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Schaer R, Mueller FS, Notter T, Weber-Stadlbauer U, Meyer U. Intrauterine position effects in a mouse model of maternal immune activation. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 120:391-402. [PMID: 38897330 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Rodent models of maternal immune activation (MIA) are increasingly used as experimental tools in preclinical research of immune-mediated neurodevelopmental disorders and mental illnesses. Using a viral-like MIA model that is based on prenatal poly(I:C) exposure in mice, we have recently identified the existence of subgroups of MIA-exposed offspring that show dissociable behavioral, transcriptional, brain network and inflammatory profiles even under conditions of genetic homogeneity and identical MIA. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the intrauterine positions of fetuses, which are known to shape individual variability in litter-bearing mammals through variations in fetal hormone exposure, may contribute to the variable outcomes of MIA in mice. MIA was induced by maternal administration of poly(I:C) on gestation day 12 in C57BL/6N mice. Determining intrauterine positions using delivery by Cesarean section (C-section), we found that MIA-exposed offspring developing between female fetuses only (0M-MIA offspring) displayed significant deficits in sociability and sensorimotor gating at adult age, whereas MIA-exposed offspring developing between one or two males in utero (1/2M-MIA offspring) did not show the same deficits. These intrauterine position effects similarly emerged in male and female offspring. Furthermore, while MIA elevated fetal brain levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines independently of the precise intrauterine position and sex of adjacent fetuses during the acute phase, fetal brain levels of TNF-α remained elevated in 0M-MIA but not 1/2M-MIA offspring until the post-acute phase in late gestation. As expected, 1/2M offspring generally showed higher testosterone levels in the fetal brain during late gestation as compared to 0M offspring, confirming the transfer of testosterone from male fetuses to adjacent male or female fetuses. Taken together, our findings identify a novel source of within-litter variability contributing to heterogeneous outcomes of short- and long-term effects in a mouse model of MIA. In broader context, our findings highlight that individual differences in fetal exposure to hormonal and inflammatory signals may be a perinatal factor that shapes risk and resilience to MIA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron Schaer
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Flavia S Mueller
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tina Notter
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ulrike Weber-Stadlbauer
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Urs Meyer
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Cabré S, Ratsika A, Rea K, Stanton C, Cryan JF. Animal Models for Assessing Impact of C-Section Delivery on Biological Systems. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104555. [PMID: 35122781 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
There has been a significant increase in Caesarean section (C-section) births worldwide over the past two decades and although it is can be a life-saving procedure, the enduring effects on host physiology are now undergoing further scrutiny. Indeed, epidemiological data have linked C-section birth with multiple immune, metabolic and neuropsychiatric diseases. Birth by C-section is known to alter the colonisation of the neonatal gut microbiota (with C-section delivered infants lacking vaginal microbiota associated with passing along the birth canal), which in turn can impact the development and maintenance of many important biological systems. Appropriate animal models are key to disentangling the role of missing microbes in brain health and disease in C-section births. In this review of preclinical studies, we interrogate the effects of C-section birth on the development (and maintenance) of several biological systems and we discuss the involvement of the gut microbiome on C-section-related alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sílvia Cabré
- APC Microbiome Ireland, Biosciences Institute, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland
| | - Anna Ratsika
- APC Microbiome Ireland, Biosciences Institute, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland
| | - Kieran Rea
- APC Microbiome Ireland, Biosciences Institute, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland
| | - Catherine Stanton
- APC Microbiome Ireland, Biosciences Institute, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioural Science, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy P61 C996, Ireland
| | - John F Cryan
- APC Microbiome Ireland, Biosciences Institute, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland.
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3
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Meehan C, Harms L, Frost JD, Barreto R, Todd J, Schall U, Shannon Weickert C, Zavitsanou K, Michie PT, Hodgson DM. Effects of immune activation during early or late gestation on schizophrenia-related behaviour in adult rat offspring. Brain Behav Immun 2017; 63:8-20. [PMID: 27423491 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.07.144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal exposure to infectious agents during gestation has been identified as a significant risk factor for schizophrenia. Using a mouse model, past work has demonstrated that the gestational timing of the immune-activating event can impact the behavioural phenotype and expression of dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission markers in the offspring. In order to determine the inter-species generality of this effect to rats, another commonly used model species, the current study investigated the impact of a viral mimetic Poly (I:C) at either an early (gestational day 10) or late (gestational day 19) time-point on schizophrenia-related behaviour and neurotransmitter receptor expression in rat offspring. Exposure to Poly (I:C) in late, but not early, gestation resulted in transient impairments in working memory. In addition, male rats exposed to maternal immune activation (MIA) in either early or late gestation exhibited sensorimotor gating deficits. Conversely, neither early nor late MIA exposure altered locomotor responses to MK-801 or amphetamine. In addition, increased dopamine 1 receptor mRNA levels were found in the nucleus accumbens of male rats exposed to early gestational MIA. The findings from this study diverge somewhat from previous findings in mice with MIA exposure, which were often found to exhibit a more comprehensive spectrum of schizophrenia-like phenotypes in both males and females, indicating potential differences in the neurodevelopmental vulnerability to MIA exposure in the rat with regards to schizophrenia related changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal Meehan
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Lauren Harms
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Jade D Frost
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Rafael Barreto
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Juanita Todd
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Ulrich Schall
- Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Patricia T Michie
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Deborah M Hodgson
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
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Barkhuizen M, van den Hove DLA, Vles JSH, Steinbusch HWM, Kramer BW, Gavilanes AWD. 25 years of research on global asphyxia in the immature rat brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 75:166-182. [PMID: 28161509 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy remains a common cause of brain damage in neonates. Preterm infants have additional complications, as prematurity by itself increases the risk of encephalopathy. Currently, therapy for this subset of asphyxiated infants is limited to supportive care. There is an urgent need for therapies in preterm infants - and for representative animal models for preclinical drug development. In 1991, a novel rodent model of global asphyxia in the preterm infant was developed in Sweden. This method was based on the induction of asphyxia during the birth processes itself by submerging pups, still in the uterine horns, in a water bath followed by C-section. This insult occurs at a time-point when the rodent brain maturity resembles the brain of a 22-32 week old human fetus. This model has developed over the past 25 years as an established model of perinatal global asphyxia in the early preterm brain. Here we summarize the knowledge gained on the short- and long-term neuropathological and behavioral effects of asphyxia on the immature central nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Barkhuizen
- Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; DST/NWU Preclinical Drug Development Platform, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - D L A van den Hove
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - J S H Vles
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Child Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - H W M Steinbusch
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - B W Kramer
- Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - A W D Gavilanes
- Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Institute of Biomedicine, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador.
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5
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Kameda SR, Fukushiro DF, Wuo-Silva R, Trombin TF, Procópio-Souza R, Brandão LC, Sanday L, Patti CL, Mári-Kawamoto E, Tufik S, D'Almeida V, Frussa-Filho R. Opposite effects of neonatal hypoxia on acute amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion in adult and adolescent mice. Psychiatry Res 2013; 208:74-7. [PMID: 23618352 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2012] [Revised: 03/02/2013] [Accepted: 03/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We investigated whether the effect of neonatal hypoxia on amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion can reproduce the ontogenic (age of onset) properties of schizophrenia. Neonatal hypoxia enhanced amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion in adult mice and decreased it in adolescent mice. These findings provide ontogenic validity for this very simple animal model of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia R Kameda
- Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, R. Botucatu, 862, Ed. Leal Prado, 1° andar, 04023062 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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6
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Vulnerability of the mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons of the human neonate to prolonged perinatal hypoxia: an immunohistochemical study of tyrosine hydroxylase expression in autopsy material. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2013; 72:337-50. [PMID: 23481708 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0b013e31828b48b3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Experimental studies indicate that hypoxia to the fetus, a common occurrence in many birth complications in humans, results in long-term disturbances of the central dopaminergic (DA) systems that persist in adulthood. Because dysregulation of DA systems is involved in the pathophysiology of many neurological and psychiatric disorders, we investigated the effects of perinatal hypoxia on the mesencephalic DA neurons of the human neonate using immunohistochemistry. We studied the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the first and rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis, in substantia nigra, and ventral tegmental area of 18 neonates in relation to the age and severity/duration of hypoxic injury estimated by neuropathological criteria. In severe/abrupt perinatal hypoxia, intense TH staining was observed in substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and, surprisingly, in the nonpreganglionic Edinger-Westphal nucleus. In severe/prolonged hypoxia, there was a striking reduction or even absence of TH immunoreactivity in all the mesencephalic nuclei. These observations suggest that at early states of perinatal hypoxia, there is a massive increase in dopamine synthesis and release that is followed by feedback blockage of dopamine synthesis through inhibition of TH by the end product dopamine. Early dysregulation of DA neurotransmission could predispose infant survivors of severe perinatal hypoxia to dopamine-related neurological and/or cognitive deficits later in life.
