaptic alterations in an animal model of maternal immune activation. Brain Behav Immun Health 2020; 3. [PMID: 32368757 PMCID: PMC7197879 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) has been identified as a significant risk factor for several neurodevelopmental disorders. We have previously demonstrated that postpubertal environmental enrichment (EE) rescues and promotes resiliency against MIA in male rats. Importantly, EE protocols have demonstrated clinical relevancy in human rehabilitation settings. Applying some of the elements of these EE protocols (e.g. social, physical, cognitive stimulation) to animal models of health and disease allows for the exploration of the mechanisms that underlie their success. Here, using a MIA model, we further investigate the rehabilitative potential of complex environments with a focus on female animals. Additionally, we expand upon some of our previous work by exploring genetic markers of synaptic plasticity and stress throughout several brain regions of both sexes. In the current study, standard housed female Sprague-Dawley rats were challenged with either the inflammatory endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 100 μg/kg) or saline (equivolume) on gestational day 15. On postnatal day 50, male and female offspring were randomized into one of three conditions that differed in terms of cage size, number of cage mates (social stimulation) and enrichment materials. Spatial discrimination ability and social behavior were assessed six weeks later. Similar to our previously published work in males, our results revealed that a single LPS injection during mid gestation disrupted spatial discrimination ability in female rats. Postpubertal EE rescued this disruption. On the endocrine level, EE dampened elevations in plasma corticosterone that followed MIA, which may mediate EE's rehabilitative effects in female offspring. Within the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus, MIA and EE altered the mRNA expression of several genes associated with resiliency and synaptic plasticity in both sexes. Overall, our findings provide further evidence that EE may serve as a therapeutic intervention for MIA-induced behavioral and cognitive deficits. Moreover, we identify some sexually dimorphic molecular mechanisms that may underlie these impairments and their rescue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhao
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
| | - Alejandro N Rondón-Ortiz
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
| | - Erika P Lima
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
| | - Madeline Puracchio
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
| | - Ryland C Roderick
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
| | - Amanda C Kentner
- School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston Massachusetts, United States 02115
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24
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Inta D, Wölnerhanssen BK, Meyer-Gerspach AC, Lang E, Schweinfurth N, Mallien AS, Vasilescu AN, Schmidt A, Rea K, Westendorf AM, Tremblay MÈ, Sartorius A, Gass P, Cryan JF, Borgwardt S, Lang UE. Common Pathways in Depression and Obesity: The Role of Gut Microbiome and Diets. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-020-00199-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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25
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Moradi-Kor N, Dadkhah M, Ghanbari A, Rashidipour H, Bandegi AR, Barati M, Kokhaei P, Rashidy-Pour A. Protective Effects of Spirulina platensis, Voluntary Exercise and Environmental Interventions Against Adolescent Stress-Induced Anxiety and Depressive-Like Symptoms, Oxidative Stress and Alterations of BDNF and 5HT-3 Receptors of the Prefrontal Cortex in Female Rats. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2020; 16:1777-1794. [PMID: 32801713 PMCID: PMC7387863 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s247599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Ample evidence indicates that chronic adolescence stress is associated with an increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. Given the importance of the effective therapeutic ways to overcome adolescent stress-related deficits, the present study investigated the effects of Spirulina platensis (SP), environmental enrichment (EE), and voluntary exercise (EX) and their combination on anxiety or depression-like behaviors, oxidative stress, and alterations of BDNF and 5HT-3 receptors in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) induced by adolescent stress in adult female rats. METHODS During the adolescent period (PNDs30-40), rats were subjected to restraint stress. Then, the animals were subjected to SP treatment (200 mg/kg/day), EX, EE, and the combined treatments (SP+EX, and SP+EE) for 15 days between PNDs41-55. Subsequently, anxiety or depression-like behaviors, BDNF levels, oxidative stress markers and mRNA expression of BDNF and 5HT3 in the PFC were assessed. RESULTS Stressed rats demonstrated enhanced anxiety levels and depression-like behaviors in adulthood. Regarding the oxidative stress markers, stressed rats exhibited significantly higher levels of malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation product, higher activities of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) and significantly lower total antioxidant reactivity capacity in the PFC. Additionally, adolescent stress significantly increased 5HT3 receptor mRNA expression and decreased BDNF content and its mRNA expression in the PFC. Treatments with SP, EX, EE, and the combined interventions alleviated these deficits. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that appropriate interventions during the adolescent period can protect against adolescent stress-induced behavioral, and biochemical defects and oxidative stress damage in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasroallah Moradi-Kor
- Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.,Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Masoomeh Dadkhah
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Ali Ghanbari
- Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Hadi Rashidipour
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran
| | - Ahmad Reza Bandegi
- Laboratory of Endocrine Research, Research Center of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Mehdi Barati
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Parviz Kokhaei
- Cancer Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Ali Rashidy-Pour
- Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.,Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
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26
