1
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Zúñiga-Hernández JM, Olivares GH, Olguín P, Glavic A. Low-nutrient diet in Drosophila larvae stage causes enhancement in dopamine modulation in adult brain due epigenetic imprinting. Open Biol 2023; 13:230049. [PMID: 37161288 PMCID: PMC10170216 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.230049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Nutrient scarcity is a frequent adverse condition that organisms face during their development. This condition may lead to long-lasting effects on the metabolism and behaviour of adults due to developmental epigenetic modifications. Here, we show that reducing nutrient availability during larval development affects adult spontaneous activity and sleep behaviour, together with changes in gene expression and epigenetic marks in the mushroom bodies (MBs). We found that open chromatin regions map to 100 of 241 transcriptionally upregulated genes in the adult MBs, these new opening zones are preferentially located in regulatory zones such as promoter-TSS and introns. Importantly, opened chromatin at the Dopamine 1-like receptor 2 regulatory zones correlate with increased expression. In consequence, adult administration of a dopamine antagonist reverses increased spontaneous activity and diminished sleep time observed in response to early-life nutrient restriction. In comparison, reducing dop1R2 expression in MBs also ameliorates these effects, albeit to a lesser degree. These results lead to the conclusion that increased dopamine signalling in the MBs of flies reared in a poor nutritional environment underlies the behavioural changes observed due to this condition during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Zúñiga-Hernández
- Laboratorio Biología del Desarrollo, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Gonzalo H Olivares
- Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Medicina, Center of Integrative Biology (CIB), Universidad Mayor, Chile
| | - Patricio Olguín
- Programa de Genética Humana, ICBM, Biomedical Neuroscience Institute, Departamento de Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Alvaro Glavic
- Laboratorio Biología del Desarrollo, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Chile
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2
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Coury SM, Lombroso A, Avila-Quintero VJ, Taylor JH, Flores JM, Szejko N, Bloch MH. Systematic review and meta-analysis: Season of birth and schizophrenia risk. Schizophr Res 2023; 252:244-252. [PMID: 36682315 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Winter birth has been hypothesized to be associated with increased schizophrenia risk for nearly a century. Major hypotheses regarding the potential etiological risk factors for schizophrenia such as vitamin D deficiency and virus exposure in utero are predicated based on the observation that risk of schizophrenia is higher in children born in winter months. METHODS We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the association between season and month of birth and risk of schizophrenia. We further investigated this relationship stratified by hemisphere. RESULTS Forty-three studies spanning 30 countries and territories and 440,039 individuals with schizophrenia were included in this meta-analysis. Winter births were associated with a small but statistically significant increased risk of schizophrenia (OR 1.05, 95 % CI 1.03-1.07, p < 0.0001) and summer births were associated with a small but statistically significant decreased risk of schizophrenia (OR 0.96, 95 % CI 0.94-0.98, p = 0.0001). Stratified subgroup analysis demonstrated no significant difference between hemispheres in the risk of schizophrenia for either winter or summer births. CONCLUSIONS Analysis using birth month data demonstrated a clear seasonal trend towards increased risk of schizophrenia being associated with winter birth months and decreased risk of schizophrenia in summer-to-fall months in the Northern but not Southern Hemisphere. These data suggest a small-but-substantial increased risk of schizophrenia in winter birth month. Further research needs to examine potential etiologic causes for this association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha M Coury
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Adam Lombroso
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Jerome H Taylor
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - José M Flores
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Natalia Szejko
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Bioethics, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michael H Bloch
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
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3
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Low protein-induced intrauterine growth restriction as a risk factor for schizophrenia phenotype in a rat model: assessing the role of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation interaction. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:30. [PMID: 36720849 PMCID: PMC9889339 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02322-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
A large body of evidence suggests that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) impedes normal neurodevelopment and predisposes the offspring to cognitive and behavioral deficits later in life. A significantly higher risk rate for schizophrenia (SZ) has been reported in individuals born after IUGR. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are both involved in the pathophysiology of SZ, particularly affecting the structural and functional integrity of parvalbumin interneurons (PVI) and their perineuronal nets (PNN). These anomalies have been tightly linked to impaired cognition, as observed in SZ. However, these pathways remain unexplored in models of IUGR. New research has proposed the activation of the MMP9-RAGE pathway to be a cause of persisting damage to PVIs. We hypothesize that IUGR, caused by a maternal protein deficiency during gestation, will induce oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. The activation of these pathways during neurodevelopment may affect the maturation of PVIs and PNNs, leading to long-term consequences in adolescent rats, in analogy to SZ patients. The level of oxidative stress and microglia activation were significantly increased in adolescent IUGR rats at postnatal day (P)35 as compared to control rats. PVI and PNN were decreased in P35 IUGR rats when compared to the control rats. MMP9 protein level and RAGE shedding were also increased, suggesting the involvement of this mechanism in the interaction between oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. We propose that maternal diet is an important factor for proper neurodevelopment of the inhibitory circuitry, and is likely to play a crucial role in determining normal cognition later in life, thus making it a pertinent model for SZ.
