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Ben-Azu B, Fokoua AR, Annafi OS, Adebayo OG, Del Re EC, Okuchukwu N, Aregbesola GJ, Ejenavi AEC, Isiwele DM, Efezino AJ, Okpu ID. Effective action of silymarin against ketamine-induced schizophrenia in male mice: Insight into the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 179:141-155. [PMID: 39293119 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2024] [Revised: 07/27/2024] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 09/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurochemical dysregulations resulting from N-methyl-D-aspartate hypofunction (NMDA), are exacerbated by neuroimmune and oxidative stress and are known risk factors for neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia-like diseases. Here, we investigate the protective and curative effects, and mechanisms of silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid with neuroprotective functions in preventive-reversal model of ketamine, an NMDA antagonist in mice. METHODS Mice were grouped into 6 cohorts (n = 9). In the pre-treatment, groups 1 and 2 received saline (10 mL/kg/p.o.), groups 3 and 4 (silymarin, 50 and 100 mg/kg/p.o.), and group 5 (risperidone, 0.5 mg/kg/p.o.) consecutively for 14 days, then combined with ketamine (20 mg/kg/i.p.) injection in groups 2-5 from days 8-14. However, mice in reversal study received intraperitoneal injection of ketamine for 14 days before silymarin (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o) and risperidone (0.5 mg/kg, p.o.) treatment between days 8-14. The consequences on schizophrenia-like behavior, neurochemistry, inflammation, and oxidative/nitrergic stress markers were evaluated in critical brain regions of the disease. RESULTS Silymarin prevented and reversed ketamine-induced increase in dopamine, 5-hydroxyltryptamine, acetylcholinesterase, malondialdehyde and nitrite levels in the striatum, prefrontal-cortex and hippocampus. These were accompanied by improvement in hyperlocomotion, stereotypy, memory, and social impairments, notably devoid of cataleptogenic potential. Complementarily, silymarin reduced myeloperoxidase, tumor-necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 concentrations relative to the ketamine group. Moreover, ketamine-induced decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glutathione, catalase, superoxide-dismutase levels were normalized by silymarin in the brain regions relative to ketamine. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these findings suggest that silymarin's antipsychotic effect might be primarily associated, among other mechanisms, with the normalization of neurochemical and neurotrophic changes in the mice brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benneth Ben-Azu
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria; Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Canada.
| | - Aliance R Fokoua
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria; Research Unit of Neuroinflammatory and Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Dschang, Cameroon
| | - Olajide S Annafi
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Olusegun G Adebayo
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria; Neurophysiology Unit, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Elisabetta C Del Re
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, United States; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nneka Okuchukwu
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
| | - Gbemileke J Aregbesola
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
| | - Akpor-Esiri C Ejenavi
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
| | - David M Isiwele
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
| | - Arausi J Efezino
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
| | - Ifelunwa D Okpu
- DELSU Joint Canada-Israel Neuroscience and Biopsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria
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Aberizk K, Addington JM, Bearden CE, Cadenhead KS, Cannon TD, Cornblatt BA, Keshavan M, Mathalon DH, Perkins DO, Stone WS, Tsuang MT, Woods SW, Walker EF, Ku BS. Relations of Lifetime Perceived Stress and Basal Cortisol With Hippocampal Volume Among Healthy Adolescents and Those at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 96:401-411. [PMID: 38092185 PMCID: PMC11166888 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hippocampal volume (HV) is sensitive to environmental influences. Under normative conditions in humans, HV increases linearly into childhood and asymptotes in early adulthood. Studies of humans and nonhuman animals have provided evidence of inverse relationships between several measures of stress and HV. METHODS Using structural equation modeling, this study aimed to characterize the relationships of age, basal cortisol, biological sex, and lifetime perceived stress with bilateral HV in a sample of healthy adolescents and adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) (N = 571, 43% female; age range = 12-19.9 years). This sample included 469 individuals at CHR-P and 102 healthy comparison participants from the combined baseline cohorts of the second and third NAPLS (North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study). RESULTS A structural model that constrained the individual effects of basal cortisol and perceived stress to single path coefficients, and freely estimated the effects of age and biological sex in group models, optimized model fit and parsimony relative to other candidate models. Significant inverse relationships between basal cortisol and bilateral HV were observed in adolescents at CHR-P and healthy comparison participants. Significant sex differences in bilateral HV were also observed, with females demonstrating smaller HV than males in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Multigroup structural equation modeling revealed heterogeneity in the relationships of age and biological sex with basal cortisol, lifetime perceived stress, and bilateral HV in individuals at CHR-P and healthy comparison participants. Moreover, the findings support previous literature indicating that elevated basal cortisol is a nonspecific risk factor for reduced HV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina Aberizk
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
| | - Jean M Addington
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Carrie E Bearden
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California
| | | | - Tyrone D Cannon
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Matcheri Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel H Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Diana O Perkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - William S Stone
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Ming T Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California
| | - Scott W Woods
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Elaine F Walker
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Benson S Ku
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
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Colizzi M, Bortoletto R, Antolini G, Bhattacharyya S, Balestrieri M, Solmi M. Biobehavioral Interactions between Endocannabinoid and Hypothalamicpituitary- adrenal Systems in Psychosis: A Systematic Review. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:495-520. [PMID: 37533248 PMCID: PMC10845076 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x21666230801150032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The diathesis-stress paradigm and the cannabinoid-hypothesis have been proposed as possible pathophysiological models of schizophrenia. However, they have historically been studied independently of each other. OBJECTIVE This PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review aimed at reappraising the interplay between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in psychosis- spectrum disorder risk and outcome. METHODS All pathophysiological and outcome clinical studies, concomitantly evaluating the two systems in psychosis-spectrum disorder risk and different stages of illness, were gathered from electronic databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus), and discussed. RESULTS 41 eligible outputs were extracted, focusing on at least a biological measure (9 HPA-related studies: 4 eCB-interventional, 1 HPA-interventional, 1 both HPA-interventional and non-interventional, 3 non-interventional; 2 eCB-related studies: non-interventional), environmental measures only (29 studies: 1 eCB- interventional, 28 non-interventional), and genetic measures (1 study: non-interventional). Independent contributions of aberrancies in the two systems to the physiopathology and outcome of psychosis were confirmed. Also, concomitant alterations in the two systems, either genetically defined (e.g., CNR1 genetic variation), biologically determined (e.g., dysfunctional HPA axis or endocannabinoid signaling), or behaviorally imputed (e.g., cannabis use, stress exposure, and response), were consistently reported in psychosis. Further, a complex biobehavioral perturbation was revealed not only within each system (e.g., cannabis use affecting the eCB tone, stress exposure affecting the HPA axis), but also across the two systems (e.g., THC affecting the HPA axis, childhood trauma affecting the endocannabinoid signaling). CONCLUSION There is a need to concomitantly study the two systems' mechanistic contribution to psychosis in order to establish more refined biological relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Colizzi
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Riccardo Bortoletto
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Giulia Antolini
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, Verona 37126, Italy
| | - Sagnik Bhattacharyya
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Matteo Balestrieri
- Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine 33100, Italy
| | - Marco Solmi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Mental Health, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
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