Use of TAI-FISH to visualize neural ensembles activated by multiple stimuli

Amplified and Specific Staining of Protein Dimerization on Cell Membrane Catalyzed by Responsively Installed DNA Nanomachines for Cancer Diagnosis

In situ staining of protein dimerization on cell membrane has an important significance in accurate diagnosis during perioperative period, yet facile integration of specific recognition function and local signal conversion/amplification abilities on membrane surface remains a great challenge. Herein, a two-stage catalytic strategy is developed by installing DNA nanomachines and employing. Specifically, dual-aptamer-assisted DNA scaffold perform a "bispecific recognition-then-computing" operation and the output signal initiate a membrane-anchored biocatalysis for self-assembly of DNA catalytic converters, that is, G-quadruplex nanowire/hemin DNAzyme. Then, localized-deposition of chromogenic polydopamine is chemically catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme and guided by supramolecular interactions between conjugate rigid plane of G-tetrad and polydopamine oligomer. The catalytic products exhibit nanofiber morphology with a diameter of 80-120 nm and a length of 1-10 µm, and one-to-one localize on DNA scaffold for amplified and specific staining of protein dimers. The bispecific staining leads to a higher (≈3.4-fold) signal intensity than traditional immunohistochemistry, which is beneficial for direct visualization. Moreover, an efficient discrimination ability of the bispecific staining strategy is observed in co-culture model staining. This study provides a novel catalytic method for controlling deposition of chromogens and paves a new avenue to sensitively stain of protein-protein interactions in disease diagnosis.

Rethinking c-Fos for understanding drug action in the brain

Understanding the mechanisms of drug action in the brain, from the genetic to the neural circuit level, is crucial for the development of new agents that act upon the central nervous system. Determining the brain regions and neurons affected by a drug is essential for revealing its mechanism of action in the brain. c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, has been widely used to detect neurons activated by stimuli with high spatial resolution. In this review, the use of c-Fos for the visualization and manipulation of activated neurons is introduced. I also explain that a higher temporal resolution can be achieved by changing the staining method for visualization of c-Fos. Moreover, a new method that allows labeling and manipulating commonly activated neurons using two different stimuli is proposed.

Dorsal CA3 overactivation mediates witnessing stress-induced recognition memory deficits in adolescent male mice

Witnessing violent or traumatic events is common during childhood and adolescence and could cause detrimental effects such as increased risks of psychiatric disorders. This stressor could be modeled in adolescent laboratory animals using the chronic witnessing social defeat (CWSD) paradigm, but the behavioral consequences of CWSD in adolescent animals remain to be validated for cognitive, anxiety-like, and depression-like behaviors and, more importantly, the underlying neural mechanisms remain to be uncovered. In this study, we first established the CWSD model in adolescent male mice and found that CWSD impaired cognitive function and increased anxiety levels and that these behavioral deficits persisted into adulthood. Based on the dorsal-ventral functional division in hippocampus, we employed immediate early gene c-fos immunostaining after behavioral tasks and found that CWSD-induced cognition deficits were associated with dorsal CA3 overactivation and anxiety-like behaviors were associated with ventral CA3 activity reduction. Indeed, chemogenetic activation and inhibition of dorsal CA3 neurons mimicked and reversed CWSD-induced recognition memory deficits (not anxiety-like behaviors), respectively, whereas both inhibition and activation of ventral CA3 neurons increased anxiety-like behaviors in adolescent mice. Finally, chronic administration of vortioxetine (a novel multimodal antidepressant) successfully restored the overactivation of dorsal CA3 neurons and the cognitive deficits in CWSD mice. Together, our findings suggest that dorsal CA3 overactivation mediates CWSD-induced recognition memory deficits in adolescent male mice, shedding light on the pathophysiology of adolescent CWSD-induced adverse effects and providing preclinical evidence for early treatment of stress-induced cognitive deficits.