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4
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ietary curcumin supplementation ameliorates placental inflammation in rats with intra-uterine growth retardation by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. J Nutr Biochem 2022; 104:108973. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2022.108973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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5
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Beeraka NM, Avila-Rodriguez MF, Aliev G. Recent Reports on Redox Stress-Induced Mitochondrial DNA Variations, Neuroglial Interactions, and NMDA Receptor System in Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia. Mol Neurobiol 2022; 59:2472-2496. [PMID: 35083660 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02703-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a chronic psychiatric disorder affecting several people worldwide. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations could invoke changes in the OXPHOS system, calcium buffering, and ROS production, which have significant implications for glial cell survival during SZ. Oxidative stress has been implicated in glial cells-mediated pathogenesis of SZ; the brain comparatively more prone to oxidative damage through NMDAR. A confluence of scientific evidence points to mtDNA alterations, Nrf2 signaling, dynamic alterations in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and provocation of oxidative stress that enhance pathophysiology of SZ. Furthermore, the alterations in excitatory signaling related to NMDAR signaling were particularly reported for SZ pathophysiology. Current review reported the recent evidence for the role of mtDNA variations and oxidative stress in relation to pathophysiology of SZ, NMDAR hypofunction, and glutathione deficiency. NMDAR system is influenced by redox dysregulation in oxidative stress, inflammation, and antioxidant mediators. Several studies have demonstrated the relationship of these variables on severity of pathophysiology in SZ. An extensive literature search was conducted using Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL PLUS, BIOSIS Preview, Google scholar, and Cochrane databases. We summarize consistent evidence pointing out a plausible model that may elucidate the crosstalk between mtDNA alterations in glial cells and redox dysregulation during oxidative stress and the perturbation of NMDA neurotransmitter system during current therapeutic modalities for the SZ treatment. This review can be beneficial for the development of promising novel diagnostics, and therapeutic modalities by ascertaining the mtDNA variations, redox state, and efficacy of pharmacological agents to mitigate redox dysregulation and augment NMDAR function to treat cognitive and behavioral symptoms in SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narasimha M Beeraka
- Department of Human Anatomy, I M Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), St. Trubetskaya, 8, bld. 2, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
| | - Marco F Avila-Rodriguez
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences, Barrio Santa Helena, University of Tolima, 730006, Ibagué, Colombia
| | - Gjumrakch Aliev
- Department of Human Anatomy, I M Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), St. Trubetskaya, 8, bld. 2, Moscow, 119991, Russia.,Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow Region, 142432, Russia.,Research Institute of Human Morphology, 3 Tsyurupy Street, Moscow, 117418, Russia.,GALLY International Research Institute, 7733 Louis Pasteur Drive, #330, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA
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6
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Yoon J, Mao Y. Dissecting Molecular Genetic Mechanisms of 1q21.1 CNV in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:5811. [PMID: 34071723 PMCID: PMC8197994 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) contribute to the etiology of neurodevelopmental/neuropsychiatric disorders (NDs). Increased CNV burden has been found to be critically involved in NDs compared with controls in clinical studies. The 1q21.1 CNVs, rare and large chromosomal microduplications and microdeletions, are detected in many patients with NDs. Phenotypes of duplication and deletion appear at the two ends of the spectrum. Microdeletions are predominant in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and microcephaly, whereas microduplications are predominant in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and macrocephaly. However, its complexity hinders the discovery of molecular pathways and phenotypic networks. In this review, we summarize the recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) that have identified candidate genes positively correlated with 1q21.1 CNVs, which are likely to contribute to abnormal phenotypes in carriers. We discuss the clinical data implicated in the 1q21.1 genetic structure that is strongly associated with neurodevelopmental dysfunctions like cognitive impairment and reduced synaptic plasticity. We further present variations reported in the phenotypic severity, genomic penetrance and inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yingwei Mao
- Department of Biology, Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
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7
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Mongan D, Ramesar M, Föcking M, Cannon M, Cotter D. Role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia: A review of the evidence, proposed mechanisms and implications for treatment. Early Interv Psychiatry 2020; 14:385-397. [PMID: 31368253 DOI: 10.1111/eip.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 07/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
AIM Over the past several decades, there has been a growing research interest in the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. This review aims to summarize evidence in support of this relationship, to discuss biological mechanisms that might explain it, and to explore the translational impact by examining evidence from trials of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents in the treatment of schizophrenia. METHODS This narrative review of the literature summarizes evidence from observational studies, clinical trials and meta-analyses to evaluate the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and to discuss associated implications for treatment. RESULTS Epidemiological evidence and animal models support a hypothesis of maternal immune activation during pregnancy, which increases the risk of schizophrenia in the offspring. Several biomarker studies have found associations between classical pro-inflammatory cytokines and schizophrenia. The precise biological mechanisms by which inflammatory processes might contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia remain unclear, but likely include the actions of microglia and the complement system. Importantly, several trials provide evidence that certain anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents show beneficial effects in the treatment of schizophrenia. Nevertheless, there is a need for further precision-focused basic science and translational research. CONCLUSIONS Increasing our understanding of the role of inflammation in schizophrenia will enable novel opportunities for therapeutic and preventative interventions that are informed by the underlying pathogenesis of this complex disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Mongan
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | | | - Mary Cannon
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - David Cotter
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
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8
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Chen J, Zhao X, Cui L, He G, Wang X, Wang F, Duan S, He L, Li Q, Yu X, Zhang F, Xu M. Genetic regulatory subnetworks and key regulating genes in rat hippocampus perturbed by prenatal malnutrition: implications for major brain disorders. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 12:8434-8458. [PMID: 32392183 PMCID: PMC7244046 DOI: 10.18632/aging.103150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Many population studies have shown that maternal prenatal nutrition deficiency may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in their offspring, but its potential transcriptomic effects on brain development are not clear. We aimed to investigate the transcriptional regulatory interactions between genes in particular pathways responding to the prenatal nutritional deficiency and to explore their effects on neurodevelopment and related disorders. RESULTS We identified three modules in rat hippocampus responding to maternal prenatal nutritional deficiency and found 15 key genes (Hmgn1, Ssbp1, LOC684988, Rpl23, Gga1, Rhobtb2, Dhcr24, Atg9a, Dlgap3, Grm5, Scn2b, Furin, Sh3kbp1, Ubqln1, and Unc13a) related to the rat hippocampus developmental dysregulation, of which Hmgn1, Rhobtb2 and Unc13a related to autism, and Dlgap3, Grm5, Furin and Ubqln1 are related to Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia. Transcriptional alterations of the hub genes were confirmed except for Atg9a. Additionally, through modeling miRNA-mRNA-transcription factor interactions for the hub genes, we confirmed a transcription factor, Cebpa, is essential to regulate the expression of Rhobtb2. We did not find singificent singals in the prefrontal cortex responding to maternal prenatal nutritional deficiency. CONCLUSION These findings demonstrated that these genes with the three modules in rat hippocampus involved in synaptic development, neuronal projection, cognitive function, and learning function are significantly enriched hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and suggest that three genetic regulatory subnetworks and thirteen key regulating genes in rat hippocampus perturbed by a prenatal nutrition deficiency. These genes and related subnetworks may be prenatally involved in the etiologies of major brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, autism, and schizophrenia. METHODS We compared the transcriptomic differences in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex between 10 rats with prenatal nutritional deficiency and 10 rats with prenatal normal chow feeding by differential analysis and co-expression network analysis. A network-driven integrative analysis with microRNAs and transcription factors was performed to define significant modules and hub genes responding to prenatal nutritional deficiency. Meanwhile, the module preservation test was conducted between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Expression levels of the hub genes were further validated with a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction based on additional 40 pairs of rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Chen