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Rossetti AC, Paladini MS, Trepci A, Mallien A, Riva MA, Gass P, Molteni R. Differential Neuroinflammatory Response in Male and Female Mice: A Role for BDNF. Front Mol Neurosci 2019; 12:166. [PMID: 31379496 PMCID: PMC6658805 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of evidence supports the close relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD), a severe psychiatric disease more common among women than men, and alterations of the immune/inflammatory system. However, despite the large number of studies aimed at understanding the molecular bases of this association, a lack of information exists on the potential cross-talk between systems known to be involved in depression and components of the inflammatory response, especially with respect to sex differences. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin with a well-established role in MDD etiopathology: it is altered in depressed patients as well as in animal models of the disease and its changes are restored by antidepressant drugs. Interestingly, this neurotrophin is also involved in the inflammatory response. Indeed, it can be secreted by microglia, the primary innate immune cells in the central nervous system whose functions may be in turn regulated by BDNF. With these premises, in this study, we investigated the reciprocal impact of BDNF and the immune system by evaluating the neuroinflammatory response in male and female BDNF-heterozygous mutant mice acutely treated with the cytokine-inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Specifically, we assessed the potential onset of an LPS-induced sickness behavior as well as changes of inflammatory mediators in the mouse hippocampus and frontal cortex, with respect to both genotype and sex. We found that the increased inflammatory response induced by LPS in the brain of male mice was independent of the genotype, whereas in the female, it was restricted to the heterozygous mice with no changes in the wild-type group, suggestive of a role for BDNF in the sex-dependent effect of the inflammatory challenge. Considering the involvement of both BDNF and neuroinflammation in several psychiatric diseases and the diverse incidence of such pathologies in males and females, a deeper investigation of the mechanisms underlying their interaction may have a critical translational relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Carlo Rossetti
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Paladini
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Ada Trepci
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Anne Mallien
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marco Andrea Riva
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Peter Gass
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Raffaella Molteni
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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27
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Xian Y, Ip S, Li H, Qu C, Su Z, Chen J, Lin Z. Isorhynchophylline exerts antidepressant‐like effects in mice
via
modulating neuroinflammation and neurotrophins: involvement of the PI3K/Akt/GSK‐3β signaling pathway. FASEB J 2019; 33:10393-10408. [DOI: 10.1096/fj.201802743rr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan‐Fang Xian
- School of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Brain Research CenterSchool of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
| | - Siu‐Po Ip
- School of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Brain Research CenterSchool of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
| | - Hui‐Qin Li
- School of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
| | - Chang Qu
- School of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
| | - Zi‐Ren Su
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Development and Research of Chinese MedicineMathematical Engineering Academy of Chinese MedicineGuangzhou University of Chinese Medicine Guangzhou China
| | - Jian‐Nan Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Development and Research of Chinese MedicineMathematical Engineering Academy of Chinese MedicineGuangzhou University of Chinese Medicine Guangzhou China
| | - Zhi‐Xiu Lin
- School of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Brain Research CenterSchool of Chinese MedicineFaculty of MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- Hong Kong Institute of Integrative MedicineThe Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
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28
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Association between the novel seizure quality index for the outcome prediction in electroconvulsive therapy and brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum levels. Neurosci Lett 2019; 704:164-168. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2019] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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29
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Moradi-Kor N, Ghanbari A, Rashidipour H, Yousefi B, Bandegi AR, Rashidy-Pour A. Beneficial effects of Spirulina platensis, voluntary exercise and environmental enrichment against adolescent stress induced deficits in cognitive functions, hippocampal BDNF and morphological remolding in adult female rats. Horm Behav 2019; 112:20-31. [PMID: 30917909 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 03/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to stress during adolescent period has been demonstrated to impair cognitive functions and the dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons in the rat hippocampal CA3 area. The present study investigated the combined protective effects of Spirulina platensis (SP), a supplement made from blue-green algae with neuroprotective properties, voluntary exercise (EX) and environmental enrichment (EE) against cognitive deficits, alternations in hippocampal BDNF levels, and abnormal neuronal remodeling in adult female rats (PND 60) induced by exposure to chronic restraint stress during adolescent period (PND 30-40). Rats were exposed to restraint stress (2 h/day for 10 days, PND 30-40). Then, the animals were subjected to treatment with SP (200 mg/kg/day), EX, EE and the combined treatments (SP + EX, and SP + EE) between PND 41 and 55 of age. Following the interventions, spatial learning and memory, passive avoidance performance, hippocampal dendritic morphology and BDNF levels were assessed. Results showed that plasma corticosterone levels increased at PND 40 and remained elevated at PND 55 and 70 in the stressed rats. Stressed rats showed deficits in spatial learning and memory and passive avoidance performance, decreased BDNF levels in the hippocampus, and reduced apical dendritic length and branch points of the CA3 pyramidal neurons. These deficits were alleviated by the SP, EX and EE, and the combined treatments, which accompanied with a decline in serum corticosterone in stressed animals. Some treatments even enhanced cognitive functions, and BDNF levels and neuroanatomical remodeling in the hippocampus of non-stressed animals. Our findings provide important evidences that physical activity, exposure to EE, and the SP treatment during adolescent period can protect against adolescent stress induced behavioral, biochemical and neuroanatomical impairments in adulthood.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Avoidance Learning/drug effects
- Avoidance Learning/physiology
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/metabolism
- Cell Extracts/pharmacology
- Cognition/drug effects
- Cognition/physiology
- Cognition Disorders/etiology
- Cognition Disorders/pathology
- Cognition Disorders/physiopathology
- Cognition Disorders/prevention & control
- Conditioning, Psychological/drug effects
- Conditioning, Psychological/physiology
- Female
- Hippocampus/drug effects
- Hippocampus/metabolism
- Hippocampus/pathology
- Hippocampus/physiopathology
- Memory/drug effects
- Memory/physiology
- Neuronal Plasticity/drug effects
- Physical Conditioning, Animal/physiology
- Rats
- Rats, Wistar
- Restraint, Physical/physiology
- Restraint, Physical/psychology
- Sexual Maturation/drug effects
- Sexual Maturation/physiology
- Social Environment
- Spatial Learning/drug effects
- Spirulina/chemistry
- Stress, Psychological/complications
- Stress, Psychological/metabolism
- Stress, Psychological/pathology
- Stress, Psychological/psychology
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasroallah Moradi-Kor
- Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran; Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Ali Ghanbari
- Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Hadi Rashidipour
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar Branch, Garmsar, Iran