GluN2A mediates ketamine-induced rapid antidepressant-like responses

Ketamine was thought to induce rapid antidepressant responses by inhibiting GluN2B-containing N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs), which presents a promising opportunity to develop better antidepressants. However, adverse side effects limit the broader application of ketamine and GluN2B inhibitors are yet to be approved for clinical use. It is unclear whether ketamine acts solely through GluN2B-dependent mechanisms. The present study reports that the loss of another major NMDAR subunit, GluN2A, in adult mouse brains elicits robust antidepressant-like responses with limited impact on the behaviors that mimic the psychomimetic effects of ketamine. The antidepressant-like behavioral effects of broad NMDAR channel blockers, such as ketamine and MK-801 (dizocilpine), were mediated by the suppression of GluN2A, but not by the inhibition of GluN2B. Moreover, treatment with ketamine or MK-801 rapidly increased the intrinsic excitability of hippocampal principal neurons through GluN2A, but not GluN2B. Together, these findings indicate that GluN2A mediates ketamine-triggered rapid antidepressant-like responses.

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Pain Chronicity

Chronic pain affects a significant amount of the population and is responsible for vast worldwide socio-economic costs [...].

Quanty-cFOS, a Novel ImageJ/Fiji Algorithm for Automated Counting of Immunoreactive Cells in Tissue Sections

Analysis of neural encoding and plasticity processes frequently relies on studying spatial patterns of activity-induced immediate early genes' expression, such as c-fos. Quantitatively analyzing the numbers of cells expressing the Fos protein or c-fos mRNA is a major challenge owing to large human bias, subjectivity and variability in baseline and activity-induced expression. Here, we describe a novel open-source ImageJ/Fiji tool, called 'Quanty-cFOS', with an easy-to-use, streamlined pipeline for the automated or semi-automated counting of cells positive for the Fos protein and/or c-fos mRNA on images derived from tissue sections. The algorithms compute the intensity cutoff for positive cells on a user-specified number of images and apply this on all the images to process. This allows for the overcoming of variations in the data and the deriving of cell counts registered to specific brain areas in a highly time-efficient and reliable manner. We validated the tool using data from brain sections in response to somatosensory stimuli in a user-interactive manner. Here, we demonstrate the application of the tool in a step-by-step manner, with video tutorials, making it easy for novice users to implement. Quanty-cFOS facilitates a rapid, accurate and unbiased spatial mapping of neural activity and can also be easily extended to count other types of labelled cells.

Pre-Synaptic GABAA in NaV1.8+ Primary Afferents Is Required for the Development of Punctate but Not Dynamic Mechanical Allodynia following CFA Inflammation

Hypersensitivity to mechanical stimuli is a cardinal symptom of neuropathic and inflammatory pain. A reduction in spinal inhibition is generally considered a causal factor in the development of mechanical hypersensitivity after injury. However, the extent to which presynaptic inhibition contributes to altered spinal inhibition is less well established. Here, we used conditional deletion of GABA_A in NaV1.8-positive sensory neurons (Scn10a^Cre;Gabrb3^fl/fl) to manipulate selectively presynaptic GABAergic inhibition. Behavioral testing showed that the development of inflammatory punctate allodynia was mitigated in mice lacking pre-synaptic GABA_A. Dorsal horn cellular circuits were visualized in single slices using stimulus-tractable dual-labelling of c-fos mRNA for punctate and the cognate c-Fos protein for dynamic mechanical stimulation. This revealed a substantial reduction in the number of cells activated by punctate stimulation in mice lacking presynaptic GABA_A and an approximate 50% overlap of the punctate with the dynamic circuit, the relative percentage of which did not change following inflammation. The reduction in dorsal horn cells activated by punctate stimuli was equally prevalent in parvalbumin- and calretinin-positive cells and across all laminae I–V, indicating a generalized reduction in spinal input. In peripheral DRG neurons, inflammation following complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) led to an increase in axonal excitability responses to GABA, suggesting that presynaptic GABA effects in NaV1.8⁺ afferents switch from inhibition to excitation after CFA. In the days after inflammation, presynaptic GABA_A in NaV1.8⁺ nociceptors constitutes an “open gate” pathway allowing mechanoreceptors responding to punctate mechanical stimulation access to nociceptive dorsal horn circuits.