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Xinzhi Zhao
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.,International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital of China Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Li Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Guang He
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Xinhui Wang
- School of Public Health, The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Fudi Wang
- School of Public Health, The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Shiwei Duan
- Medical Genetics Center, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315000, China
| | - Lin He
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Xiaodan Yu
- Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Fuquan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Mingqing Xu
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.,Center for Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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9
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Robinson JF, Kapidzic M, Hamilton EG, Chen H, Puckett KW, Zhou Y, Ona K, Parry E, Wang Y, Park JS, Costello JF, Fisher SJ. Genomic Profiling of BDE-47 Effects on Human Placental Cytotrophoblasts. Toxicol Sci 2019; 167:211-226. [PMID: 30202865 DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfy230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite gradual legislative efforts to phase out flame retardants (FRs) from the marketplace, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are still widely detected in human maternal and fetal tissues, eg, placenta, due to their continued global application in consumer goods and inherent biological persistence. Recent studies in rodents and human placental cell lines suggest that PBDEs directly cause placental toxicity. During pregnancy, trophoblasts play key roles in uterine invasion, vascular remodeling, and anchoring of the placenta-fetal unit to the mother. Thus, to study the potential consequences of PBDE exposures on human placental development, we used an in vitro model: primary villous cytotrophoblasts (CTBs). Following exposures, the endpoints that were evaluated included cytotoxicity, function (migration, invasion), the transcriptome, and the methylome. In a concentration-dependent manner, common PBDE congeners, BDE-47 and -99, significantly reduced cell viability and increased death. Upon exposures to sub-cytotoxic concentrations (≤ 5 µM), we observed BDE-47 accumulation in CTBs with limited evidence of metabolism. At a functional level, BDE-47 hindered the ability of CTBs to migrate and invade. Transcriptomic analyses of BDE-47 effects suggested concentration-dependent changes in gene expression, involving stress pathways, eg, inflammation and lipid/cholesterol metabolism as well as processes underlying trophoblast fate, eg, differentiation, migration, and vascular morphogenesis. In parallel assessments, BDE-47 induced low-level global increases in methylation of CpG islands, including a subset that were proximal to genes with roles in cell adhesion/migration. Thus, using a primary human CTB model, we showed that PBDEs induced alterations at cellular and molecular levels, which could adversely impact placental development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua F Robinson
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Mirhan Kapidzic
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Emily G Hamilton
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Kenisha W Puckett
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Yan Zhou
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Katherine Ona
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
| | - Emily Parry
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, California 94710
| | - Yunzhu Wang
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, California 94710
| | - June-Soo Park
- Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, California 94710
| | - Joseph F Costello
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94158
| | - Susan J Fisher
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California 94143
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10
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Xu F, Li X, Niu W, Ma G, Sun Q, Bi Y, Guo Z, Ren D, Hu J, Yuan F, Yuan R, Shi L, Li X, Yu T, Yang F, He L, Zhao X, He G. Metabolomic profiling on rat brain of prenatal malnutrition: implicated for oxidative stress and schizophrenia. Metab Brain Dis 2019; 34:1607-1613. [PMID: 31410775 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-019-00468-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [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: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a kind of neurodevelopmental disease. Epidemiological data associates schizophrenia with prenatal exposure to famine. Relevant prenatal protein deprivation (PPD) rodent models support this result by observing decreasing prepulse inhibition, altered hippocampal morphology and impaired memory in offspring. All these abnormalities are highly consistent with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We developed a prenatal famine rat model by restricting daily diet of the pregnant rat to 50% of low protein diet. A metabolomics study of prefrontal cortex was performed to integrate GC-TOFMS and UPLC-QTOFMS. Thirteen controls and thirteen famine offspring were used to differentiate in PLS-DA (partial least squares-discriminate analysis) model. Furthermore, metabolic pathways and diseases were enriched via KEGG and HMDB databases, respectively. A total of 67 important metabolites were screened out according to the multivariate analysis. Schizophrenia was the most statistical significant disease (P = 0.0016) in our famine model. These metabolites were enriched in key metabolic pathways related to energy metabolism and glutamate metabolism. Based on these important metabolites, further discussion speculated famine group was characterized by higher level of oxidized damage compared to control group. We proposed that oxidative stress might be the pathogenesis of prenatal undernutrition which is induced schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Xu
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Xin Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Weibo Niu
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Gaini Ma
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Qianqian Sun
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Yan Bi
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Zhenming Guo
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Decheng Ren
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Jiaxin Hu
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Fan Yuan
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Ruixue Yuan
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Lei Shi
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Xingwang Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Tao Yu
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Fengping Yang
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Lin He
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xinzhi Zhao
- Institute of Embryo-Fetal Original Adult Disease, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1961 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
- International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1961 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
| | - Guang He
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
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11
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Placental programming of neuropsychiatric disease. Pediatr Res 2019; 86:157-164. [PMID: 31003234 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-019-0405-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The placenta is vital for fetal growth, and compromised function is associated with abnormal development, especially of the brain. Linking placental function to brain development is a new field we have dubbed neuroplacentology. Approximately 380,000 infants in the United States each year abruptly lose placental support upon premature birth, and more than 10% of pregnancies are affected by more insidious placental dysfunction such as preeclampsia or infection. Abnormal fetal brain development or injury can lead to life-long neurological impairments, including psychiatric disorders. The majority of research connecting placental compromise to fetal brain injury has focused on gas exchange or nutritional programming, neglecting the placenta's essential neuroendocrine role. We will review the current evidence that placental dysfunction, particularly endocrine dysfunction, secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or barrier breakdown may place many thousands of fetuses at risk for life-long neurodevelopmental impairments each year. Understanding how specific placental factors shape brain development and increase the risk for later psychiatric disorders, including autism, attention deficit disorder, and schizophrenia, paves the way for novel treatment strategies to maintain the normal developmental milieu and protect from further injury.