| | - Behpour Yousefi
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Ahmad Reza Bandegi
- Laboratory of Endocrine Research, Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
| | - Ali Rashidy-Pour
- Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
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30
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Candemir E, Post A, Dischinger US, Palme R, Slattery DA, O'Leary A, Reif A. Limited effects of early life manipulations on sex-specific gene expression and behavior in adulthood. Behav Brain Res 2019; 369:111927. [PMID: 31034851 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to childhood adversity is associated with increased vulnerability to stress-related disorders in adulthood which has been replicated in rodent stress models, whereas environmental enrichment has been suggested to have beneficial effects. However, the exact neurobiological mechanisms underlying these environment influences on adult brain and behavior are not well understood. Therefore, we investigated the long-term effects of maternal separation (MS) or environmental enrichment (EE) in male and female CD1 mice. We found clear sex-specific effects, but limited influence of environmental manipulations, on adult behavior, fecal corticosterone metabolite (FCM) levels and stress- and plasticity related gene expression in discrete brain regions. In detail, adult females displayed higher locomotor activity and FCM levels compared to males and EE resulted in attenuation in both measures, but only in females. There were no sex- or postnatal manipulation-dependent differences in anxiety-related behaviors in either sex. Gene expression analyses revealed that adult males showed higher Fkbp5 mRNA levels in hippocampus, hypothalamus and raphe nuclei, and higher hippocampal Nos1 levels. Interestingly, MS elevated Nos1 levels in hippocampus but reduced Fkbp5 expression in hypothalamus of males. Finally, we also found higher Maoa expression in the hypothalamus of adult females, however no differences were observed in the expression levels of Bdnf, Crhr1, Nr3c1 and Htr1a. Our findings further contribute to sex-dependent differences in behavior, corticosterone and gene expression and reveal that the effects of postnatal manipulations on these parameters in outbred CD1 mice are limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esin Candemir
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Antonia Post
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Severin Dischinger
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Rupert Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - David A Slattery
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Aet O'Leary
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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31
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Chronic histamine 3 receptor antagonism alleviates depression like conditions in mice via modulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal axis. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 101:128-137. [PMID: 30458370 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The last two decades of research has established histamine (HA) as a neurotransmitter. Since H3R antagonists are known to modulate several neurotransmitters besides HA, H3R antagonists have shown potential for the treatment of different central nervous system disorders, including depression. However, molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of H3R antagonism in depression are not clear, yet. In the present study, we investigated the antidepressant potential of ciproxifan, a selective H3R antagonist, in chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model of depression in C57BL/6 J mice. We observed that chronic treatment of CUS mice with ciproxifan (3 mg/kg i.p.; for three weeks) alleviates depression-like symptoms such as helplessness measured by forced swim and tail suspension test (FST and TST), anhedonia measured by sucrose preference test (SPT) and social deficit measured in social behavior test. Chronic ciproxifan treatment restored CUS induced BDNF expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. We also observed that ciproxifan modulates CUS induced NUCB2/nesfatin-1 and CRH expression in the hypothalamus and plasma corticosterone. We also determined the direct effect of HA on BDNF expression in neurons by western blotting and immunocytochemistry, and found that HA significantly induced BDNF expression, which was blocked by the H4R selective antagonist, but not by other HA receptor selective antagonists. Furthermore, ciproxifan significantly modulated NMDA glutamate receptor subunits NR2B and NR2A. Thus, these results suggest that increased HA signaling in the brain produces antidepressant-like effects in mice and modulates BDNF expression and HPA-axis.
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32
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Benatti C, Radighieri G, Alboni S, Blom JMC, Brunello N, Tascedda F. Modulation of neuroplasticity-related targets following stress-induced acute escape deficit. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:140-148. [PMID: 30771367 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Understanding resilience is a major challenge to improve current pharmacological therapies aimed at complementing psychological-based approaches of stress-related disorders. In particular, resilience is a multi-factorial construct where the complex network of molecular events that drive the process still needs to be resolved. Here, we exploit the acute escape deficit model, an animal model based on exposure to acute unavoidable stress followed by an escape test, to define vulnerable and resilient phenotypes in rats. Hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC), two of the brain areas most involved in the stress response, were analysed for gene expression at two different time points (3 and 24 h) after the escape test. Total Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) was highly responsive in the PFC at 24-h after the escape test, while expression of BDNF transcript IV increased in the hippocampus of resistant animals 3 h post-test. Expression of memory enhancers like Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 4 (Npas4) and Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) decreased in a time- and region-dependent fashion in both behavioural phenotypes. Also, the memory inhibitor Protein Phosphatase 1 (Ppp1ca) was increased in the hippocampus of resilient rats at 3 h post-test. Given the importance of neurotrophic factors and synaptic plasticity-related genes for the development of appropriate coping strategies, our data contribute to an additional step forward in the comprehension of the psychobiology of stress and resiliency.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Benatti
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - G Radighieri
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - S Alboni
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy
| | - J M C Blom
- Department of Education and Human Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, viale Antonio Allegri 9, 42121, Reggio Emilia, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - N Brunello
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - F Tascedda
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