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7
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Galeano P, Romero JI, Luque-Rojas MJ, Suárez J, Holubiec MI, Bisagno V, Santín LJ, De Fonseca FR, Capani F, Blanco E. Moderate and severe perinatal asphyxia induces differential effects on cocaine sensitization in adult rats. Synapse 2013; 67:553-67. [PMID: 23447367 DOI: 10.1002/syn.21660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2012] [Accepted: 02/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Perinatal asphyxia (PA) increases the likelihood of suffering from dopamine-related disorders, such as ADHD and schizophrenia. Since dopaminergic transmission plays a major role in cocaine sensitization, the purpose of this study was to determine whether PA could be associated with altered behavioral sensitization to cocaine. To this end, adult rats born vaginally (CTL), by caesarean section (C+), or by C+ with 15 min (PA15, moderate PA) or 19 min (PA19, severe PA) of global anoxia were repeatedly administered with cocaine (i.p., 15 mg/kg) and then challenged with cocaine (i.p., 15 mg/kg) after a 5-day withdrawal period. In addition, c-Fos, FosB/ΔFosB, DAT, and TH expression were assessed in dorsal (CPu) and ventral (NAcc) striatum. Results indicated that PA15 rats exhibited an increased locomotor sensitization to cocaine, while PA19 rats displayed an abnormal acquisition of locomotor sensitization and did not express a sensitized response to cocaine. c-Fos expression in NAcc, but not in CPu, was associated with these alterations in cocaine sensitization. FosB/ΔFosB expression was increased in all groups and regions after repeated cocaine administration, although it reached lower expression levels in PA19 rats. In CTL, C+, and PA15, but not in PA19 rats, the expression of TH in NAcc was reduced in groups repeatedly treated with cocaine, independently of the challenge test. Furthermore, this reduction was more pronounced in PA15 rats. DAT expression remained unaltered in all groups and regions studied. These results suggest that moderate PA may increase the vulnerability to drug abuse and in particular to cocaine addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Galeano
- Instituto de Investigaciones "Prof. Dr. Alberto C. Taquini"-ININCA, Facultad de Medicina, UBA-CONICET, Marcelo T. de Alvear 2270, C1122AAJ, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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8
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Sex differences in the effects of perinatal anoxia on dopamine function in rats. Neurosci Lett 2012; 506:89-93. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2011.10.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2011] [Revised: 10/14/2011] [Accepted: 10/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Abstract
Basic research in animals represents a fruitful approach to study the neurobiological basis of brain and behavioral disturbances relevant to neuropsychiatric disease and to establish and evaluate novel pharmacological therapies for their treatment. In the context of schizophrenia, there are models employing specific experimental manipulations developed according to specific pathophysiological or etiological hypotheses. The use of selective lesions in adult animals and the acute administration of psychotomimetic agents are indispensable tools in the elucidation of the contribution of specific brain regions or neurotransmitters to the genesis of a specific symptom or collection of symptoms and enjoy some degrees of predictive validity. However, they may be inaccurate, if not inadequate, in capturing the etiological mechanisms or ontology of the disease needed for a complete understanding of the disease and may be limited in the discovery of novel compounds for the treatment of negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Under the prevailing consensus of schizophrenia as a disease of neurodevelopmental origin, we have seen the establishment of neurodevelopmental animal models which aim to identify the etiological processes whereby the brain, following specific triggering events, develops into a "schizophrenia-like brain" over time. Many neurodevelopmental models such as the neonatal ventral hippocampus (vHPC) lesion, methylazoxymethanol (MAM), and prenatal immune activation models can mimic a broad spectrum of behavioral, cognitive, and pharmacological abnormalities directly implicated in schizophrenic disease. These models allow pharmacological screens against multiple and coexisting schizophrenia-related dysfunctions while incorporating the disease-relevant concept of abnormal brain development. The multiplicity of existing models is testimonial to the multifactorial nature of schizophrenia, and there are ample opportunities for their integration. Indeed, one ultimate goal must be to incorporate the successes of distinct models into one unitary account of the complex disorder of schizophrenia and to use such unitary approaches in the further development and evaluation of novel antipsychotic treatment strategies.
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Hyde MJ, Mostyn A, Modi N, Kemp PR. The health implications of birth by Caesarean section. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 87:229-43. [PMID: 21815988 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2011.00195.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Since the first mention of fetal programming of adult health and disease, a plethora of programming events in early life has been suggested. These have included intrauterine and postnatal events, but limited attention has been given to the potential contribution of the birth process to normal physiology and long-term health. Over the last 30 years a growing number of studies have demonstrated that babies born at term by vaginal delivery (VD) have significantly different physiology at birth to those born by Caesarean section (CS), particularly when there has been no exposure to labour, i.e. pre-labour CS (PLCS). This literature is reviewed here and the processes involved in VD that might programme post-natal development are discussed. Some of the effects of CS are short term, but longer term problems are also apparent. We suggest that VD initiates important physiological trajectories and the absence of this stimulus in CS has implications for adult health. There are a number of factors that might plausibly contribute to this programming, one of which is the hormonal surge or "stress response" of VD. Given the increasing incidence of elective PLCS, an understanding of the effects of VD on normal development is crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Hyde
- Section of Neonatal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Chelsea and Westminster Campus, London, UK.