Neuronal activity associated with cocaine preference: Effects of differential cocaine intake

Differences in overall cocaine intake can directly affect neuroadaptations, and this relationship can make it difficult to interpret neurobiological changes seen in drug-choice studies, since drug intake varies between subjects. Herein, a choice procedure that controls for cocaine intake was utilized to explore if neuronal activity, measured as cFos expression in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), was reflective of preference. Results demonstrated that cFos expression, in both the OFC and NAc, was independent of cocaine preference when cocaine intake was kept constant across individuals. However, when cocaine intake was systematically varied, the expression of cFos associated with cocaine preference was related to overall cocaine intake in the OFC, but not the NAc. Altogether, these results demonstrate that cocaine intake during choice can affect neurobiological outcome measures; thus, the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying cocaine preference may be better isolated when controlling for cocaine frequency and intake. In all, some caution is warranted when interpreting results from choice studies evaluating the neurobehavioral mechanisms that underlie drug preference when drug frequency and intake are uncontrolled, and future research is needed to determine the role of drug frequency and intake on neurobiological measures associated with drug choice.

Subregion-specific rules govern the distribution of neuronal immediate-early gene induction

The induction of immediate-early gene (IEG) expression in brain nuclei in response to an experience is necessary for the formation of long-term memories. Additionally, the rapid dynamics of IEG induction and decay motivates the common use of IEG expression as markers for identification of neuronal assemblies ("ensembles") encoding recent experience. However, major gaps remain in understanding the rules governing the distribution of IEGs within neuronal assemblies. Thus, the extent of correlation between coexpressed IEGs, the cell specificity of IEG expression, and the spatial distribution of IEG expression have not been comprehensively studied. To address these gaps, we utilized quantitative multiplexed single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) and measured the expression of IEGs (Arc, Egr2, and Nr4a1) within spiny projection neurons (SPNs) in the dorsal striatum of mice following acute exposure to cocaine. Exploring the relevance of our observations to other brain structures and stimuli, we also analyzed data from a study of single-cell RNA sequencing of mouse cortical neurons. We found that while IEG expression is graded, the expression of multiple IEGs is tightly correlated at the level of individual neurons. Interestingly, we observed that region-specific rules govern the induction of IEGs in SPN subtypes within striatal subdomains. We further observed that IEG-expressing assemblies form spatially defined clusters within which the extent of IEG expression correlates with cluster size. Together, our results suggest the existence of IEG-expressing neuronal "superensembles," which are associated in spatial clusters and characterized by coherent and robust expression of multiple IEGs.

Imaging and analysis of genetically encoded calcium indicators linking neural circuits and behaviors

Confirming the direct link between neural circuit activity and animal behavior has been a principal aim of neuroscience. The genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI), which binds to calcium ions and emits fluorescence visualizing intracellular calcium concentration, enables detection of in vivo neuronal firing activity. Various GECIs have been developed and can be chosen for diverse purposes. These GECI-based signals can be acquired by several tools including two-photon microscopy and microendoscopy for precise or wide imaging at cellular to synaptic levels. In addition, the images from GECI signals can be analyzed with open source codes including constrained non-negative matrix factorization for endoscopy data (CNMF_E) and miniscope 1-photon-based calcium imaging signal extraction pipeline (MIN1PIPE), and considering parameters of the imaged brain regions (e.g., diameter or shape of soma or the resolution of recorded images), the real-time activity of each cell can be acquired and linked with animal behaviors. As a result, GECI signal analysis can be a powerful tool for revealing the functions of neuronal circuits related to specific behaviors.

Oral Delivered Dexmedetomidine Promotes and Consolidates Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep via Sleep-Wake Regulation Systems in Mice

Dexmedetomidine, a highly selective α2-adrenergic agonist, is widely used in clinical anesthesia and ICU sedation. Recent studies have found that dexmedetomidine-induced sedation resembles the recovery sleep that follows sleep deprivation, but whether orally delivered dexmedetomidine can be a candidate for the treatment of insomnia remains unclear. In this study, we estimated the sedative effects of orally delivered dexmedetomidine by spontaneous locomotor activity (LMA), and then evaluated the hypnotic effects of dexmedetomidine on sleep–wake profiles during the dark and light phase using electroencephalography/electromyogram (EEG/EMG), respectively. Using c-Fos staining, we explored the effects of dexmedetomidine on the cerebral cortex and the sub-cortical sleep–wake regulation systems. The results showed that orally delivered dexmedetomidine at 2 h into the dark cycle reduced LMA and wakefulness in a dose-dependent manner, which was consistent with the increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep). However, dexmedetomidine also induced a rebound in LMA, wake and rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) in the later stage. In addition, orally delivered dexmedetomidine 100 μg/kg at 2 h into the light cycle shortened the latency to NREM sleep and increased the duration of NREM sleep for 6 h, while decreased REM sleep for 6 h. Sleep architecture analysis showed that dexmedetomidine stabilized the sleep structure during the light phase by decreasing sleep–wake transition and increasing long-term NREM sleep (durations of 1024–2024 s and >2024 s) while reducing short-term wakefulness (duration of 4–16 s). Unlike the classic hypnotic diazepam, dexmedetomidine also increased the delta power in the EEG spectra of NREM sleep, especially at the frequency of 1.75–3.25 Hz, while ranges of 0.5–1.0 Hz were decreased. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that orally delivered dexmedetomidine 100 μg/kg at 2 h into the dark cycle decreased c-Fos expression in the cerebral cortex and sub-cortical arousal systems, while it increased c-Fos expression in the neurons of the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus. These results indicate that orally delivered dexmedetomidine can induce sedative and hypnotic effects by exciting the sleep-promoting nucleus and inhibiting the wake-promoting areas.