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Millett CE, Phillips BE, Saunders EF. The Sex-specific Effects of LPS on Depressive-like Behavior and Oxidative Stress in the Hippocampus of the Mouse. Neuroscience 2019; 399:77-88. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2018] [Revised: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Llorens-Martín M. Exercising New Neurons to Vanquish Alzheimer Disease. Brain Plast 2018; 4:111-126. [PMID: 30564550 PMCID: PMC6296267 DOI: 10.3233/bpl-180065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in individuals over 65 years of age. The neuropathological hallmarks of the condition are Tau neurofibrillary tangles and Amyloid-β senile plaques. Moreover, certain susceptible regions of the brain experience a generalized lack of neural plasticity and marked synaptic alterations during the progression of this as yet incurable disease. One of these regions, the hippocampus, is characterized by the continuous addition of new neurons throughout life. This phenomenon, named adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN), provides a potentially endless source of new synaptic elements that increase the complexity and plasticity of the hippocampal circuitry. Numerous lines of evidence show that physical activity and environmental enrichment (EE) are among the most potent positive regulators of AHN. Given that neural plasticity is markedly decreased in many neurodegenerative diseases, the therapeutic potential of making certain lifestyle changes, such as increasing physical activity, is being recognised in several non-pharmacologic strategies seeking to slow down or prevent the progression of these diseases. This review article summarizes current evidence supporting the putative therapeutic potential of EE and physical exercise to increase AHN and hippocampal plasticity both under physiological and pathological circumstances, with a special emphasis on neurodegenerative diseases and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Llorens-Martín
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa”, CBMSO, CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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High-Intensity Interval Training on Neuroplasticity, Balance between Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Precursor Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Poststroke Depression Rats. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2018; 28:672-682. [PMID: 30503681 DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2018.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-intensity interval training (HIIT) improves functional and mental health in the patients with stroke. To investigate the potential mechanisms of HIIT on poststroke depression (PSD). METHODS Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, Sham, PSD, moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), and HIIT groups. After PSD model was successful made, the maximum speed (Smax) and the blood lactate threshold corresponding speed (SLT) were measured. Different intensity training protocols were performed on the MICT and HIIT groups, respectively. The behavioral tests (open field, forced swimming, and sucrose preference tests) were performed before and after training. Nissl staining was used to observe the changes of neuronal cell morphology in the left hippocampus. The expression of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF), tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), precursor BDNF (proBDNF), pan-neurotrophin receptor 75 (p75NTR), NR2A, NR2B proteins, and BDNF, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) mRNA in the hippocampus were detected by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry or RT-PCR after training. RESULTS After 28 days of training, higher center occupancy, immobility time, and level of proBDNF, p75NTR, and NR2B proteins, lower sucrose preference and level of mBDNF, TrkB, NR2A proteins, and BDNF, tPA mRNA were observed in the PSD group. Neuronal cells and Nissl body in the hippocampus were loosely arranged and lightly stained in the PSD group. The ethological findings, Nissl staining especially in the CA1 and dentate gyrus areas, expression of proteins and mRNA above in the MICT and HIIT rats were reversed. And the HIIT group changed more significantly compared with MICT. CONCLUSIONS HIIT was superior to MICT in improving depression in the PSD rats might via increasing mBDNF/proBDNF ratio and further improving neural plasticity in the hippocampus.
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Grech AM, Ratnayake U, Hannan AJ, van den Buuse M, Hill RA. Sex-Dependent Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Spatial Memory and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Signaling in a Developmental "Two-Hit" Mouse Model Combining BDNF Haploinsufficiency and Chronic Glucocorticoid Stimulation. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:227. [PMID: 30356704 PMCID: PMC6189322 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of adverse genetic and environmental insults. The "two-hit" hypothesis suggests that an early first "hit" primes the developing brain to be vulnerable to a second "hit" during adolescence which triggers behavioral dysfunction. We have previously modeled this scenario in mice and found that the combined effect of a genetic hapolinsuffuciency in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene (1st hit) and chronic corticosterone (CORT) treatment during adolescence (2nd hit), caused spatial memory impairments in adulthood. Environmental enrichment (EE) protocols are designed to stimulate experience-dependent plasticity and have shown therapeutic actions. This study investigated whether EE can reverse these spatial memory impairments. Wild-type (WT) and BDNF heterozygous (HET) mice were treated with corticosterone (CORT) in their drinking water (50 mg/L) from weeks 6 to 8 and exposed to EE from 7 to 9 weeks. Enriched housing included open top cages with additional toys, tunnels, housing, and platforms. Y-maze novel preference testing, to assess short-term spatial memory, was performed at 10 weeks of age. At week 16 dorsal hippocampus tissue was obtained for Western blot analysis of expression levels of BDNF, the BDNF receptor TrkB, and NMDA receptor subunits, GluNR1, 2A and 2B. As in our previous studies, spatial memory was impaired in our two-hit (BDNF HET + CORT) mice. Simultaneous EE prevented these impairments. However, EE appeared to worsen spatial memory performance in WT mice, particularly those exposed to CORT. While BDNF levels were lower in BDNF HET mice as expected, there were no further effects of CORT or EE in males but a close to significant female CORT × EE × genotype interaction which qualitatively corresponded with Y-maze performance. However, EE caused both sex- and genotype-specific effects on phosphorylated TrkB residues and GluNR expression within the dorsal hippocampus, with GluNR2B levels in males changing in parallel with spatial memory performance. In conclusion, beneficial effects of EE on spatial memory emerge only following two developmental disruptions. The mechanisms by which EE exerts its effects are likely via regulation of multiple activity-dependent pathways, including TrkB and NMDA receptor signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne M. Grech
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash Medical Centre, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Udani Ratnayake
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Anthony J. Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Maarten van den Buuse
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- The College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Rachel A. Hill