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11
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Brown AS. The environment and susceptibility to schizophrenia. Prog Neurobiol 2011; 93:23-58. [PMID: 20955757 PMCID: PMC3521525 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2010.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 451] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2010] [Revised: 09/22/2010] [Accepted: 09/30/2010] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In the present article the putative role of environmental factors in schizophrenia is reviewed and synthesized. Accumulating evidence from recent studies suggests that environmental exposures may play a more significant role in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder than previously thought. This expanding knowledge base is largely a consequence of refinements in the methodology of epidemiologic studies, including birth cohort investigations, and in preclinical research that has been inspired by the evolving literature on animal models of environmental exposures. This paper is divided into four sections. In the first, the descriptive epidemiology of schizophrenia is reviewed. This includes general studies on incidence, prevalence, and differences in these measures by urban-rural, neighborhood, migrant, and season of birth status, as well as time trends. In the second section, we discuss the contribution of environmental risk factors acting during fetal and perinatal life; these include infections [e.g. rubella, influenza, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)], nutritional deficiencies (e.g., famine, folic acid, iron, vitamin D), paternal age, fetal/neonatal hypoxic and other obstetric insults and complications, maternal stress and other exposures [e.g. lead, rhesus (Rh) incompatibility, maternal stress]. Other putative neurodevelopmental determinants, including cannabis, socioeconomic status, trauma, and infections during childhood and adolescence are also covered. In the third section, these findings are synthesized and their implications for prevention and uncovering biological mechanisms, including oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation, are discussed. Animal models, including maternal immune activation, have yielded evidence suggesting that these exposures cause brain and behavioral phenotypes that are analogous to findings observed in patients with schizophrenia. In the final section, future studies including new, larger, and more rigorous epidemiologic investigations, and research on translational and clinical neuroscience, gene-environment interactions, epigenetics, developmental trajectories and windows of vulnerability, are elaborated upon. These studies are aimed at confirming observed risk factors, identifying new environmental exposures, elucidating developmental mechanisms, and shedding further light on genes and exposures that may not be identified in the absence of these integrated approaches. The study of environmental factors in schizophrenia may have important implications for the identification of causes and prevention of this disorder, and offers the potential to complement, and refine, existing efforts on explanatory neurodevelopmental models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan S Brown
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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12
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Wilson C, Terry AV. Neurodevelopmental animal models of schizophrenia: role in novel drug discovery and development. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 4:124-37. [PMID: 20643635 DOI: 10.3371/csrp.4.2.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness that is associated with a lifetime of disability. For patients to successfully function in society, the amelioration of disease symptoms is imperative. The recently published results of two large antipsychotic clinical trials (e.g., CATIE, CUtLASS) clearly exemplified the limitations of currently available treatment options for schizophrenia, and further highlighted the critical need for novel drug discovery and development in this field. One of the biggest challenges in schizophrenia-related drug discovery is to find an appropriate animal model of the illness so that novel hypotheses can be tested at the basic science level. A number of pharmacological, genetic, and neurodevelopmental models have been introduced; however, none of these models has been rigorously evaluated for translational relevance or to satisfy requirements of "face," "construct" and "predictive" validity. Given the apparent polygenic nature of schizophrenia and the limited translational significance of pharmacological models, neurodevelopmental models may offer the best chance of success. The purpose of this review is to provide a general overview of the various neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia that have been introduced to date, and to summarize their behavioral and neurochemical phenotypes that may be useful from a drug discovery and development standpoint. While it may be that, in the final analysis, no single animal model will satisfy all the requirements necessary for drug discovery purposes, several of the models may be useful for modeling various phenomenological and pathophysiological components of schizophrenia that could be targeted independently with separate molecules or multi-target drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Wilson
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Graduate Studies, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-2300, USA
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13
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Marco EM, Macrì S, Laviola G. Critical Age Windows for Neurodevelopmental Psychiatric Disorders: Evidence from Animal Models. Neurotox Res 2010; 19:286-307. [DOI: 10.1007/s12640-010-9205-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2009] [Revised: 06/01/2010] [Accepted: 06/01/2010] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Meyer U, Feldon J. Epidemiology-driven neurodevelopmental animal models of schizophrenia. Prog Neurobiol 2010; 90:285-326. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2009.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 261] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2009] [Revised: 09/30/2009] [Accepted: 10/14/2009] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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15
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Developmental vitamin D deficiency alters dopamine-mediated behaviors and dopamine transporter function in adult female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2010; 208:159-68. [PMID: 19921153 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-009-1717-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2009] [Accepted: 10/26/2009] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency has been proposed as a risk factor for schizophrenia. DVD deficiency in neonatal rats is associated with alterations in cellular development, dopamine metabolism, and brain morphology. DVD-deficient adult rats show novelty-induced hyperlocomotion and an enhanced locomotor response to MK-801, which can be ameliorated by pretreatment with the antipsychotic drug haloperidol. OBJECTIVES In this study, we examined locomotor responses of male and female juvenile and adult rats to a dose range of amphetamine. We also measured dopamine receptor and monoamine transporter densities in adult brain. RESULTS Female DVD-deficient adult rats displayed an enhanced sensitivity to amphetamine-induced locomotion, an increased dopamine transporter density in the caudate-putamen and increased affinity in the nucleus accumbens compared with control females. By contrast, there were no differences between control and DVD-deficient male rats. DISCUSSION Taken together, this suggests an alteration in the development of the dopamine system and on dopamine-mediated behaviors in female DVD-deficient rats, and this may be relevant to the underlying neurobiology of schizophrenia.
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Abstract
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia asserts that the underlying pathology of schizophrenia has its roots in brain development and that these brain abnormalities do not manifest themselves until adolescence or early adulthood. Animal models based on developmental manipulations have provided insight into the vulnerability of the developing fetus and the importance of the early environment for normal maturation. These models have provided a wide range of validated approaches to answer questions regarding environmental influences on both neural and behavioral development. In an effort to better understand the developmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, animal models have been developed, which seek to model the etiology and/or the pathophysiology of schizophrenia or specific behaviors associated with the disease. Developmental models specific to schizophrenia have focused on epidemiological risk factors (e.g., prenatal viral insult, birth complications) or more heuristic models aimed at understanding the developmental neuropathology of the disease (e.g., ventral hippocampal lesions). The combined approach of behavioral and neuroanatomical evaluation of these models strengthens their utility in improving our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and developing new treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan B Powell
- University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0804, USA.
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Perinatal asphyxia reduces dentate granule cells and exacerbates methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion in adulthood. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3648. [PMID: 18985150 PMCID: PMC2572851 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2008] [Accepted: 10/17/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obstetric complications have been regarded as a risk factor for schizophrenia later in life. One of the mechanisms underlying the association is postulated to be a hypoxic process in the brain in the offspring around the time of birth. Hippocampus is one of the brain regions implicated in the late-onset dopaminergic dysfunction associated with hypoxic obstetric complications. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used an animal model of perinatal asphyxia, in which rat pups were exposed to 15 min of intrauterine anoxia during Cesarean section birth. At 6 and 12 weeks after birth, the behavior of the pups was assessed using a methamphetamine-induced locomotion test. In addition, the histopathology of the hippocampus was examined by means of stereology. At 6 weeks, there was no change in the methamphetamine-induced locomotion. However, at 12 weeks of age, we found an elevation in methamphetamine-induced locomotor activity, which was associated with an increase of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. At the same age, we also found a reduction of the dentate granule cells of the hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE These results suggest that the dopaminergic dysregulation after perinatal asphyxia is associated with a reduction in hippocampal dentate granule cells, and this may partly contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
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18
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Boksa P, Zhang Y. Epinephrine administration at birth prevents long-term changes in dopaminergic parameters caused by Cesarean section birth in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2008; 200:381-91. [PMID: 18542929 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-008-1213-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2008] [Accepted: 05/25/2008] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Obstetric complications involving birth hypoxia are implicated in the etiology of disorders with dopaminergic dysfunction, such as schizophrenia. Cesarean section (C-section) birth in both humans and rats is associated with increased mild respiratory distress and with reduced levels of circulating catecholamines at birth, which normally serve to prime the lungs and activate other processes promoting extrauterine adaptation. Using a rat model, it has been found that C-section birth can produce long-term changes in central nervous system (CNS) dopamine function, compared to vaginal birth. OBJECTIVE The present experiments tested if administering exogenous epinephrine at birth could reverse long-term changes in dopaminergic parameters in C-sectioned rats. RESULTS In the absence of stress at adulthood, no differences were observed between C-sectioned and vaginally born rats in levels of in vivo tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and dopamine transporter (DAT) binding. However, after repeated mild stress at adulthood, C-sectioned rats showed increased TH activity in nucleus accumbens and increased DAT in dorsal striatum and accumbens, compared to vaginally born controls. A single injection of epinephrine to C-sectioned rats just after birth prevented the increased TH activity and DAT binding seen in C-sectioned rats after repeated mild stress at adulthood. There was also a trend for epinephrine at birth to partially reverse an increase in amphetamine-induced locomotion seen in C-sectioned rats at adulthood. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that variations in levels of circulating catecholamines in the neonate at the time of birth could contribute to subtle long-term changes in CNS function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Boksa
- Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada.