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12
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Freedman R, Hunter SK, Hoffman MC. Prenatal Primary Prevention of Mental Illness by Micronutrient Supplements in Pregnancy. Am J Psychiatry 2018; 175:607-619. [PMID: 29558816 PMCID: PMC6984656 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17070836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Genes, infection, malnutrition, and other factors affecting fetal brain development are a major component of risk for a child's emotional development and later mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism. Prenatal interventions to ameliorate that risk have yet to be established for clinical use. A systematic review of prenatal nutrients and childhood emotional development and later mental illness was performed. Randomized trials of folic acid, phosphatidylcholine, and omega-3 fatty acid supplements assess effects of doses beyond those adequate to remedy deficiencies to promote normal fetal development despite genetic and environmental risks. Folic acid to prevent neural tube defects is an example. Vitamins A and D are currently recommended at maximum levels, but women's incomplete compliance permits observational studies of their effects. Folic acid and phosphatidylcholine supplements have shown evidence for improving childhood emotional development associated with later mental illnesses. Vitamins A and D decreased the risk for schizophrenia and autism in retrospective observations. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during early pregnancy increased the risk for schizophrenia and increased symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but in later pregnancy it decreased childhood wheezing and premature birth. Studies are complicated by the length of time between birth and the emergence of mental illnesses like schizophrenia, compared with anomalies like facial clefts identified at birth. As part of comprehensive maternal and fetal care, prenatal nutrient interventions should be further considered as uniquely effective first steps in decreasing risk for future psychiatric and other illnesses in newborn children. [AJP at 175: Remembering Our Past As We Envision Our Future July 1959: Longitudinal Observations of Biological Deviations in a Schizophrenic Infant Barbara Fish described the course of an infant born with fluctuating motor problems who developed schizophrenia. (Am J Psychiatry 1959; 116:25-31 )].
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Freedman
- From the Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders and the Departments of Psychiatry and of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
| | - Sharon K. Hunter
- From the Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders and the Departments of Psychiatry and of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
| | - M. Camille Hoffman
- From the Institute for Children’s Mental Disorders and the Departments of Psychiatry and of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
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13
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Effects of early-life malnutrition on neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric disorders and the potential mechanisms. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 83:64-75. [PMID: 29287829 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Lines of evidence have demonstrated that early-life malnutrition is highly correlated with neurodevelopment and adulthood neuropsychiatric disorders, while some findings are conflicting with each other. In addition, the biological mechanisms are less investigated. We systematically reviewed the evidence linking early-life nutrition status with neurodevelopment and clinical observations in human and animal models. We summarized the effects of special nutritious on neuropsychiatric disorders and explored the underlying potential mechanisms. The further understanding of the biological regulation of early-life nutritional status on neurodevelopment might shed light on precision nutrition at an integrative systems biology framework.
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14
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Deng D, Jian C, Lei L, Zhou Y, McSweeney C, Dong F, Shen Y, Zou D, Wang Y, Wu Y, Zhang L, Mao Y. A prenatal interruption of DISC1 function in the brain exhibits a lasting impact on adult behaviors, brain metabolism, and interneuron development. Oncotarget 2017; 8:84798-84817. [PMID: 29156684 PMCID: PMC5689574 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.21381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Mental illnesses like schizophrenia (SCZ) and major depression disorder (MDD) are devastating brain disorders. The SCZ risk gene, disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), has been associated with neuropsychiatric conditions. However, little is known regarding the long-lasting impacts on brain metabolism and behavioral outcomes from genetic insults on fetal NPCs during early life. We have established a new mouse model that specifically interrupts DISC1 functions in NPCs in vivo by a dominant-negative DISC1 (DN-DISC1) with a precise temporal and spatial regulation. Interestingly, prenatal interruption of mouse Disc1 function in NPCs leads to abnormal depression-like deficit in adult mice. Here we took a novel unbiased metabonomics approach to identify brain-specific metabolites that are significantly changed in DN-DISC1 mice. Surprisingly, the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, is augmented. Consistently, parvalbumin (PV) interneurons are increased in the cingulate cortex, retrosplenial granular cortex, and motor cortex. Interestingly, somatostatin (SST) positive and neuropeptide Y (NPY) interneurons are decreased in some brain regions, suggesting that DN-DISC1 expression affects the localization of interneuron subtypes. To further explore the cellular mechanisms that cause this change, DN-DISC1 suppresses proliferation and promotes the cell cycle exit of progenitors in the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE), whereas it stimulates ectopic proliferation of neighboring cells through cell non-autonomous effect. Mechanistically, it modulates GSK3 activity and interrupts Dlx2 activity in the Wnt activation. In sum, our results provide evidence that specific genetic insults on NSCs at a short period of time could lead to prolonged changes of brain metabolism and development, eventually behavioral defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhi Deng
- Department of Emergency, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, Guangxi, China.,Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Chongdong Jian
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.,Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Ling Lei
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.,Health Examination Center, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Yijing Zhou
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Colleen McSweeney
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Fengping Dong
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Yilun Shen
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Donghua Zou
- Department of Neurology, The First People's Hospital of Nanning, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Yonggang Wang
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuan Wu
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Limin Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Yingwei Mao
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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15
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Oxidative stress, prefrontal cortex hypomyelination and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1171. [PMID: 28934193 PMCID: PMC5538118 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a broad symptomatology, including cognitive symptoms that are thought to arise from the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The neurobiological aetiology of these symptoms remains elusive, yet both impaired redox control and PFC dysconnectivity have been recently implicated. PFC dysconnectivity has been linked to white matter, oligodendrocyte (OL) and myelin abnormalities in SZ patients. Myelin is produced by mature OLs, and OL precursor cells (OPCs) are exceptionally susceptible to oxidative stress. Here we propose a hypothesis for the aetiology of cognitive symptomatology in SZ: the redox-induced prefrontal OPC-dysfunctioning hypothesis. We pose that the combination of genetic and environmental factors causes oxidative stress marked by a build-up of reactive oxygen species that, during late adolescence, impair OPC signal transduction processes that are necessary for OPC proliferation and differentiation, and involve AMP-activated protein kinase, Akt-mTOR-P70S6K and peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha signalling. OPC dysfunctioning coincides with the relatively late onset of PFC myelination, causing hypomyelination and disruption of connectivity in this brain area. The resulting cognitive deficits arise in parallel with SZ onset. Hence, our hypothesis provides a novel neurobiological framework for the aetiology of SZ cognitive symptoms. Future research addressing our hypothesis could have important implications for the development of new (combined) antioxidant- and promyelination-based strategies to treat the cognitive symptoms in SZ.