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash Medical Centre, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Oliveira TDQ, de Sousa CNS, Vasconcelos GS, de Sousa LC, de Oliveira AA, Patrocínio CFV, Medeiros IDS, Honório Júnior JER, Maes M, Macedo D, Vasconcelos SMM. Brain antioxidant effect of mirtazapine and reversal of sedation by its combination with alpha-lipoic acid in a model of depression induced by corticosterone. J Affect Disord 2017; 219:49-57. [PMID: 28521187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is accompanied by activated neuro-oxidative and neuro-nitrosative pathways, while targeting these pathways has clinical efficacy in depression. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mirtazapine (MIRT) alone and combined with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) against corticosterone (CORT) induced behavioral and oxidative alterations. METHODS Male mice received vehicle or CORT 20mg/kg during 14 days. From the 15th to 21st days they were divided in groups administered: vehicle, MIRT 3mg/kg or the combinations MIRT+ALA100 or MIRT+ALA200. On the 21st day of treatment, the animals were subjected to behavioral tests. Twenty-four hours after the last drug administration hippocampus (HC) and striatum (ST) were dissected for the determination reduced glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LP) and nitrite levels. RESULTS CORT induced anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors as observed by increased immobility time in the tail suspension test and decreased sucrose consumption. MIRT or MIRT+ALA are effective in reversing anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors induced by CORT. CORT and MIRT alone prolonged sleeping time and this effect was reversed by MIRT+ALA. CORT significantly increased LP, which was reversed by MIRT or MIRT+ALA. Nitrite levels were increased in CORT-treated animals and reversed by MIRT+ALA200 (HC), MIRT or MIRT+ALA (ST). LIMITATION A relative small sample size and lack of a washout period between drug administration and behavioral testing. CONCLUSIONS MIRT or MIRT+ALA reverse CORT-induced anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors probably via their central antioxidant effects. Augmentation of MIRT with ALA may reverse sedation, an important side effect of MIRT. Randomized controlled studies are needed to examine the clinical efficacy of this combination in human depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana de Queiroz Oliveira
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Caren Nádia Soares de Sousa
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Germana Silva Vasconcelos
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Luciene Costa de Sousa
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Anneheydi Araújo de Oliveira
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | | | - Ingridy da Silva Medeiros
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | | | - Michael Maes
- IMPACT Strategic Research Center, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Danielle Macedo
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Brazil
| | - Silvânia Maria Mendes Vasconcelos
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Drug Research and Development Center, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
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The recent progress in animal models of depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 77:99-109. [PMID: 28396255 PMCID: PMC5605906 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 220] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Major depression disorder (MDD) is a debilitating mental illness with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the growing number of studies that have emerged, the precise underlying mechanisms of MDD remain unknown. When studying MDD, tissue samples like peripheral blood or post-mortem brain samples are used to elucidate underlying mechanisms. Unfortunately, there are many uncontrollable factors with such samples such as medication history, age, time after death before post-mortem tissue was collected, age, sex, race, and living conditions. Although these factors are critical, they introduce confounding variables that can influence the outcome profoundly. In this regard, animal models provide a crucial approach to examine neural circuitry and molecular and cellular pathways in a controlled environment. Further, manipulations with pharmacological agents and gene editing are accepted methods of studying depression in animal models, which is impossible to employ in human patient studies. Here, we have reviewed the most widely used animal models of depression and delineated the salient features of each model in terms of behavioral and neurobiological outcomes. We have also illustrated the current challenges in using these models and have suggested strategies to delineate the underlying mechanism associated with vulnerability or resilience to developing depression.
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CACNA1C gene regulates behavioral strategies in operant rule learning. PLoS Biol 2017; 15:e2000936. [PMID: 28604818 PMCID: PMC5467799 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2000936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral experiments are usually designed to tap into a specific cognitive function, but animals may solve a given task through a variety of different and individual behavioral strategies, some of them not foreseen by the experimenter. Animal learning may therefore be seen more as the process of selecting among, and adapting, potential behavioral policies, rather than mere strengthening of associative links. Calcium influx through high-voltage-gated Ca2+ channels is central to synaptic plasticity, and altered expression of Cav1.2 channels and the CACNA1C gene have been associated with severe learning deficits and psychiatric disorders. Given this, we were interested in how specifically a selective functional ablation of the Cacna1c gene would modulate the learning process. Using a detailed, individual-level analysis of learning on an operant cue discrimination task in terms of behavioral strategies, combined with Bayesian selection among computational models estimated from the empirical data, we show that a Cacna1c knockout does not impair learning in general but has a much more specific effect: the majority of Cacna1c knockout mice still managed to increase reward feedback across trials but did so by adapting an outcome-based strategy, while the majority of matched controls adopted the experimentally intended cue-association rule. Our results thus point to a quite specific role of a single gene in learning and highlight that much more mechanistic insight could be gained by examining response patterns in terms of a larger repertoire of potential behavioral strategies. The results may also have clinical implications for treating psychiatric disorders. To deal with an uncertain and complex world, animals have developed a large repertoire of behavioral heuristics and default strategies that spring into action in unknown situations. Building on this a priori repertoire, animals may find various ways to succeed on a given behavioral task. Therefore, determining the exact behavioral strategy followed during a task may be essential for understanding the cognitive processes involved. Using computational models to analyze behavior, we examined how a genetic variation in a gene that encodes a calcium channel and has been associated with learning deficits influences the way in which animals acted on a task in which a reward was associated with a specific behavior. We found that a knockout of the relevant gene does not lead to a general learning impairment but rather led animals to adopt a behavioral strategy different from the one employed by the control animals. Specifically, knockout animals managed to increase their reward returns by basing their responses more on the previous reward location rather than on reward-indicating stimuli, like the controls did. These findings may prove useful for behavioral therapy in the context of psychiatric disorders associated with this specific gene variation.