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19
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Abstract
Animal models of schizophrenia may increase the understanding of the neurological abnormalities associated with the disorder and aid in the development of rational pharmacological treatments. Rather than attempting to model the entire syndrome of schizophrenia, a more biologically oriented approach to animal models has been to focus on specific symptoms of schizophrenia that are more objectively measured in the clinical population and more directly translatable to animals (e.g., observables or endophenotypes). This overview focuses on behavioral measures that have been investigated in rodent models of schizophrenia with varying degrees of predictive, etiological, and construct validity. Because of the severity of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and their resistance to current treatments, there is a need to develop animal models specific to the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. In light of this need, this overview discusses rodent models of cognition with relevance to the core cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan B Powell
- University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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20
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Roy K, Murtie JC, El-Khodor BF, Edgar N, Sardi SP, Hooks BM, Benoit-Marand M, Chen C, Moore H, O'Donnell P, Brunner D, Corfas G. Loss of erbB signaling in oligodendrocytes alters myelin and dopaminergic function, a potential mechanism for neuropsychiatric disorders. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:8131-6. [PMID: 17483467 PMCID: PMC1876583 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702157104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 244] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Several psychiatric disorders are associated with white matter defects, suggesting that oligodendrocyte (OL) abnormalities underlie some aspects of these diseases. Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) and its receptor, erbB4, are genetically linked with susceptibility to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In vitro studies suggest that NRG1-erbB signaling is important for OL development. To test whether erbB signaling contributes to psychiatric disorders by regulating the structure or function of OLs, we analyzed transgenic mice in which erbB signaling is blocked in OLs in vivo. Here we show that loss of erbB signaling leads to changes in OL number and morphology, reduced myelin thickness, and slower conduction velocity in CNS axons. Furthermore, these transgenic mice have increased levels of dopamine receptors and transporters and behavioral alterations consistent with neuropsychiatric disorders. These results indicate that defects in white matter can cause alterations in dopaminergic function and behavior relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Roy
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Joshua C. Murtie
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | | | | | - S. Pablo Sardi
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Bryan M. Hooks
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Marianne Benoit-Marand
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201; and
| | - Chinfei Chen
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Holly Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
| | - Patricio O'Donnell
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201; and
| | - Daniela Brunner
- PsychoGenics, Inc., Tarrytown, NY 10591
- Department of Biopsychology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032
| | - Gabriel Corfas
- *Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
- To whom correspondence should be addressed at:
Neurobiology Program, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail:
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21
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Seeman P, Schwarz J, Chen JF, Szechtman H, Perreault M, McKnight GS, Roder JC, Quirion R, Boksa P, Srivastava LK, Yanai K, Weinshenker D, Sumiyoshi T. Psychosis pathways converge via D2high dopamine receptors. Synapse 2006; 60:319-46. [PMID: 16786561 DOI: 10.1002/syn.20303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 233] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this review is to identify a target or biomarker of altered neurochemical sensitivity that is common to the many animal models of human psychoses associated with street drugs, brain injury, steroid use, birth injury, and gene alterations. Psychosis in humans can be caused by amphetamine, phencyclidine, steroids, ethanol, and brain lesions such as hippocampal, cortical, and entorhinal lesions. Strikingly, all of these drugs and lesions in rats lead to dopamine supersensitivity and increase the high-affinity states of dopamine D2 receptors, or D2High, by 200-400% in striata. Similar supersensitivity and D2High elevations occur in rats born by Caesarian section and in rats treated with corticosterone or antipsychotics such as reserpine, risperidone, haloperidol, olanzapine, quetiapine, and clozapine, with the latter two inducing elevated D2High states less than that caused by haloperidol or olanzapine. Mice born with gene knockouts of some possible schizophrenia susceptibility genes are dopamine supersensitive, and their striata reveal markedly elevated D2High states; suchgenes include dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, dopamine D4 receptors, G protein receptor kinase 6, tyrosine hydroxylase, catechol-O-methyltransferase, the trace amine-1 receptor, regulator of G protein signaling RGS9, and the RIIbeta form of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Striata from mice that are not dopamine supersensitive did not reveal elevated D2High states; these include mice with knockouts of adenosine A2A receptors, glycogen synthase kinase GSK3beta, metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, dopamine D1 or D3 receptors, histamine H1, H2, or H3 receptors, and rats treated with ketanserin or aD1 antagonist. The evidence suggests that there are multiple pathways that convergetoelevate the D2High state in brain regions and that this elevation may elicit psychosis. This proposition is supported by the dopamine supersensitivity that is a common feature of schizophrenia and that also occurs in many types of genetically altered, drug-altered, and lesion-altered animals. Dopamine supersensitivity, in turn, correlates with D2High states. The finding that all antipsychotics, traditional and recent ones, act on D2High dopamine receptors further supports the proposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Seeman
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, and Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A8.
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22
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Nawa H, Takei N. Recent progress in animal modeling of immune inflammatory processes in schizophrenia: implication of specific cytokines. Neurosci Res 2006; 56:2-13. [PMID: 16837094 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2006.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2006] [Revised: 06/01/2006] [Accepted: 06/05/2006] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiologic studies demonstrate significant environmental impact of maternal viral infection and obstetric complications on the risk of schizophrenia and indicate their detrimental influences on brain development in this disorder. Based on these findings, animal models for schizophrenia have been established using double stranded RNA, bacterial lipopolysaccharides, hippocampal lesion, or prenatal/perinatal ischemia. Key molecules regulating such immune/inflammatory reactions are cytokines, which are also involved in brain development, regulating dopaminergic and GABAergic differentiation, and synaptic maturation. Specific members of the cytokine family, such as interleukin-1, epidermal growth factor, and neuregulin-1, are induced after infection and brain injury; therefore, certain cytokines are postulated to have a central role in the neurodevelopmental defects of schizophrenia. Recently, to test this hypothesis, a variety of cytokines were administered to rodent pups. Cytokines administered in the periphery penetrated the immature blood-brain barrier and perturbed phenotypic neural development. Among the many cytokines examined, epidermal growth factor (or potentially other ErbB1 ligands) and interleukin-1 specifically induced the most severe and persistent behavioral and cognitive abnormalities, most of which were ameliorated by antipsychotics. These animal experiments illustrate that, during early development, these cytokine activities in the periphery perturbs normal brain development and impairs later psychobehavioral and/or cognitive traits. The neurodevelopmental and behavioral consequences of prenatal/perinatal cytokine activity are compared with those of other schizophrenia models and cytokine interactions with genes are also discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Nawa
- Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 1-757 Asahimachi, Niigata, Japan.