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Allswede DM, Buka SL, Yolken RH, Torrey EF, Cannon TD. Elevated maternal cytokine levels at birth and risk for psychosis in adult offspring. Schizophr Res 2016; 172:41-5. [PMID: 26897476 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Revised: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pregnancy and birth complications, particularly those associated with maternal inflammation and fetal hypoxia, are associated with increased risk for schizophrenia later in life. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations are not fully delineated. This study sought to examine the effect of exposure to maternal inflammation on risk of developing psychosis in adulthood. Maternal serum levels of pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokines (IL-2, interferon gamma [IFN-γ], IL-12) and Th17 cytokines (IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor [gm-csf]) and anti-inflammatory Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and Treg cytokines (IL-10) were evaluated for association with later psychosis in the offspring. METHODS Subjects were 43 adults with psychoses and 43 matched controls followed from gestation as part of the Philadelphia cohort of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. Adult symptoms of psychosis were assessed via medical records review and confirmed with a validation study. Archived maternal serum samples collected at the time of birth were analyzed for cytokine levels using a multiplex bead assay. RESULTS Individuals exposed to elevated maternal levels of anti-inflammatory Th2 cytokines (≥75th percentile) were significantly less likely to develop psychosis in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS These results may suggest that increased maternal levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines during the perinatal period could protect against the development of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana M Allswede
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Stephen L Buka
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Robert H Yolken
- The Stanley Medical Research Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
| | - E Fuller Torrey
- The Stanley Medical Research Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
| | - Tyrone D Cannon
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Expression of growth-related genes in the mouse placenta is influenced by interactions between intestinal nematode (Heligmosomoides bakeri) infection and dietary protein deficiency. Int J Parasitol 2016; 46:97-104. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2015.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Abstract
Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Traditional risk factors account for only part of the attributable risk. The origins of atherosclerosis are in early life, a potential albeit largely unrecognized window of opportunity for early detection and treatment of subclinical cardiovascular disease. There are robust epidemiological data indicating that poor intrauterine growth and/or prematurity, and perinatal factors such as maternal hypercholesterolaemia, smoking, diabetes and obesity, are associated with adverse cardiovascular intermediate phenotypes in childhood and adulthood. Many of these early-life risk factors result in a heightened inflammatory state. Inflammation is a central mechanism in the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, but few studies have investigated the role of overt perinatal infection and inflammation (chorioamnionitis) as a potential contributor to cardiovascular risk. Limited evidence from human and experimental models suggests an association between chorioamnionitis and cardiac and vascular dysfunction. Early life inflammatory events may be an important mechanism in the early development of cardiovascular risk and may provide insights into the associations between perinatal factors and adult cardiovascular disease. This review aims to summarise current data on the early life origins of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, with particular focus on perinatal inflammation.
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19
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Epigenetic and transgenerational reprogramming of brain development. Nat Rev Neurosci 2015; 16:332-44. [PMID: 25921815 DOI: 10.1038/nrn3818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 330] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental programming - the implementation of the genetic and epigenetic blueprints that guide and coordinate normal brain development - requires tight regulation of transcriptional processes. During prenatal and postnatal time periods, epigenetic processes fine-tune neurodevelopment towards an end product that determines how an organism interacts with and responds to exposures and experiences throughout life. Epigenetic processes also have the ability to reprogramme the epigenome in response to environmental challenges, such as maternal stress, making the organism more or less adaptive depending on the future challenges presented. Epigenetic marks generated within germ cells as a result of environmental influences throughout life can also shape future generations long before conception occurs.
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20
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Debnath M, Venkatasubramanian G, Berk M. Fetal programming of schizophrenia: select mechanisms. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 49:90-104. [PMID: 25496904 PMCID: PMC7112550 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 12/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Mounting evidence indicates that schizophrenia is associated with adverse intrauterine experiences. An adverse or suboptimal fetal environment can cause irreversible changes in brain that can subsequently exert long-lasting effects through resetting a diverse array of biological systems including endocrine, immune and nervous. It is evident from animal and imaging studies that subtle variations in the intrauterine environment can cause recognizable differences in brain structure and cognitive functions in the offspring. A wide variety of environmental factors may play a role in precipitating the emergent developmental dysregulation and the consequent evolution of psychiatric traits in early adulthood by inducing inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative stress (IO&NS) pathways, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, and epigenetic dysregulation. However, the precise mechanisms behind such relationships and the specificity of the risk factors for schizophrenia remain exploratory. Considering the paucity of knowledge on fetal programming of schizophrenia, it is timely to consolidate the recent advances in the field and put forward an integrated overview of the mechanisms associated with fetal origin of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monojit Debnath
- Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore 560029, India.
| | - Ganesan Venkatasubramanian
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Neurobiology Research Centre and Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bangalore 560029, India
| | - Michael Berk
- IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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21
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Xu J, He G, Zhu J, Zhou X, St Clair D, Wang T, Xiang Y, Zhao Q, Xing Q, Liu Y, Wang L, Li Q, He L, Zhao X. Prenatal nutritional deficiency reprogrammed postnatal gene expression in mammal brains: implications for schizophrenia. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2015; 18:pyu054. [PMID: 25522397 PMCID: PMC4360220 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyu054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epidemiological studies have identified prenatal exposure to famine as a risk factor for schizophrenia, and animal models of prenatal malnutrition display structural and functional brain abnormalities implicated in schizophrenia. METHODS The offspring of the RLP50 rat, a recently developed animal model of prenatal famine malnutrition exposure, was used to investigate the changes of gene expression and epigenetic modifications in the brain regions. Microarray gene expression analysis was carried out in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus from 8 RLP50 offspring rats and 8 controls. MBD-seq was used to test the changes in DNA methylation in hippocampus depending on prenatal malnutrition exposure. RESULTS In the prefrontal cortex, offspring of RLP50 exhibit differences in neurotransmitters and olfactory-associated gene expression. In the hippocampus, the differentially-expressed genes are related to synaptic function and transcription regulation. DNA methylome profiling of the hippocampus also shows widespread but systematic epigenetic changes; in most cases (87%) this involves hypermethylation. Remarkably, genes encoded for the plasma membrane are significantly enriched for changes in both gene expression and DNA methylome profiling screens (p = 2.37×10(-9) and 5.36×10(-9), respectively). Interestingly, Mecp2 and Slc2a1, two genes associated with cognitive impairment, show significant down-regulation, and Slc2a1 is hypermethylated in the hippocampus of the RLP50 offspring. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our results indicate that prenatal exposure to malnutrition leads to the reprogramming of postnatal brain gene expression and that the epigenetic modifications contribute to the reprogramming. The process may impair learning and memory ability and result in higher susceptibility to schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Xu
- *These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Guang He
- *These authors contributed equally to this work
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lin He
- Children's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Drs Xu, Zhou, T. Wang, Xiang, Xing, Liu, L. Wang, Li, L. He and X. Zhao); Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (Drs Xu, G. He, Zhou, T. Wang, Xiang, Q. Zhao, Xing, Liu, L.Wang, Li, L. He and X. Zhao); Center for Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Shanghai, China (Dr Xu); Cancer Epigenetics and Gene Therapy Program, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (Dr Zhu); Department of Mental Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland (Dr St Clair).