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Schmidt M, Lapert F, Brandwein C, Deuschle M, Kasperk C, Grimsley JM, Gass P. Prenatal stress changes courtship vocalizations and bone mineral density in mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 75:203-212. [PMID: 27838514 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2016] [Revised: 11/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Stress during the prenatal period has various effects on social and sexual behavior in both human and animal offspring. The present study examines the effects of chronic restraint stress in the second vs third trimester in pregnancy and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) heterozygous mutation on C57BL/6N male offspring's vocal courtship behavior in adulthood by applying a novel analyzing method. Finally, corticosterone and testosterone levels as well as bone mineral density were measured. Prenatal stress in the third, but not in the second trimester caused a significant qualitative change in males' courtship vocalizations, independent of their GR genotype. Bone mineral density was decreased also by prenatal stress exclusively in the third trimester in GR mutant and wildtype mice and - in contrast to corticosterone and testosterone - highly correlated with courtship vocalizations. In Gr+/- males corticosterone serum levels were significantly increased in animals that had experienced prenatal stress in the third trimester. Testosterone serum levels were overall increased in Gr+/- males in comparison to wildtypes as a tendency - whereas prenatal stress had no influence. Prenatal stress alters adult males' courtship vocalizations exclusively when applied in the third trimester, with closely related changes in bone mineral density. Bone mineral density seems to reflect best the complex neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the production of courtship vocalizations. Besides, we demonstrated for the first time elevated basal corticosterone levels in Gr+/- males after prenatal stress which suggests that the Gr+/- mouse model of depression might also serve as a model of prenatal stress in male offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Schmidt
- Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Florian Lapert
- Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Christiane Brandwein
- Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Michael Deuschle
- Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Christian Kasperk
- Department of Medicine I and Clinical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jasmine M Grimsley
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA
| | - Peter Gass
- Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim (ZI), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany
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Luoni A, Berry A, Raggi C, Bellisario V, Cirulli F, Riva MA. Sex-Specific Effects of Prenatal Stress on Bdnf Expression in Response to an Acute Challenge in Rats: a Role for Gadd45β. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 53:7037-7047. [PMID: 26676568 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-015-9569-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to early adversities represents a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders. We have previously shown that exposure to prenatal stress (PNS) in rats alters the developmental expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) with a specific temporal profile. However, exposure to early-life stress is known to alter the ability to cope with challenging events later in life, which may contribute to the enhanced vulnerability to stress-related disorders. Since Bdnf is also an important player for activity-dependent plasticity, we investigated whether the exposure to PNS in rats could alter Bdnf responsiveness to an acute challenge at adulthood. We found that exposure to PNS produces significant changes in Bdnf responsiveness with brain region- and gender-specific selectivity. Indeed, exposure to an acute stress upregulates Bdnf expression in the prefrontal cortex, but not in the hippocampus, of control animals. Moreover, such modulatory activity is selectively impaired in PNS female rats, an effect that was associated with changes in the modulation of the DNA demethylase Gadd45β. Our results suggest that exposure to PNS may reprogram gene transcription through epigenetic mechanisms reducing the ability to cope under adverse conditions, a trait that is disrupted in psychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Luoni
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, via Balzaretti 9, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - A Berry
- Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - C Raggi
- Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - V Bellisario
- Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - F Cirulli
- Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - M A Riva
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, via Balzaretti 9, 20133, Milan, Italy.
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ProBDNF Signaling Regulates Depression-Like Behaviors in Rodents under Chronic Stress. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:2882-2892. [PMID: 27312407 PMCID: PMC5061880 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2016] [Revised: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to stressful environment is a key risk factor contributing to the development of depression. However, the mechanisms involved in this process are still unclear. Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) has long been investigated for its positive role in regulation of mood, although the role of its precursor, proBDNF, in regulation of mood is not known. In this study, using an unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) paradigm we found that the protein levels of proBDNF were increased in the neocortex and hippocampus of stressed mice and this UCMS-induced upregulation of proBDNF was abolished by chronic administration of fluoxetine. We then established a rat model of UCMS and found that the expression of proBDNF/p75NTR/sortilin was upregulated, whereas the expression of mature BDNF and TrkB was downregulated in both neocortex and hippocampus of chronically stressed rats. Finally, we found that the injection of anti-proBDNF antibody via intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) approaches into the UCMS rats significantly reversed the stress-induced depression-like behavior and restored the exploratory activity and spine growth. Although intramuscular injection of AAV-proBDNF did not exacerbate the UCMS-elicited rat mood-related behavioral or pathological abnormalities, i.c.v. injection of AAV-proBDNF increased the depression-like behavior in naive rats. Our findings suggest that proBDNF plays a role in the development of chronic stress-induced mood disturbances in rodents. Central (i.c.v.) or peripheral (i.p.) inhibition of proBDNF by injecting specific anti-proBDNF antibodies may provide a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of stress-related mood disorders.
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Antidepressive and BDNF effects of enriched environment treatment across ages in mice lacking BDNF expression through promoter IV. Transl Psychiatry 2016; 6:e896. [PMID: 27648918 PMCID: PMC5048201 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Revised: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/19/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Reduced promoter IV-driven expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is implicated in stress and major depression. We previously reported that defective promoter IV (KIV) caused depression-like behavior in young adult mice, which was reversed more effectively by enriched environment treatment (EET) than antidepressants. The effects of promoter IV-BDNF deficiency and EET over the life stages remain unknown. Since early-life development (ED) involves dynamic epigenetic processes, we hypothesized that EET during ED would provide maximum antidepressive effects that would persist later in life due to enhanced, long-lasting BDNF induction. We tested this hypothesis by determining EET effects across three life stages: ED (0-2 months), young adult (2-4 months), and old adult (12-14 months). KIV mice at all life stages showed depression-like behavior in the open-field and tail-suspension tests compared with wild-type mice. Two months of EET reduced depression-like behavior in ED and young adult, but not old adult mice, with the largest effect in ED KIV mice. This effect lasted for 1 month after discontinuance of EET only in ED mice. BDNF protein induction by EET in the hippocampus and frontal cortex was also the largest in ED mice and persisted only in the hippocampus of ED KIV mice after discontinuance of EET. No gender-specific effects were observed. The results suggest that defective promoter IV causes depression-like behavior, regardless of age and gender, and that EET during ED is particularly beneficial to individuals with promoter IV-BDNF deficiency, while additional treatment may be needed for older adults.