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23
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Venerosi A, Cutuli D, Chiarotti F, Calamandrei G. C-section birth per se or followed by acute global asphyxia altered emotional behaviour in neonate and adult rats. Behav Brain Res 2006; 168:56-63. [PMID: 16310869 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2005.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2005] [Revised: 10/14/2005] [Accepted: 10/18/2005] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Birth complications such as perinatal asphyxia are considered risk factors for later neurobehavioural disorders. Behavioural analysis of animal models may help to clarify the contribution of particular patterns of early hypoxia and their combination to psychiatric morbidity. Wistar rats underwent caesarean section (c-section) alone or c-section followed by asphyxia, the latter induced by placing pups still in uterus horns into a water bath at 37 degrees C for 20 min. Vaginally delivered pups were used as controls. Frequency of ultrasound emissions was analysed following isolation at a lower temperature than that of the home nest (23+/-0.5 degrees C) and reunion with their mother (3 min) on postnatal day (PND) 13 (maternal potentiation test). A sex-dependent effect of hypoxia was observed, with higher production of ultrasounds in hypoxic males. Caesarean-delivered pups produced significantly more ultrasounds than those vaginally delivered. At adolescence (PND 35) rats underwent a 25 min social interaction test with a conspecific of the same sex and age. Significant alterations in investigative behaviour (inclusive of: nose, anogenital, body sniffing, and following) were evident in caesarean-delivered rats of both sexes, but not in rats experiencing perinatal asphyxia. At adulthood, auditory, and context conditioned responses, analysed in a fear conditioning test, were not markedly affected either by c-section or c-section plus hypoxia. However, hypoxic rats emitted significantly more 22 kHz ultrasounds than c-section or vaginally delivered rats during the training session. In conclusion, differential effects appear to be brought about by c-section and by hypoxia mainly related to emotional/anxious responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldina Venerosi
- Section of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161 Rome, Italy
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24
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Juárez I, De La Cruz F, Zamudio S, Flores G. Cesarean plus anoxia at birth induces hyperresponsiveness to locomotor activity by dopamine D2 agonist. Synapse 2006; 58:236-42. [PMID: 16206184 DOI: 10.1002/syn.20203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Transient global anoxia after Cesarean birth in rats may produce alterations in the subcortical DA function and related behaviors. The reports only tested the behavioral changes induced by a general DA agonist, such as amphetamine or apomorphine, in adult rats. Here we investigated the role of perinatal anoxia on the locomotion induced by a specific dopamine (DA) agonist and its relation to the DA D1-like and D2-like receptors, measured by autoradiography at two different ages, prepubertal (35 days old, P35) and postpubertal (60 days old, P60). Cesarean birth with or without (C-only) an additional period of 10 min of the anoxia was done in Sprague-Dawley rats, and the effects of the DA D1-like and D2-like agonist and their receptors were studied at P35 and P60. In addition, a third group of animals born vaginally served as the control. The quantitative autoradiography study of the DA D1-like and D2-like receptors revealed an enhancement of the DA D1-like receptor levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and dorsolateral part of the caudate-putamen in the prepubertal C-only animals. The postpubertal C-only rats showed a decrease in the levels of DA D2-like receptors in the NAcc. However, quinpirole, a DA D2 agonist (0.125 and 0.25 mg/kg, s.c.), induced a dose-dependent increase of the locomotor activity in the animals born by Cesarean with anoxia at birth at both ages. Our results suggest that Cesarean with or without anoxia at birth may mediate differently the neurodevelopmental aspects of the dopaminergic system before and after puberty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Juárez
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México
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25
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Meyer U, Feldon J, Schedlowski M, Yee BK. Towards an immuno-precipitated neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2005; 29:913-47. [PMID: 15964075 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 323] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2004] [Revised: 10/19/2004] [Accepted: 10/19/2004] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have indicated an association between maternal bacterial and viral infections during pregnancy and the higher incidence of schizophrenia in the resultant offspring post-puberty. One hypothesis asserts that the reported epidemiological link is mediated by prenatal activation of the foetal immune system in response to the elevation of maternal cytokine level due to infection. Here, we report that pregnant mouse dams receiving a single exposure to the cytokine-releasing agent, polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid (PolyI:C; at 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg) on gestation day 9 produced offspring that subsequently exhibited multiple schizophrenia-related behavioural deficits in adulthood, in comparison to offspring from vehicle injected or non-injected control dams. The efficacy of the PolyI:C challenge to induce cytokine responses in naïve non-pregnant adult female mice and in foetal brain tissue when injected to pregnant mice were further ascertained in separate subjects: (i) a dose-dependent elevation of interleukin-10 was detected in the adult female mice at 1 and 6h post-injection, (ii) 12 h following prenatal PolyI:C challenge, the foetal levels of interleukin-1beta were elevated. The spectrum of abnormalities included impairments in exploratory behaviour, prepulse inhibition, latent inhibition, the US-pre-exposure effect, spatial working memory; and enhancement in the locomotor response to systemic amphetamine (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.) as well as in discrimination reversal learning. The neuropsychological parallels between prenatal PolyI:C treatment in mice and psychosis in humans, demonstrated here, leads us to conclude that prenatal PolyI:C treatment represents one of the most powerful environmental-developmental models of schizophrenia to date. The uniqueness of this model lies in its epidemiological and immunological relevance. It is, sui generis, ideally suited for the investigation of the neuropsychoimmunological mechanisms implicated in the developmental aetiology and disease processes of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urs Meyer
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, Schwerzenbach 8603, Switzerland
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26
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Venerosi A, Valanzano A, Cirulli F, Alleva E, Calamandrei G. Acute global anoxia during C-section birth affects dopamine-mediated behavioural responses and reactivity to stress. Behav Brain Res 2004; 154:155-64. [PMID: 15302121 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2004.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2003] [Revised: 02/03/2004] [Accepted: 02/04/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Perinatal asphyxia may induce major neurological deficits shortly after birth as well as neurological/behavioural disorders later in development. We used a rat model of global perinatal asphyxia to model acute intrauterine asphyxia around the time of birth. Caesarean section was performed in rats and their pups, still in uterus horns, were placed into a water bath at 37 degrees C for periods of 0, 10 or 20 min. Pups were then given to surrogate mothers, and examined for long-term behavioural effects of the perinatal asphyctic insult. Behavioural assessment included analysis of novelty seeking behaviour at adolescence, while spatial discrimination abilities, response to both an acute and a chronic stress, and the effects of the full D1 receptor agonist SKF 82958 on open field behaviour were assessed at adulthood. Overall, no marked abnormalities were found in the novelty seeking test, in the ability to discriminate spatial changes in the test environment and in physiological response to stress. However, adult rats subjected to severe perinatal asphyxia (20 min) showed lower activity level and lower stereotyped behaviour after the administration of SKF 82958 in an open field test. These results support the observations from human and animal studies that perinatal insult can produce long-term dysfunction of dopaminergic neurotransmission, and points to the need of more thorough examination of the potential effects of perinatal asphyxia on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Altogether, the present findings suggest that the present 20 min perinatal asphyxia model might serve for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with perinatal insults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldina Venerosi
- Section of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, Roma I-00161, Italy.
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27
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Fortier ME, Joober R, Luheshi GN, Boksa P. Maternal exposure to bacterial endotoxin during pregnancy enhances amphetamine-induced locomotion and startle responses in adult rat offspring. J Psychiatr Res 2004; 38:335-45. [PMID: 15003440 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2003.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2003] [Revised: 08/10/2003] [Accepted: 10/15/2003] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
An increased incidence of schizophrenia has been associated with several perinatal insults, most notably maternal infection during pregnancy and perinatal hypoxia. This study used a rat model to directly test if maternal exposure to bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) during pregnancy alters behaviors relevant to schizophrenia, in offspring at adulthood. The study also tested if postnatal anoxia interacted with gestational LPS exposure to affect behavior. At adulthood, offspring from dams administered LPS on days 18 and 19 of pregnancy showed significantly increased amphetamine-induced locomotion, compared to offspring from saline-treated dams. A period of anoxia on postnatal day 7 had no effect on amphetamine-induced locomotion and there was no interaction between effects of gestational LPS and postnatal anoxia on this behavior. Offspring from LPS-treated dams also showed enhanced acoustic startle responses as adults, compared to offspring from saline-treated dams. In offspring tested for pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle and for apomorphine modulation of PPI, no effects of either gestational LPS or of postnatal anoxia and no interactions between LPS and anoxia were observed. It is concluded that maternal LPS exposure during pregnancy in the rat may be a useful model to study mechanisms responsible for effects of maternal infection on behaviors relevant to schizophrenia, in offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Eve Fortier
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3
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Sandager-Nielsen K, Andersen MB, Sager TN, Werge T, Scheel-Krüger J. Effects of postnatal anoxia on striatal dopamine metabolism and prepulse inhibition in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2004; 77:767-74. [PMID: 15099922 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2004.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2003] [Revised: 01/16/2004] [Accepted: 01/27/2004] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Various evidence indicate that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Epidemiological observations point to oxygen deficiencies during delivery as one of the early risk factors for developing schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of postnatal anoxia in rats. Anoxia was experimentally induced by placing 9-day-old rat pups for 6 min in a chamber saturated with 100% nitrogen (N(2)). Exposure to anoxia on postnatal day (PND) 9 resulted in significantly reduced subcortical dopamine metabolism and turnover, as measured by striatal 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) concentrations. Furthermore, in the anoxic group only, striatal HVA concentrations were negatively correlated to prefrontal cortical N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels. Similar findings of distorted prefrontal-subcortical interactions have recently been reported in schizophrenic patients. There was no effect of postnatal anoxia on either baseline or d-amphetamine-induced deficit in the prepulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm in adulthood. Accordingly, although oxygen deficiency early in life has been discussed as vulnerability factor in developing schizophrenia, exposure to postnatal anoxia in the rat does not show clear-cut phenomenological similarities with the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Sandager-Nielsen
- Department of Behavioural Pharmacology, NeuroSearch A/S, Pederstrupvej 93, DK-2750 Ballerup, Denmark.