| | - Xinzhi Zhao
- Children's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Drs Xu, Zhou, T. Wang, Xiang, Xing, Liu, L. Wang, Li, L. He and X. Zhao); Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (Drs Xu, G. He, Zhou, T. Wang, Xiang, Q. Zhao, Xing, Liu, L.Wang, Li, L. He and X. Zhao); Center for Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Shanghai, China (Dr Xu); Cancer Epigenetics and Gene Therapy Program, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China (Dr Zhu); Department of Mental Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland (Dr St Clair).
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Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that neuroinflammation affecting microglia plays an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia, and appropriate control of microglial activation may be a promising therapeutic strategy for schizophrenia. Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline that inhibits microglial activation, has been shown to have a neuroprotective effect in various models of neurodegenerative disease, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic properties, and an ability to modulate glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. Given that these mechanisms overlap with neuropathologic pathways, minocycline may have a potential role in the adjuvant treatment of schizophrenia, and improve its negative symptoms. Here, we review the relevant studies of minocycline, ranging from preclinical research to human clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lulu Zhang
- Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China ; Department of Psychology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingping Zhao
- Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China
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Altamura AC, Buoli M, Pozzoli S. Role of immunological factors in the pathophysiology and diagnosis of bipolar disorder: comparison with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2014; 68:21-36. [PMID: 24102953 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2013] [Revised: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 05/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Several lines of evidence point to the key role of neurobiological mechanisms and shared genetic background in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For both disorders, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes have been postulated to be relevant for the pathogenesis as well as dysregulation of immuno-inflammatory pathways. Inflammation is a complex biological response to harmful stimuli and it is mediated by cytokines cascades, cellular immune responses, oxidative factors and hormone regulation. Cytokines, in particular, are supposed to play a critical role in infectious and inflammatory processes, mediating the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system; they also possibly contribute to the development of the central nervous system. From this perspective, even though mixed results have been reported, it seems that both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are associated with an imbalance in inflammatory cytokines; in fact, some of these could represent biological markers of illness and could be possible targets for pharmacological treatments. In light of these considerations, the purpose of the present paper was to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the existing literature about immunological abnormalities in bipolar disorder with particular attention to the similarities and differences with schizophrenia.
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Altamura AC, Pozzoli S, Fiorentini A, Dell'osso B. Neurodevelopment and inflammatory patterns in schizophrenia in relation to pathophysiology. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013; 42:63-70. [PMID: 23021973 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2011] [Revised: 08/23/2012] [Accepted: 08/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
As for other major psychoses, the etiology of schizophrenia still remains poorly understood, involving genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, as well as environmental contributions. In addition, immune alterations have been widely reported in schizophrenic patients, involving both the unspecific and specific pathways of the immune system, and suggesting that infectious/autoimmune processes play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. Cytokines, in particular, are supposed to play a critical role in infectious and inflammatory processes, mediating the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system. In this perspective, even though mixed results have been reported, it seems that schizophrenia is associated with an imbalance in inflammatory cytokines. Alterations in the inflammatory and immune systems, moreover, seem to be already present in the early stages of schizophrenia and connected to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of the disorder, identifying its roots in brain development abnormalities that do not manifest themselves until adolescence or early adulthood. At the same time, neuropathological and longitudinal studies in schizophrenia also support a neurodegenerative hypothesis and, more recently, a novel mixed hypothesis, integrating neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative models, has been put forward. The present review aims to provide an updated overview of the connections between the immune and inflammatory alterations and the aforementioned hypotheses in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Carlo Altamura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122, Milano, Italy.
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Chew LJ, Fusar-Poli P, Schmitz T. Oligodendroglial alterations and the role of microglia in white matter injury: relevance to schizophrenia. Dev Neurosci 2013; 35:102-29. [PMID: 23446060 PMCID: PMC4531048 DOI: 10.1159/000346157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2012] [Accepted: 11/07/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating mental illness characterized by a broad range of abnormal behaviors, including delusions and hallucinations, impaired cognitive function, as well as mood disturbances and social withdrawal. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease, the causes of schizophrenia are very complex; its etiology is believed to involve multiple brain regions and the connections between them, and includes alterations in both gray and white matter regions. The onset of symptoms varies with age and severity, and there is some debate over a degenerative or developmental etiology. Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging studies have detected progressive gray matter loss in the first years of disease, suggesting neurodegeneration; but there is also increasing recognition of a temporal association between clinical complications at birth and disease onset that supports a neurodevelopmental origin. Presently, neuronal abnormalities in schizophrenia are better understood than alterations in myelin-producing cells of the brain, the oligodendrocytes, which are the predominant constituents of white matter structures. Proper white matter development and its structural integrity critically impacts brain connectivity, which affects sensorimotor coordination and cognitive ability. Evidence of defective white matter growth and compromised white matter integrity has been found in individuals at high risk of psychosis, and decreased numbers of mature oligodendrocytes are detected in schizophrenia patients. Inflammatory markers, including proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, are also associated with psychosis. A relationship between risk of psychosis, white matter defects and prenatal inflammation is being established. Animal models of perinatal brain injury are successful in producing white matter damage in the brain, typified by hypomyelination and/or dysmyelination, impaired motor coordination and prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex, recapitulating structural and functional characteristics observed in schizophrenia. In addition, elevated expression of inflammation-related genes in brain tissue and increased production of cytokines by blood cells from patients with schizophrenia indicate immunological dysfunction and abnormal inflammatory responses, which are also important underlying features in experimental models. Microglia, resident immune defenders of the central nervous system, play important roles in the development and protection of neural cells, but can contribute to injury under pathological conditions. This article discusses oligodendroglial changes in schizophrenia and focuses on microglial activity in the context of the disease, in neonatal brain injury and in various experimental models of white matter damage. These include disorders associated with premature birth, and animal models of perinatal bacterial and viral infection, oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) and excess (hyperoxia), and elevated systemic proinflammatory cytokine levels. We briefly review the effects of treatment with antipsychotic and anti-inflammatory agents in models of perinatal brain injury, and comment on the therapeutic potential of these strategies. By understanding the neurobiological basis of oligodendroglial abnormalities in schizophrenia, it is hoped that patients will benefit from the availability of targeted and more efficacious treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Jin Chew
