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Munier J, Shen S, Rahal D, Hanna A, Marty V, O'Neill P, Fanselow M, Spigelman I. Chronic intermittent ethanol exposure disrupts stress-related tripartite communication to impact affect-related behavioral selection in male rats. Neurobiol Stress 2023; 24:100539. [PMID: 37131490 PMCID: PMC10149313 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100539] [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: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by loss of intake control, increased anxiety, and susceptibility to relapse inducing stressors. Both astrocytes and neurons contribute to behavioral and hormonal consequences of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure in animal models. Details on how CIE disrupts hypothalamic neuro-glial communication, which mediates stress responses are lacking. We conducted a behavioral battery (grooming, open field, reactivity to a single, uncued foot-shock, intermittent-access two-bottle choice ethanol drinking) followed by Ca2+ imaging in ex-vivo slices of paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) from male rats exposed to CIE vapor or air-exposed controls. Ca2+ signals were evaluated in response to norepinephrine (NE) with or without selective α-adrenergic receptor (αAR) or GluN2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, followed by dexamethasone (DEX) to mock a pharmacological stress response. Expectedly, CIE rats had altered anxiety-like, rearing, grooming, and drinking behaviors. Importantly, NE-mediated reductions in Ca2+ event frequency were blunted in both CIE neurons and astrocytes. Administration of the selective α1AR antagonist, prazosin, reversed this CIE-induced dysfunction in both cell types. Additionally, the pharmacological stress protocol reversed the altered basal Ca2+ signaling profile of CIE astrocytes. Signaling changes in astrocytes in response to NE were correlated with anxiety-like behaviors, such as the grooming:rearing ratio, suggesting tripartite synaptic function plays a role in switching between exploratory and stress-coping behavior. These data show how CIE exposure causes persistent changes to PVN neuro-glial function and provides the groundwork for how these physiological changes manifest in behavioral selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.J. Munier
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
- Corresponding author.
| | - S. Shen
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - D. Rahal
- Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, United States
| | - A. Hanna
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - V.N. Marty
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
| | - P.R. O'Neill
- Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, United States
| | - M.S. Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, College of Life Sciences, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Science, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, United States
| | - I. Spigelman
- Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, United States
- Corresponding author. Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Section of Biosystems & Function, School of Dentistry, UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, 63-078 CHS, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1668, United States.
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Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Exposure Dysregulates Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis Afferents in the Basolateral Amygdala. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0164-22.2022. [PMID: 36280288 PMCID: PMC9668348 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0164-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) cholinergic projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) regulate the acquisition and consolidation of fear-like and anxiety-like behaviors. However, it is unclear whether the alterations in the NBM-BLA circuit promote negative affect during ethanol withdrawal (WD). Therefore, we performed ex vivo whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology in both the NBM and the BLA of male Sprague Dawley rats following 10 d of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure and 24 h of WD. We found that CIE exposure and withdrawal enhanced the neuronal excitability of NBM putative "cholinergic" neurons. We subsequently used optogenetics to directly manipulate NBM terminal activity within the BLA and measure cholinergic modulation of glutamatergic afferents and BLA pyramidal neurons. Our findings indicate that CIE and withdrawal upregulate NBM cholinergic facilitation of glutamate release via activation of presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). Ethanol withdrawal-induced increases in NBM terminal activity also enhance BLA pyramidal neuron firing. Collectively, our results provide a novel characterization of the NBM-BLA circuit and suggest that CIE-dependent modifications to NBM afferents enhance BLA pyramidal neuron activity during ethanol withdrawal.
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Gong Z, Rong X, Li X, Wang H, Liu D, He L, Pan J, Shen Q, Peng Y. Male mice exposed to chronic intermittent ethanol exposure exhibit significant upregulation or downregulation of circular RNAs. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE 2022; 48:562-572. [PMID: 35838410 DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2022.2073449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
B a ckground: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been crucially implicated in various diseases, however, their involvement in chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure remains unclear.O bjective: The present study was conducted to evaluate the circular RNA expression alteration in brain samples and to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying chronic intermittent ethanol exposure.M ethods: Male C57BL/6J mice (10 for each group) were given 4 weeks of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure. Whole brain samples were collected for high-throughput sequencing and circRNA bioinformatic analysis. Real-time quantitative PCR (RI-qPCR) and agarose electrophoresis were used to validate the differentially expressed circRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway (KEGG) analysis were performed. A p level < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.R esults: Compared with the control group and baseline values, the CIE group showed a significant increase in ethanol intake. High-throughput sequencing revealed 399 significantly different circRNAs in CIE mice, including 150 up-regulated circRNAs and 249 down-regulated circRNAs. GO analysis showed that the most significantly enriched term for biological process, cellular component, and molecular function were GO:0050885, GO:0016020 and GO:0005515, respectively. The most enriched pathways in KEGG analysis were GABAergic synapse (mmu04727), followed by retrograde endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling (mmu04723) and morphine addiction (mmu05032). Among the circRNAs, RT-qPCR confirmed 14 upregulated and 13 downregulated circRNAs in the brain tissues with 9 upregulated and 10 downregulated circRNAs being observed in blood samples.C onclusions: Our study suggests that chronic ethanol exposure upregulates or downregulates circRNAs in the brain, which, in turn, could alter neurotransmitter release and signal transduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Gong