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Juárez I, Silva-Gómez AB, Peralta F, Flores G. Anoxia at birth induced hyperresponsiveness to amphetamine and stress in postpubertal rats. Brain Res 2004; 992:281-7. [PMID: 14625067 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2003.08.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Several evidences suggest that transient global anoxia after Caeraean section birth in rats produces behavioral changes related to dopaminergic transmission. However, all of the reports tested the behavioral changes in adult rats. Here we investigated the role of perinatal anoxia on behavioral paradigms related to dopamine (DA) such as novel environment, saline injection, D-amphetamine, apomorphine and stress-induced changes in locomotor activity at prepubertal and postpubertal ages. All these dimensions of behavior can be affected in schizophrenia. Caesarean section birth with or without an additional period of anoxia was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats and their behaviors were studied at P35 and P56, respectively. In addition, a third group of animals born vaginally served as control. No significant differences in saline injection and D-amphetamine-induced locomotion were observed when the three groups of rats at P35 were compared. However, stress-induced locomotor activity was significantly increased in the Caesarean birth plus anoxia at P35, while after puberty (at P56), saline injection, D-amphetamine and stress-induced locomotion were significantly enhanced in the Caesarean birth plus anoxia compared to its control groups. The data suggests that anoxia at birth mediates differently the functional development and maturation of DA behaviors in adult rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Juárez
- Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur 6301, CP 72570, Puebla, Mexico
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30
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Calamandrei G, Venerosi AP, Valanzano A, de Berardinis MA, Greco A, Puopolo M, Minghetti L. Increased brain levels of F2-isoprostane are an early marker of behavioral sequels in a rat model of global perinatal asphyxia. Pediatr Res 2004; 55:85-92. [PMID: 14561786 DOI: 10.1203/01.pdr.0000099774.17723.d4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Perinatal asphyxia is a major cause of immediate and postponed brain damage in the newborn. It may be responsible for several delayed neurologic disorders and, in this respect, early markers of brain injury would be relevant for therapeutic intervention as well as for identification of infants at high risk for developmental disabilities. Biochemical measurements (brain F2-isoprostane levels) and behavioral tests (ultrasonic vocalization pattern on postnatal days (pnd) 5, 8, and 11, spontaneous motor behaviors on pnd 7 and 12, and homing response on pnd 10) were performed in a rat model of global perinatal asphyxia in the immature neonate. Caesarean section was performed in rats and the pups, still in uterus horns, were placed into a water bath at 37 degrees C for either 10 or 20 min. Caesarean delivered pups were used as controls. Pups experiencing severe (20 min), in contrast to those undergoing the 10 min, asphyctic insult presented with detectable abnormalities including early (two hours after the insult) increase in brain F2-isoprostane (a direct marker of oxidative injury) without detectable changes in PGE2, COX-2 and iNOS levels, and delayed physical (reduced weight gain on pnd 5 and thereafter) and behavioral disturbances (alterations in ultrasound emission on pnd 11 and spontaneous motricity levels mainly). These findings suggest that increased brain F2-isoprostane levels shortly after the asphyctic insult are predictive of delayed behavioral disturbances in the newborn rat. The present 20-min asphyxia model might serve for the assessment of preventive and curative strategies to treat neurologic/behavioral disturbances associated with perinatal asphyxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Calamandrei
- Section of Comparative Psychology, Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161 Roma, Italy.
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31
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El-Khodor BF, Flores G, Srivastava LK, Boksa P. Effects of birth insult and stress at adulthood on excitatory amino acid receptors in adult rat brain. Synapse 2004; 54:138-46. [PMID: 15452866 DOI: 10.1002/syn.20073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Birth complications involving fetal hypoxia and stress at adulthood, which are risk factors for schizophrenia, can produce alterations in subcortical dopamine (DA) function in rat models. As adults, rats born either by cesarean section (C-section) or by C-section with added global anoxia show increased stress-induced DA release from nucleus accumbens and increased amphetamine-induced locomotion, compared to vaginally born controls. Moreover, stress at adulthood interacts with these birth insults to modulate DA receptor and transporter levels. Glutamatergic transmission at the level of the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus are known to modulate subcortical DA activity. Thus, altered excitatory amino acid (EAA) function might contribute to the dopaminergic changes observed in rats after birth insult and/or stress at adulthood. To test this possibility, rats born vaginally, by C-section, or by C-section with 15 min of anoxia, were either repeatedly stressed (15 min of tail pinch daily for 5 days) at adulthood or received no stress, and levels of EAA receptor binding were measured by ligand autoradiography in limbic brain regions. As adults, rats born by C-section showed increases in AMPA receptor binding in nucleus accumbens shell, NMDA receptor binding in cingulate cortex, and kainate receptor binding in the hippocampal CA1 region. Anoxic rats showed increases in CA1 kainate receptor and anterior olfactory NMDA receptor binding. Stress at adulthood increased AMPA receptor binding in several regions of prefrontal cortex and reduced NMDA receptor binding in infralimbic cortex and dentate gyrus, across all birth groups. Two instances of interactions between birth insult and stress at adulthood were observed. Stress reduced cingulate cortex NMDA receptor binding and increased olfactory tubercle kainate receptor binding only in C-sectioned animals, but not in controls. The possibility that the observed EAA receptor changes contribute to dopaminergic dysfunction in these animal models is discussed, in light of known glutamate-DA interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bassem F El-Khodor
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Center, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3
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Cirulli F, Bonsignore LT, Venerosi A, Valanzano A, Chiarotti F, Alleva E. Long-term effects of acute perinatal asphyxia on rat maternal behavior. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2003; 25:571-8. [PMID: 12972070 DOI: 10.1016/s0892-0362(03)00035-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In this study we used a rat model of graded perinatal asphyxia to study the long-term consequences of this manipulation on rat maternal behavior at adulthood. Rats were delivered by cesarean (C) section and the pups, still in the uterus horns, were placed into a water bath at 37 degrees C for periods of 0 (controls) or 20 min (asphyxia). Subsequently, female pups were given to surrogate mothers, weaned at 21 days postnatally and then left undisturbed until adulthood, when they were mated. Once they gave birth, on postnatal days (Pnds) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 they were observed in the home cage five times per day to assess their maternal behavior in an undisturbed condition. In addition, maternal behavior was observed for 30 min in a novel cage on Pnds 4 and 8. Perinatal asphyxia affected maternal behavior in the home cage, hypoxic females being more often found outside the nest area and performing more often behaviors such as self-grooming. Principal component analysis confirmed a more 'active' behavioral profile for hypoxic females. Hypoxic mothers were characterized by a longer latency to perform on-nest behavior and by a reduced frequency of pup retrieval and licking in the novel cage. No significant differences in corticosterone secretion in response to an acute stressor were found in dams belonging to the different treatments or in the body weights of the offspring. These results are suggestive of an arousal deficit due to perinatal hypoxia and point to the dopaminergic system as a potential neurochemical target for an early hypoxic insult.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Cirulli
- Section of Behavioral Pathophysiology, Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia di Organo e di Sistema, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161, Rome, Italy.