Illuminating the Activated Brain: Emerging Activity-Dependent Tools to Capture and Control Functional Neural Circuits

Immediate-early genes (IEGs) have long been used to visualize neural activations induced by sensory and behavioral stimuli. Recent advances in imaging techniques have made it possible to use endogenous IEG signals to visualize and discriminate neural ensembles activated by multiple stimuli, and to map whole-brain-scale neural activation at single-neuron resolution. In addition, a collection of IEG-dependent molecular tools has been developed that can be used to complement the labeling of endogenous IEG genes and, especially, to manipulate activated neural ensembles in order to reveal the circuits and mechanisms underlying different behaviors. Here, we review these techniques and tools in terms of their utility in studying functional neural circuits. In addition, we provide an experimental strategy to measure the signal-to-noise ratio of IEG-dependent molecular tools, for evaluating their suitability for investigating relevant circuits and behaviors.

Rapid changes in auditory processing in songbirds following acute aromatase inhibition as assessed by fMRI

Contribution to Special Issue on Fast effects of steroids. This review introduces functional MRI (fMRI) as an outstanding tool to assess rapid effects of sex steroids on auditory processing in seasonal songbirds. We emphasize specific advantages of this method as compared to other more conventional and invasive methods used for this purpose and summarize an exemplary auditory fMRI study performed on male starlings exposed to different types of starling song before and immediately after the inhibition of aromatase activity by an i.p. injection of Vorozole™. We describe how most challenges that relate to the necessity to anesthetize subjects and minimize image- and sound-artifacts can be overcome in order to obtain a voxel-based 3D-representation of changes in auditory brain activity to various sound stimuli before and immediately after a pharmacologically-induced depletion of endogenous estrogens. Analysis of the fMRI data by assumption-free statistical methods identified fast specific changes in activity in the auditory brain regions that were stimulus-specific, varying over different seasons, and in several instances lateralized to the left side of the brain. This set of results illustrates the unique features of fMRI that provides opportunities to localize and quantify the brain responses to rapid changes in hormonal status. fMRI offers a new image-guided research strategy in which the spatio-temporal profile of fast neuromodulations can be identified and linked to specific behavioral inputs or outputs. This approach can also be combined with more localized invasive methods to investigate the mechanisms underlying the observed neural changes.

A PCR-Based Method for RNA Probes and Applications in Neuroscience

In situ hybridization (ISH) is a powerful technique that is used to detect the localization of specific nucleic acid sequences for understanding the organization, regulation, and function of genes. However, in most cases, RNA probes are obtained by in vitro transcription from plasmids containing specific promoter elements and mRNA-specific cDNA. Probes originating from plasmid vectors are time-consuming and not suitable for the rapid gene mapping. Here, we introduce a simplified method to prepare digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled non-radioactive RNA probes based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and applications in free-floating mouse brain sections. Employing a transgenic reporter line, we investigate the expression of the somatostatin (SST) mRNA in the adult mouse brain. The method can be applied to identify the colocalization of SST mRNA and proteins including corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) and protein kinase C delta type (PKC-δ) using double immunofluorescence, which is useful for understanding the organization of complex brain nuclei. Moreover, the method can also be incorporated with retrograde tracing to visualize the functional connection in the neural circuitry. Briefly, the PCR-based method for non-radioactive RNA probes is a useful tool that can be substantially utilized in neuroscience studies.