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xiaoming Rong
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiangpen Li
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongxuan Wang
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dandan Liu
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei He
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jingrui Pan
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingyu Shen
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Peng
- Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Neurology, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China.,Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumour Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen, Guangzhou, China
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He X, Li Y, Zhang N, Huang J, Ming X, Guo R, Hu Y, Ji P, Guo F. Melanin-concentrating hormone promotes anxiety and intestinal dysfunction via basolateral amygdala in mice. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:906057. [PMID: 36016574 PMCID: PMC9395614 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.906057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The limbic system plays a pivotal role in stress-induced anxiety and intestinal disorders, but how the functional circuits between nuclei within the limbic system are engaged in the processing is still unclear. In our study, the results of fluorescence gold retrograde tracing and fluorescence immunohistochemistry showed that the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) projected to the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Both chemogenetic activation of MCH neurons and microinjection of MCH into the BLA induced anxiety disorder in mice, which were reversed by intra-BLA microinjection of MCH receptor 1 (MCHR1) blocker SNAP-94847. In the chronic acute combining stress (CACS) stimulated mice, SNAP94847 administrated in the BLA ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors and improved intestinal dysfunction via reducing intestinal permeability and inflammation. In conclusion, MCHergic circuit from the LHA to the BLA participates in the regulation of anxiety-like behavior in mice, and this neural pathway is related to the intestinal dysfunction in CACS mice by regulating intestinal permeability and inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoman He
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yuhang Li
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Nana Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Jinfang Huang
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Xing Ming
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Ruixiao Guo
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yang Hu
- Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Pengfei Ji
- Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Feifei Guo
- Pathophysiology Department, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
- *Correspondence: Feifei Guo,
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Price ME, McCool BA. Chronic Alcohol Dysregulates Glutamatergic Function in the Basolateral Amygdala in a Projection-and Sex-Specific Manner. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:857550. [PMID: 35496915 PMCID: PMC9050109 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.857550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic intermittent ethanol and withdrawal (CIE/WD) produces alcohol dependence, facilitates anxiety-like behavior, and increases post-CIE alcohol intake. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is one of several brain regions that regulates anxiety-like behavior and alcohol intake through downstream projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), respectively. Previous studies revealed that CIE/WD induces input- and sex-specific adaptations to glutamatergic function in the BLA. The BLA receives information from two distinct input pathways. Glutamatergic afferents from medial structures like the thalamus and prefrontal cortex enter the BLA through the stria terminalis whereas lateral cortical structures like the anterior insula cortex enter the BLA through the external capsule. CIE/WD increases presynaptic glutamatergic function at stria terminalis synapses and postsynaptic function at external capsule synapses. Previous studies sampled neurons throughout the BLA, but did not distinguish between projection-specific populations. The current study investigated BLA neurons that project to the NAC (BLA-NAC neurons) or the BNST (BLA-BNST neurons) as representative “reward” and “aversion” BLA neurons, and showed that CIE/WD alters glutamatergic function and excitability in a projection- and sex-specific manner. CIE/WD increases glutamate release from stria terminalis inputs only onto BLA-BNST neurons. At external capsule synapses, CIE/WD increases postsynaptic glutamatergic function in male BLA-NAC neurons and female BLA-BNST neurons. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that CIE/WD enhanced the excitability of male BLA-NAC neurons and BLA-BNST neurons in both sexes when glutamatergic but not GABAergic function was intact. Thus, CIE/WD-mediated increased glutamatergic function facilitates hyperexcitability in male BLA-NAC neurons and BLA-BNST neurons of both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela E. Price
- Neuroscience and Alcohol Research Training Programs, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Brian A. McCool
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- *Correspondence: Brian A. McCool,
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Price ME, McCool BA. Structural, functional, and behavioral significance of sex and gonadal hormones in the basolateral amygdala: A review of preclinical literature. Alcohol 2022; 98:25-41. [PMID: 34371120 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is intimately involved in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety and alcohol use disorder (AUD). These disorders have clear sex biases, with women more likely to develop an anxiety disorder and men more likely to develop AUD. Preclinical models have largely confirmed these sex-specific vulnerabilities and emphasize the effects of sex hormones on behaviors influenced by the BLA. This review will discuss sex differences in BLA-related behaviors and highlight potential mechanisms mediated by altered BLA structure and function, including the composition of GABAergic interneuron subpopulations, glutamatergic pyramidal neuron morphology, glutamate/GABA neurotransmission, and neuromodulators. Further, sex hormones differentially organize dimorphic circuits during sensitive developmental periods (organizational effects) and initiate more transient effects throughout adulthood (activational effects). Current literature indicates that estradiol and allopregnanolone, a neuroactive progestogen, generally reduce BLA-related behaviors through a variety of mechanisms, including activation of estrogen receptors or facilitation of GABAA-mediated inhibition, respectively. This enhanced GABAergic inhibition may protect BLA pyramidal neurons from the excitability associated with anxiety and alcohol withdrawal. Understanding sex differences and the effects of sex hormones on BLA structure and function may help explain sex-specific vulnerabilities in BLA-related behaviors and ultimately improve treatments for anxiety and AUD.
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