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El-Khodor BF, Boksa P. Effects of birth insult and stress at adulthood on in vivo tyrosine hydroxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase activities in rat brain. Synapse 2003; 47:87-9. [PMID: 12422377 DOI: 10.1002/syn.10147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bassem F El-Khodor
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Boksa P, El-Khodor BF. Birth insult interacts with stress at adulthood to alter dopaminergic function in animal models: possible implications for schizophrenia and other disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2003; 27:91-101. [PMID: 12732226 DOI: 10.1016/s0149-7634(03)00012-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Altered subcortical dopaminergic activity is thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of several disorders including schizophrenia, substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Epidemiological studies have implicated perinatal insults, particularly obstetric complications involving fetal or neonatal hypoxia, as etiological risk factors for schizophrenia. This suggests the possibility that perinatal hypoxia might have lasting effects on dopaminergic function. In animal models, dopaminergic systems appears to be particularly vulnerable to a wide range of perinatal insults, resulting in persistent alterations in function of mesolimbic and mesostriatal pathways. This review summarizes recent work characterizing long-term changes in dopaminergic function and biochemistry in models of Caesarean section (C-section) birth and of C-section birth with added global anoxia in the rat and guinea pig. C-section birth and C-section with anoxia appear to be two distinct hypoxic birth insults, with somewhat differing patterns of lasting effects on dopamine systems. In addition, birth insult alters the manner in which dopaminergic function is regulated by stress at adulthood. The possible relevance of these finding to effects of human birth procedures is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Boksa
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Center, 6875 LaSalle Blvd., Montreal, Que., Canada H4H 1R3.
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Flores C, Stewart J, Salmaso N, Zhang Y, Boksa P. Astrocytic basic fibroblast growth factor expression in dopaminergic regions after perinatal anoxia. Biol Psychiatry 2002; 52:362-70. [PMID: 12208644 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01363-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Perinatal anoxia leads to persistent behavioral and neurochemical alterations suggestive of sensitized dopaminergic function. Because astrocytic basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) activity in the midbrain dopaminergic cell body region is required for the development of enduring changes in dopaminergic function induced by stimulant drugs, we investigated the effects of intrauterine anoxia on astrocytic bFGF expression in dopaminergic regions at 2 weeks of age and after a stress manipulation in adults. METHODS We examined bFGF immunoreactivity in dopaminergic regions of young and adult rats born by cesarean section, cesarean section + 15 min of intrauterine anoxia, or vaginally. bFGF immunoreactivity was also assessed before and after tail-pinch stress in adult animals exposed to the same perinatal interventions. RESULTS Perinatal anoxia produced persistent decreases in basal bFGF immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), but enhanced the effect of stress on VTA bFGF immunoreactivity. CONCLUSIONS Perinatal anoxia has enduring effects on VTA bFGF immunoreactivity and influences adult neuroadaptations to stress. The mechanisms whereby perinatal anoxia alters dopaminergic function may be similar to those responsible for the development of sensitization to stimulant drugs and may involve bFGF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Flores
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Powell SB, Geyer MA. Developmental markers of psychiatric disorders as identified by sensorimotor gating. Neurotox Res 2002; 4:489-502. [PMID: 12754162 DOI: 10.1080/10298420290030578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating that is amenable to cross-species comparisons. Deficits in PPI have been repeatedly reported in patients with schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders characterized by abnormalities in sensory, cognitive, or motor gating. Because some forms of schizophrenia appear to be attributable to early developmental perturbations, many animal studies have examined the influences of various developmental manipulations on PPI in adulthood. For example, isolation rearing of rats from weaning into adulthood leads to a reorganization of brain circuitry including changes in monoamine systems that modulate PPI. Isolation rearing of rats leads to deficits in PPI that are not evident pre-puberty, are enduring in adulthood, and are developmentally specific, in that isolation of adult rats does not affect PPI. The PPI deficits in isolation-reared rats are reversed by typical or atypical antipsychotic treatments, including raclopride, haloperidol, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, and even the putative antipsychotic M100907. In contrast, other psychoactive drugs, such as chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, prazosin, or amitriptyline, do not normalize PPI in isolation-reared rats. Hence, the isolation-rearing model may help identify novel antipsychotics. Thus, social isolation rearing of rats provides a developmentally specific, non-pharmacological manipulation that leads to deficits in sensorimotor gating that mimic those observed in schizophrenia patients and are responsive to antipsychotic medications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan B. Powell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0804, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
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Boksa P, Zhang Y, Bestawros A. Dopamine D1 receptor changes due to caesarean section birth: effects of anesthesia, developmental time course, and functional consequences. Exp Neurol 2002; 175:388-97. [PMID: 12061868 DOI: 10.1006/exnr.2002.7896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
There is an epidemiological association between increased obstetric complications and disorders involving CNS dopamine dysregulation, such as schizophrenia. In light of this, a rat model of global hypoxia during Caesarean section (C-section) birth has been used to directly test if birth complications can produce long-term dopaminergic dysregulation. Previous studies have shown that, compared to vaginal birth, C-section birth alone (without additional global hypoxia) is sufficient to increase D1-like receptor binding in rat brain at adulthood. The current study examined (1) the developmental time course of changes in D1-like or D2-like receptors following C-section birth; (2) whether C-section birth from isoflurane-anesthetized dams also results in altered D1-like receptor levels, as does C-section from decapitated dams; and (3) behavioral responses to D1 and D2 agonists in rats born vaginally compared to C-section. Increases in nucleus accumbens D1-like receptor binding due to C-section birth were observed only at adulthood (3 months) but not prepubertally (1 month or 2 weeks). D2-like receptor binding levels were unaffected by C-section birth across the three developmental time points. Compared to vaginal birth, D1-like receptors were increased following C-section birth from isoflurane-anesthetized dams, as well as from decapitated dams. Adult rats that had been born by C-section showed enhanced D1 potentiation of D2-induced locomotor behavior. These studies indicate that C-section birth, from either anesthetized or unanesthetized dams, results in postpubertal increases in D1-like receptor binding and enhanced functional responses to D1 receptor activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Boksa
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Verdun, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada.
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El-Khodor BF, Boksa P. Birth insult and stress interact to alter dopamine transporter binding in rat brain. Neuroreport 2002; 13:201-6. [PMID: 11893910 DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200202110-00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated whether mild birth complications (C-section birth, C-section + 15 min global anoxia) interact with stress at adulthood to modulate levels of [3H]WIN 35428 binding to dopamine transporters (DAT) in rat brain. Without stress, adult C-sectioned rats showed increased DAT binding in the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens core compared to vaginal birth, while anoxic rats showed increased DAT binding in cingulate and infralimbic cortices. Stress at adulthood had differential effects on DAT binding in the three birth groups. Thus, after repeated tail pinch stress at adulthood, DAT binding was significantly lower in the nucleus accumbens in both the C-section group and the anoxic group, compared to vaginal birth. It is concluded that a history of birth complications can alter the manner in which DAT is regulated by stress in the adult rat brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bassem F El-Khodor
- Departments of Psychiatry and of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Verdun, Quebec, Canada
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Abstract
Two tryptophan metabolites, the anti-excitotoxic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist kynurenic acid (KYNA) and the free radical generator 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK), have been proposed to influence neuronal viability in the mammalian brain. In rats, the brain content of both KYNA and 3-HK decreases immediately after birth, possibly to ensure normal postnatal functioning of NMDA receptors. Because complications of birth asphyxia have been suggested to be associated with anomalous NMDA receptor function, we examined the acute effects of an asphyctic insult on the brain levels of KYNA and 3-HK in neonatal rats. Asphyxia was induced in animals delivered by cesarean section on the last day of gestation, using the procedure introduced by Bjelke et al. (Brain Res 543: 1-9, 1991). KYNA and 3-HK levels were determined in the brain at seven time points between 10 min and 24 h after asphyxia. Up to 6 h, asphyxia caused 160-267% increases in KYNA levels. In the same tissues, 3-HK levels decreased (significantly at five of the seven time points), demonstrating an asphyxia-induced shift in kynurenine pathway metabolism toward the neuroprotectant KYNA. This shift might constitute the brain's attempt to counter the ill effects of birth asphyxia. Furthermore, the transient increase in the brain KYNA/3-HK ratio in these animals might be causally related to the well-documented detrimental long-term effects of asphyxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Ceresoli-Borroni
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, U.S.A
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Van de Berg WD, Blokland A, Cuello AC, Schmitz C, Vreuls W, Steinbusch HW, Blanco CE. Perinatal asphyxia results in changes in presynaptic bouton number in striatum and cerebral cortex-a stereological and behavioral analysis. J Chem Neuroanat 2000; 20:71-82. [PMID: 11074345 DOI: 10.1016/s0891-0618(00)00078-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in cognitive function have been related to quantitative changes in synaptic population, particularly in the cerebral cortex. Here, we used an established model of perinatal asphyxia that induces morphological changes, i.e. neuron loss in the cerebral cortex and striatum, as well as behavioural deficits. We hypothesized that perinatal asphyxia may lead to a neurodegenerative process resulting in cognitive impairment and altered presynaptic bouton numbers in adult rats. We studied cognitive performance at 18 months and presynaptic bouton numbers at 22 months following perinatal asphyxia. Data of the spatial Morris water escape task did not reveal clear memory or learning deficits in aged asphyctic rats compared to aged control rats. However, a memory impairment in aged rats versus young rats was observed, which was more pronounced in asphyctic rats. We found an increase in presynaptic bouton density in the parietal cortex, whereas no changes were found in striatum and frontal cortex in asphyctic rats. An increase of striatal volume was observed in asphyctic rats, leading to an increase in presynaptic bouton numbers in this area. These findings stress the issue that volume measurements have to be taken into account when determining presynaptic bouton density. Furthermore, perinatal asphyxia led to region-specific changes in presynaptic bouton numbers and it worsened the age-related cognitive impairment. These results suggest that perinatal asphyxia induced neuronal loss, which is compensated for by an increase in presynaptic bouton numbers.