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Pereira-Caixeta AR, Guarnieri LO, Pena RR, Dias TL, Pereira GS. Neurogenesis Inhibition Prevents Enriched Environment to Prolong and Strengthen Social Recognition Memory, But Not to Increase BDNF Expression. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 54:3309-3316. [PMID: 27165290 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-9922-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampus-dependent memories, such as social recognition (SRM), are modulated by neurogenesis. However, the precise role of newborn neurons in social memory processing is still unknown. We showed previously that 1 week of enriched environment (EE) is sufficient to increase neurogenesis in the hippocampus (HIP) and the olfactory bulb (OB) of mice. Here, we tested the hypothesis that 1 week of EE would enhance SRM persistence and strength. In addition, as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may mediate some of the neurogenesis effects on memory, we also tested if 1 week of EE would increase BDNF expression in the HIP and OB. We also predicted that neurogenesis inhibition would block the gain of function caused by EE on both SRM and BDNF expression. We found that EE increased BDNF expression in the HIP and OB of mice; at the same time, it allowed SRM to last longer. In addition, mice on EE had their SRM unaffected by memory consolidation interferences. As we predicted, treatment with the anti-mitotic drug AraC blocked EE effects on SRM. Surprisingly, neurogenesis inhibition did not affect the BDNF expression, increased by EE. Together, our results suggest that newborn neurons improve SRM persistence through a BDNF-independent mechanism. Interestingly, this study on social memory uncovered an unexpected dissociation between the effect of adult neurogenesis and BDNF expression on memory persistence, reassuring the idea that not all neurogenesis effects on memory are BDNF-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Raquel Pereira-Caixeta
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Leonardo O Guarnieri
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Roberta R Pena
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Thomáz L Dias
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Grace Schenatto Pereira
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Mallien AS, Palme R, Richetto J, Muzzillo C, Richter SH, Vogt MA, Inta D, Riva MA, Vollmayr B, Gass P. Daily exposure to a touchscreen-paradigm and associated food restriction evokes an increase in adrenocortical and neural activity in mice. Horm Behav 2016; 81:97-105. [PMID: 27059527 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Revised: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 03/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The translational assessment of mechanisms underlying cognitive functions using touchscreen-based approaches for rodents is growing in popularity. In these paradigms, daily training is usually accompanied by extended food restriction to maintain animals' motivation to respond for rewards. Here, we show a transient elevation in stress hormone levels due to food restriction and touchscreen training, with subsequent adaptation effects, in fecal corticosterone metabolite concentrations, indicating effective coping in response to physical and psychological stressors. Corticosterone concentrations of experienced but training-deprived mice revealed a potential anticipation of task exposure, indicating a possible temporary environmental enrichment-like effect caused by cognitive challenge. Furthermore, the analyses of immediate early gene (IEG) immunoreactivity in the hippocampus revealed alterations in Arc, c-Fos and zif268 expression immediately following training. In addition, BDNF expression was altered as a function of satiation state during food restriction. These findings suggest that standard protocols for touchscreen-based training induce changes in hippocampal neuronal activity related to satiation and learning that should be considered when using this paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Stephanie Mallien
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Rupert Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Juliet Richetto
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Muzzillo
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Sophie Helene Richter
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Miriam Annika Vogt
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Dragos Inta
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marco Andrea Riva
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Barbara Vollmayr
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Gass
- Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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Reversal of the Detrimental Effects of Post-Stroke Social Isolation by Pair-Housing is Mediated by Activation of BDNF-MAPK/ERK in Aged Mice. Sci Rep 2016; 6:25176. [PMID: 27125783 PMCID: PMC4850427 DOI: 10.1038/srep25176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Social isolation (SI) increases stroke-related mortality and morbidity in clinical populations. The detrimental effects of SI have been successfully modeled in the laboratory using young animals. Mechanistically, the negative effects of SI in young animals are primarily mediated by an enhanced inflammatory response to injury and a reduction in neurotrophic factors. However, the response to brain injury differs considerably in the aged. Given that SI is more prevalent in aged populations, we hypothesized that isolation, even when initiated after stroke, would delay recovery in aged mice. We found that aged isolated male mice had significantly increased infarct volume, neurological deficits, and serum IL-6 levels three days after stroke compared to pair housed (PH) mice. Using RT2 Profiler PCR Array and real-time quantitative PCR we found several important synaptic plasticity genes were differentially expressed in post-stroke SI mice. Furthermore, paired mice showed improved memory and neurobehavioral recovery four weeks after injury. Mechanistic and histological studies showed that the beneficial effects of pair housing are partially mediated by BDNF via downstream MAPK/ERK signaling and restoration of axonal basic myelin protein levels.
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Kronenberg G, Mosienko V, Gertz K, Alenina N, Hellweg R, Klempin F. Increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein concentrations in mice lacking brain serotonin. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 266:281-4. [PMID: 26100147 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-015-0611-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/15/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The interplay between BDNF signaling and the serotonergic system remains incompletely understood. Using a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we studied BDNF concentrations in hippocampus and cortex of two mouse models of altered serotonin signaling: tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph)2-deficient (Tph2 (-/-)) mice lacking brain serotonin and serotonin transporter (SERT)-deficient (SERT(-/-)) mice lacking serotonin re-uptake. Surprisingly, hippocampal BDNF was significantly elevated in Tph2 (-/-) mice, whereas no significant changes were observed in SERT(-/-) mice. Furthermore, BDNF levels were increased in the prefrontal cortex of Tph2 (-/-) but not of SERT(-/-) mice. Our results emphasize the interaction between serotonin signaling and BDNF. Complete lack of brain serotonin induces BDNF expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Golo Kronenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Valentina Mosienko
- Research Team 'Cardiovascular Hormones and Peptides', Max-Delbruck-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Robert-Roessle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany.,School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Karen Gertz
- Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Natalia Alenina
- Research Team 'Cardiovascular Hormones and Peptides', Max-Delbruck-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Robert-Roessle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rainer Hellweg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friederike Klempin
- Research Team 'Cardiovascular Hormones and Peptides', Max-Delbruck-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Robert-Roessle-Str. 10, 13125, Berlin, Germany.