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
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Nielsen PR, Laursen TM, Mortensen PB. Association between parental hospital-treated infection and the risk of schizophrenia in adolescence and early adulthood. Schizophr Bull 2013; 39:230-7. [PMID: 22021661 PMCID: PMC3523915 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
It has been suggested that infection during perinatal life may lie at the etiological root of schizophrenia. It has thus been hypothesized that the origin of schizophrenia may lie either in direct fetal infection and/or in a generally increased familial susceptibility to infections, some of which may occur during pregnancy. We explored these 2 hypotheses by assessing maternal infection during pregnancy and maternal as well as paternal infection in general as predictors of schizophrenia in their offspring. We found a slightly increased risk to be associated with prenatal infection exposure. However, the effect of prenatal infection exposure was not statistically significantly different from the effect of infection exposure in general. Parental infection appeared to be associated with development of schizophrenia in adolescence and early adulthood. Our study does not exclude a specific effect of infection during fetal life; yet, it does suggest that schizophrenia is associated with an increased familial liability to develop severe infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip R. Nielsen
- To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +45-8942-6807, fax: +45-8942-6813, e-mail:
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Fetal programming of body composition, obesity, and metabolic function: the role of intrauterine stress and stress biology. J Nutr Metab 2012; 2012:632548. [PMID: 22655178 PMCID: PMC3359710 DOI: 10.1155/2012/632548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2012] [Accepted: 02/21/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological, clinical, physiological, cellular, and molecular evidence suggests that the origins of obesity and metabolic dysfunction can be traced back to intrauterine life and supports an important role for maternal nutrition prior to and during gestation in fetal programming. The elucidation of underlying mechanisms is an area of interest and intense investigation. In this perspectives paper we propose that in addition to maternal nutrition-related processes it may be important to concurrently consider the potential role of intrauterine stress and stress biology. We frame our arguments in the larger context of an evolutionary-developmental perspective that supports roles for both nutrition and stress as key environmental conditions driving natural selection and developmental plasticity. We suggest that intrauterine stress exposure may interact with the nutritional milieu, and that stress biology may represent an underlying mechanism mediating the effects of diverse intrauterine perturbations, including but not limited to maternal nutritional insults (undernutrition and overnutrition), on brain and peripheral targets of programming of body composition, energy balance homeostasis, and metabolic function. We discuss putative maternal-placental-fetal endocrine and immune/inflammatory candidate mechanisms that may underlie the long-term effects of intrauterine stress. We conclude with a commentary of the implications for future research and clinical practice.
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Soo PS, Hiscock J, Botting KJ, Roberts CT, Davey AK, Morrison JL. Maternal undernutrition reduces P-glycoprotein in guinea pig placenta and developing brain in late gestation. Reprod Toxicol 2012; 33:374-81. [PMID: 22326852 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2012.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2011] [Revised: 12/23/2011] [Accepted: 01/31/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Poor nutrition is a major cause of fetal growth restriction which increases neonatal morbidity and mortality, as well as the risk of adult onset diseases. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of maternal undernutrition on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression in the placenta and the brain of both the mother and the fetus. Maternal undernutrition in guinea pigs caused placental restriction, and thus decreased fetal weight. Pups in the maternal undernutrition (UN) group had fewer capillaries in the placenta and more capillaries in the brain of the fetus. Placental, maternal and fetal brain MDR1 mRNA expression was the same in the Control and UN groups. Maternal undernutrition resulted in a significant decrease in P-gp protein expression in the placenta and fetal brain, but not the maternal brain. These findings indicate that maternal undernutrition may impact on fetal exposure to drugs administered to the mother during pregnancy due to changes in placental transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poh S Soo
- Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
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Wadhwa PD, Entringer S, Buss C, Lu MC. The contribution of maternal stress to preterm birth: issues and considerations. Clin Perinatol 2011; 38:351-84. [PMID: 21890014 PMCID: PMC3179976 DOI: 10.1016/j.clp.2011.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 290] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Preterm birth represents the most significant problem in maternal-child health, with maternal stress identified as a variable of interest. The effects of maternal stress on risk of preterm birth may vary as a function of context. This article focuses on select key issues and questions highlighting the need to develop a better understanding of which particular subgroups of pregnant women may be especially vulnerable to the potentially detrimental effects of maternal stress, and under what circumstances and at which stages of gestation. Issues related to the characterization and assessment of maternal stress and candidate biologic mechanisms are addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pathik D Wadhwa
- Departments of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, 3177 Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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Geddes AE, Huang XF, Newell KA. Reciprocal signalling between NR2 subunits of the NMDA receptor and neuregulin1 and their role in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2011; 35:896-904. [PMID: 21371516 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2011] [Revised: 02/19/2011] [Accepted: 02/24/2011] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a debilitating neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder. Both the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and neuregulin1 (NRG1) are key molecules involved in normal brain development that have been linked to schizophrenia pathology and aetiology. The NR2 proteins are critical structural and functional subunits of the NMDAR and are developmentally and spatially regulated. Altered NR2 gene and protein expression has been found in human post-mortem schizophrenia brain tissue together with changes in NRG1 and its receptor ErbB4. The NR2 subunits and ErbB4 share a common anchoring domain on the postsynaptic density and therefore a disruption to either of these molecules may influence the functioning of the other. It has been shown that NRG1 signalling can affect NMDAR levels and function, particularly phosphorylation of the NR2 subunits. However little is known about the possible effects of NMDAR dysfunction on NRG1 signalling, which is important with regards to schizophrenia aetiology as numerous risk factors for the disorder can alter NMDAR functioning during early brain development. This review focuses on the role of the NMDA receptor subunits and NRG1 signalling in schizophrenia and proposes a mechanism by which a disruption to the NMDAR, particularly via altering the balance of NR2 subunits during early development, could influence NRG1 signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Geddes
- Centre for Translational Neuroscience, Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, School of Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