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Affiliation(s)
- W D Van de Berg
- Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University, P. Debyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, 6212 AZ, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
A number of studies have shown that children born by cesarean section have lower blood pressure during the neonatal period. The aim of this study was to investigate whether mode of delivery influenced childhood blood pressure: at age 7.5 to 8 y in a cohort of 756 children born preterm, at 7 to 9 y in a pilot study of 166 children born at term in the United Kingdom, and in a cohort of 650 Tasmanian children born at term. In the preterm cohort, systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in children born by cesarean section rather than delivered vaginally (99.3+/-10.0 versus 101.4+/-9.4 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, -0.69 to -3.46; p = 0.003), with a significant trend to having a higher pressure in those born by breech versus forceps versus spontaneous vaginal delivery versus cesarean section. These findings were not replicated in the term cohorts. This raises the hypothesis that there is a sensitive period for programming later blood pressure by factors associated with mode of delivery and that this period does not extend to full-term.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Morley
- Menzies Centre for Population Health Research, Tasmania, Australia
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Berger N, Vaillancourt C, Boksa P. Genetic factors modulate effects of C-section birth on dopaminergic function in the rat. Neuroreport 2000; 11:639-43. [PMID: 10718328 DOI: 10.1097/00001756-200002280-00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Genetic predisposition and environmental factors such as perinatal complications are believed to contribute to the etiology of schizophrenia, a disorder involving enhanced CNS dopaminergic activity. This study used a rat model to test whether genetic factors and a minor birth complication, i.e. Caesarean section (C-section) birth, interact in producing longterm effects on dopamine-mediated behavior. For this, we compared the effects of vaginal and C-section birth on amphetamine (AMPT)-induced locomotor activity in strains of rats differing in genetic composition. In Sprague-Dawley rats, C-section birth increased AMPT-induced locomotion compared with vaginal birth. By contrast in Lewis rats, C-section birth reduced AMPT-induced locomotion compared with vaginal birth. In Fischer rats, AMPT-induced locomotion was increased by C-section under maternal anesthesia but decreased by C-section after maternal decapitation, compared with vaginal birth. It is concluded that a minor birth complication like C-section can have differing long-term effects on dopaminergic function in the rat, depending on the genetic composition of the individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Berger
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Verdun, Quebec, Canada
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El-Khodor BF, Boksa P. Transient birth hypoxia increases behavioral responses to repeated stress in the adult rat. Behav Brain Res 2000; 107:171-5. [PMID: 10628741 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4328(99)00119-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to test if two birth complications, namely, transient global hypoxia during Caesarean section (C-section) birth or C-section birth per se, produce long-term changes in behavioral responses to repeated stress. Adult rats, that had been born vaginally, by C-section or by C-section with 10 min of global anoxia, were stressed for 8 days (15 min tail pinch daily) followed by challenge with the same stressor 2 weeks later. The main finding is that adult rats born by C-section + 10 min of anoxia showed enhanced locomotor activity on days 5 and 6 of the repeated stress period and at stress challenge 2 weeks later, compared to animals born vaginally or by C-section. It is concluded that transient global birth hypoxia can render the adult rat behaviorally hyper-responsive to repeated stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- B F El-Khodor
- Department of Psychiatry and of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Qué, Canada
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Vaillancourt C, Berger N, Boksa P. Effects of vaginal birth versus caesarean section birth with general anesthesia on blood gases and brain energy metabolism in neonatal rats. Exp Neurol 1999; 160:142-50. [PMID: 10630199 DOI: 10.1006/exnr.1999.7201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Using a rat model, several laboratories have demonstrated long-term effects of Caesarean section (C-section) birth or of global hypoxia during C-section birth on a variety of central nervous system (CNS) parameters. These studies used C-section delivery from rapidly decapitated dams, to avoid confounding anesthetic effects, or from dams anesthetized with halothane or ether under unspecified conditions. Systemic oxygenation or cerebral energy metabolites in the pups at birth have not been systematically measured in this model. To develop and characterize a C-section model with relevance to the human situation, the present study measured arterial/venous blood gases and pH and brain ATP and lactate, a widely accepted measure of CNS hypoxia, in pups born either vaginally, by C-section from decapitated dams, or by C-section from dams anesthetized with nitrous oxide (N2O) and increasing concentrations of isoflurane under well-defined conditions. Immediately after birth, pups born vaginally, by C-section with maternal decapitation, or by C-section with 2.5% isoflurane showed no group differences in systemic pO2 or pH or brain ATP levels, but pCO2 was elevated in the C-section/2.5% isoflurane group. Pups born by C-section with 3.0, 3.5, or 4.0% isoflurane, showed progressive reductions in blood pO2 and increases in pCO2 and blood pH was reduced with 3.5% isoflurane. Relative to vaginal birth, brain lactate levels were unchanged in pups born by C-section with any concentration (2.5-4.0%) of isoflurane, but reduced in pups born by C-section from decapitated dams. At 1 h (and 4 h) after birth, in both vaginally born controls and the 2.5% isoflurane group, brain lactate fell while blood pO2 and brain ATP remained stable. In the 3.0, 3.5, or 4.0% isoflurane groups, blood gases and pH and brain lactate also normalized to control values. In conclusion, rat neonates show minimal signs of systemic or CNS hypoxia following C-section birth under 2.5% isoflurane with N2O. However, there is a rather narrow window of isoflurane concentrations which produces effective maternal anesthesia without producing respiratory compromise in the neonate. Thus the results indicate that the level of maternal anesthesia employed is an important factor influencing neonatal systemic and CNS oxygenation during C-section birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Vaillancourt
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Center, Verdun, Quebec, Canada
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Siegmann AE. A classification of sociomedical health indicators: perspectives for health administrators and health planners. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH SERVICES : PLANNING, ADMINISTRATION, EVALUATION 1976; 6:521-38. [PMID: 955757 PMCID: PMC3004532 DOI: 10.2190/my7u-4bgm-9qfy-n0tn] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The conceptualization and operationalization of measures of health status are considered. Health indicators are conceived as a subset of social indicators, and therefore, as any social indicator, they are viewed as derivative from social issues. The interrelationships of different frames of reference for defining and measuring health that have accompained three distinct health problem patterns in the United States are viewed from a developmental perspective. Mortality and morbidity rates, the traditional health indicators, by themselves no longer serve to assess health status in developed nations. Their deficiencies as indicators serve as background for a classification schema for sociomedical health status indicators that relates health definition frames of reference, measures of health status, and health problems. The role of a group of health indicators-sociomedical heath indicators-in the current formulation of health status measures is assessed.
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