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McGuiness B, Gibney SM, Beumer W, Versnel MA, Sillaber I, Harkin A, Drexhage HA. Exaggerated Increases in Microglia Proliferation, Brain Inflammatory Response and Sickness Behaviour upon Lipopolysaccharide Stimulation in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice. Neuroimmunomodulation 2016; 23:137-150. [PMID: 27529430 PMCID: PMC5296925 DOI: 10.1159/000446370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, an established model for autoimmune diabetes, shows an exaggerated reaction of pancreas macrophages to inflammatory stimuli. NOD mice also display anxiety when immune-stimulated. Chronic mild brain inflammation and a pro-inflammatory microglial activation is critical in psychiatric behaviour. OBJECTIVE To explore brain/microglial activation and behaviour in NOD mice at steady state and after systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. METHODS Affymetrix analysis on purified microglia of pre-diabetic NOD mice (8-10 weeks) and control mice (C57BL/6 and CD1 mice, the parental non-autoimmune strain) at steady state and after systemic LPS (100 μg/kg) administration. Quantitative PCR was performed on the hypothalamus for immune activation markers (IL-1β, IFNγ and TNFα) and growth factors (BDNF and PDGF). Behavioural profiling of NOD, CD1, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice at steady state was conducted and sickness behaviour/anxiety in NOD and CD1 mice was monitored before and after LPS injection. RESULTS Genome analysis revealed cell cycle/cell death and survival aberrancies of NOD microglia, substantiated as higher proliferation on BrdU staining. Inflammation signs were absent. NOD mice had a hyper-reactive response to novel environments with some signs of anxiety. LPS injection induced a higher expression of microglial activation markers, a higher brain pro-inflammatory set point (IFNγ, IDO) and a reduced expression of BDNF and PDGF after immune stimulation in NOD mice. NOD mice displayed exaggerated and prolonged sickness behaviour after LPS administration. CONCLUSION After stimulation with LPS, NOD mice display an increased microglial proliferation and an exaggerated inflammatory brain response with reduced BDNF and PDGF expression and increased sickness behaviour as compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry McGuiness
- Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sinead M. Gibney
- Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Beumer
- Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Andrew Harkin
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Hemmo A. Drexhage
- Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- *Prof. Hemmo A. Drexhage, Department of Immunology, Na1105, Erasmus MC's Gravendijkwal 230 NL-3015 CE Rotterdam (The Netherlands) E-Mail
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Caporali P, Cutuli D, Gelfo F, Laricchiuta D, Foti F, De Bartolo P, Angelucci F, Petrosini L. Interaction does Count: A Cross-Fostering Study on Transgenerational Effects of Pre-reproductive Maternal Enrichment. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:320. [PMID: 26648854 PMCID: PMC4665747 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pre-reproductive environmental enrichment of female rats influences sensorimotor development and spatial behavior of the offspring, possibly through the changed maternal nurturing. Nevertheless, maternal care could be not the solely responsible for changing offspring developmental trajectories. To disentangle the specific contribution to the transgenerational inheritance of pre- and post-natal factors, a cross-fostering study was performed. Female rats were reared in an enriched environment from weaning to sexual maturity, while control female rats were reared under standard conditions. Following mating with standard-reared males, all females were housed individually. Immediately after delivery, in- or cross-fostering manipulations were performed so that any foster dams received pups born to another dam of the same (in-fostering) or the opposite (cross-fostering) pre-reproductive rearing condition. In lactating dams maternal care and nesting activities were assessed, while in their male pups spatial abilities were assessed through Morris Water Maze (MWM) test at post-natal day 45. Moreover, the expression of Brain-Derived-Neurotrophic-Factor (BDNF) was evaluated in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of dams and pups at weaning. Pre-reproductive maternal environmental enrichment, followed by adoption procedures, loosened its potential in modifying maternal care and offspring developmental trajectories, as indicated by the lack of differences between in-fostered groups of dams and pups. In addition, enriched dams rearing standard pups showed the least complex maternal repertoire (the highest sniffing duration and the lowest nest quality), and their pups showed a reduced spatial learning in the MWM. Nevertheless, pre-reproductive maternal enrichment kept influencing neurotrophic pattern, with enriched dams expressing increased frontal BDNF levels (regardless of the kind of fostered pups), and their offspring expressing increased hippocampal BDNF levels. The present findings enlighten the crucial importance of the early mother-pups interactions in influencing maternal care and offspring phenotype, with the enriched dam-standard pups couple resulting in the most maladaptive encounter. Our study thus sustains that the bidirectional interactions between mother and pups are able to deeply shape offspring phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Caporali
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy
| | - Debora Cutuli
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy ; I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Gelfo
- I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy ; Department of Systemic Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata" Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Laricchiuta
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy ; I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Foti
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy ; I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy
| | - Paola De Bartolo
- I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy ; Department of Sociological and Psychopedagogical Studies, University "Guglielmo Marconi" of Rome Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy ; I.R.C.C.S., Santa Lucia Foundation Rome, Italy
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Ma J, Liu F, Liu P, Dong Y, Chu Z, Hou T, Dang Y. Impact of early developmental fluoride exposure on the peripheral pain sensitivity in mice. Int J Dev Neurosci 2015; 47:165-71. [PMID: 26431775 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2015] [Revised: 09/19/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Ma
- Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710004ShaanxiPR China
| | - Fei Liu
- Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710004ShaanxiPR China
- College of Medicine & ForensicsXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
| | - Peng Liu
- College of Medicine & ForensicsXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
| | - Ying‐Ying Dong
- Department of PsychiatryFirst Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an JiaotongUniversity College of MedicineXi'anShaanxiPR China
| | - Zheng Chu
- College of Medicine & ForensicsXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
| | - Tie‐Zhou Hou
- Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710004ShaanxiPR China
| | - Yong‐Hui Dang
- College of Medicine & ForensicsXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
- Key Laboratory of the Health Ministry for Forensic MedicineXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
- Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases of the Education MinistryXi'an Jiaotong University Health Science CenterXi'an710061ShaanxiPR China
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