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Bronson SL, Ahlbrand R, Horn PS, Kern JR, Richtand NM. Individual differences in maternal response to immune challenge predict offspring behavior: contribution of environmental factors. Behav Brain Res 2011; 220:55-64. [PMID: 21255612 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2010] [Revised: 12/21/2010] [Accepted: 12/27/2010] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Maternal infection during pregnancy elevates risk for schizophrenia and related disorders in offspring. Converging evidence suggests the maternal inflammatory response mediates the interaction between maternal infection, altered brain development, and behavioral outcome. The extent to which individual differences in the maternal response to immune challenge influence the development of these abnormalities is unknown. The present study investigated the impact of individual differences in maternal response to the viral mimic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) on offspring behavior. We observed significant variability in body weight alterations of pregnant rats induced by administration of poly I:C on gestational day 14. Furthermore, the presence or absence of maternal weight loss predicted MK-801 and amphetamine stimulated locomotor abnormalities in offspring. MK-801 stimulated locomotion was altered in offspring of all poly I:C treated dams; however, the presence or absence of maternal weight loss resulted in decreased and modestly increased locomotion, respectively. Adult offspring of poly I:C treated dams that lost weight exhibited significantly decreased amphetamine stimulated locomotion, while offspring of poly I:C treated dams without weight loss performed similarly to vehicle controls. Social isolation and increased maternal age predicted weight loss in response to poly I:C but not vehicle injection. In combination, these data identify environmental factors associated with the maternal response to immune challenge and functional outcome of offspring exposed to maternal immune activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie L Bronson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
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Entringer S, Buss C, Wadhwa PD. Prenatal stress and developmental programming of human health and disease risk: concepts and integration of empirical findings. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes 2010; 17:507-16. [PMID: 20962631 PMCID: PMC3124255 DOI: 10.1097/med.0b013e3283405921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 173] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The concept of the developmental origins of health and disease susceptibility is rapidly attracting interest and gaining prominence as a complementary approach to understanding the causation of many complex common disorders that confer a major burden of disease; however several important issues and questions remain to be addressed, particularly in the context of humans. RECENT FINDINGS In this review we enunciate some of these questions and issues, review empirical evidence primarily from our own recent studies on prenatal stress and stress biology, and discuss putative maternal-placental-fetal endocrine and immune/inflammatory candidate mechanisms that may underlie and mediate short-term and long-term effects of prenatal stress on the developing human embryo and fetus, with a specific focus on body composition, metabolic function, and obesity risk. SUMMARY The implications for research and clinical practice are discussed with a summary of recent advances in noninvasive methods to characterize fetal, newborn, infant, and child developmental and health-related processes that, when coupled with available state-of-the-art statistical modeling approaches for longitudinal, repeated measures time series analysis, now afford unprecedented opportunities to explore and uncover the developmental origins of human health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Entringer
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Claudia Buss
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Pathik D. Wadhwa
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California, USA
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Mortensen PB, Pedersen CB, Hougaard DM, Nørgaard-Petersen B, Mors O, Børglum AD, Yolken RH. A Danish National Birth Cohort study of maternal HSV-2 antibodies as a risk factor for schizophrenia in their offspring. Schizophr Res 2010; 122:257-63. [PMID: 20598509 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2009] [Revised: 05/26/2010] [Accepted: 06/13/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several studies have implicated early infections, including maternal infection with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), as an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia. METHODS A case-control study nested within the national Danish birth cohort constituted by the PKU Biobank covering all children born in Denmark since 1981. 602 cases of schizophrenia (ICD-10 F20) were ascertained in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register, covering all in- and out-patient contacts in Denmark, and 602 controls were matched individually on gender, exact date of birth and living in Denmark on the date the case became a case. Incidence rate ratio for schizophrenia was estimated using conditional logistic regression. Main exposure was HSV-2 IgG antibody levels. Confounders and potential interacting factors included family history of mental illness, place of birth and gestational age at time of birth. RESULTS Elevated levels of maternal HSV-2 IgG were associated with schizophrenia risk (IRR 1.56; 95% CI 1.17-2.07, p=0.002). This association was not confounded by a maternal or sibling history of psychiatric illness, place of birth, parental age, gestational age, or immigrant status of the parents. However, adjustment for paternal psychiatric history reduced risk slightly (IRR 1.43; 95% CI 1.06-1.92, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS The study replicates an association between maternal HSV-2 IgG levels and schizophrenia risk. Since the confounding by familial risk factors is confined to paternal mental illnesses not belonging to the schizophrenia spectrum, we hypothesize that this confounding may be partly due to other risk factors, e.g., other sexually transmitted infections, rather than reflecting variations in genetic liability to develop schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preben B Mortensen
- National Centre for Register-based Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Aarhus, Taasingegade 1, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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Haukvik UK, Lawyer G, Bjerkan PS, Hartberg CB, Jönsson EG, McNeil T, Agartz I. Cerebral cortical thickness and a history of obstetric complications in schizophrenia. J Psychiatr Res 2009; 43:1287-93. [PMID: 19473666 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2009.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2008] [Revised: 04/24/2009] [Accepted: 05/05/2009] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia have thinner brain cortices compared with healthy control subjects. Neurodevelopment is vulnerable to obstetric complications (OCs) such as hypoxia and birth trauma, factors that are also related to increased risk of developing schizophrenia. With the hypothesis that OCs might explain the thinner cortices found in schizophrenia, we studied patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls subjects for association between number and severity of OCs and variation in cortical thickness. METHODS MRI scans of 54 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 54 healthy controls were acquired at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Measures of brain cortical thickness were obtained using automated computer processing (FreeSurfer). OCs were assessed from obstetric records and scored blindly according to the McNeil-Sjöström scale. At numerous cortical locations, putative effects of OCs on cortical thickness variation were tested for each trimester, for labour, for composite OC scores, severe OC scores, and hypoxia scores among patients and controls separately. RESULTS Number and severity of OCs varied among both patient and control subjects but were not associated with cortical thickness in either of the groups. Patients demonstrated thinner brain cortices but there were no significant differences in number and severity of OC scores across groups. CONCLUSION In the present study, number and severity of obstetric complications were not associated with brain cortical thickness, in patients with schizophrenia or in healthy control subjects. The thinner brain cortices found in patients with schizophrenia were not explained by a history of OCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unn Kristin Haukvik
- Institute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 85 Vinderen, N-0319 Oslo, Norway.
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Grobman WA, Phipps MG. The National Children's Study: how obstetricians can contribute. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2009; 200:469-71. [PMID: 19375564 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.01.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2008] [Revised: 12/05/2008] [Accepted: 01/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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