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Avallone M, Pardo J, Mergiya TF, Rájová J, Räsänen A, Davidsson M, Åkerblom M, Quintino L, Kumar D, Bramham CR, Björklund T. Visualizing Arc protein dynamics and localization in the mammalian brain using AAV-mediated in situ gene labeling. Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1140785. [PMID: 37415832 PMCID: PMC10321715 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1140785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) protein is essential for synaptic plasticity and memory formation. The Arc gene, which contains remnants of a structural GAG retrotransposon sequence, produces a protein that self-assembles into capsid-like structures harboring Arc mRNA. Arc capsids, released from neurons, have been proposed as a novel intercellular mechanism for mRNA transmission. Nevertheless, evidence for intercellular transport of Arc in the mammalian brain is still lacking. To enable the tracking of Arc molecules from individual neurons in vivo, we devised an adeno-associated virus (AAV) mediated approach to tag the N-terminal of the mouse Arc protein with a fluorescent reporter using CRISPR/Cas9 homologous independent targeted integration (HITI). We show that a sequence coding for mCherry can successfully be knocked in at the 5' end of the Arc open reading frame. While nine spCas9 gene editing sites surround the Arc start codon, the accuracy of the editing was highly sequence-dependent, with only a single target resulting in an in-frame reporter integration. When inducing long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus, we observed an increase of Arc protein highly correlated with an increase in fluorescent intensity and the number of mCherry-positive cells. By proximity ligation assay (PLA), we demonstrated that the mCherry-Arc fusion protein retains the Arc function by interacting with the transmembrane protein stargazin in postsynaptic spines. Finally, we recorded mCherry-Arc interaction with presynaptic protein Bassoon in mCherry-negative surrounding neurons at close proximity to mCherry-positive spines of edited neurons. This is the first study to provide support for inter-neuronal in vivo transfer of Arc in the mammalian brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martino Avallone
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Joaquín Pardo
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata “Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner” (INIBIOLP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)—Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Tadiwos F. Mergiya
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Mohn Research Center for the Brain, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jana Rájová
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Atte Räsänen
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Marcus Davidsson
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Malin Åkerblom
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Luis Quintino
- CNS Gene Therapy, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Clive R. Bramham
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Mohn Research Center for the Brain, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Tomas Björklund
- Molecular Neuromodulation, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Zuk KE, Cansler HL, Wang J, Meeks JP. Arc-Expressing Accessory Olfactory Bulb Interneurons Support Chemosensory Social Behavioral Plasticity. J Neurosci 2023; 43:1178-1190. [PMID: 36623874 PMCID: PMC9962775 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0847-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The accessory olfactory system (AOS) is critical for the development and expression of social behavior. The first dedicated circuit in the AOS, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), exhibits cellular and network plasticity in male and female mice after social experience. In the AOB, interneurons called internal granule cells (IGCs) express the plasticity-associated immediate-early gene Arc following intermale aggression or mating. Here, we sought to better understand how Arc-expressing IGCs shape AOB information processing and social behavior in the context of territorial aggression. We used "ArcTRAP" (Arc-CreERT2) transgenic mice to selectively and permanently label Arc-expressing IGCs following male-male resident-intruder interactions. Using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, we found that Arc-expressing IGCs display increased intrinsic excitability for several days after a single resident-intruder interaction. Further, we found that Arc-expressing IGCs maintain this increased excitability across repeated resident-intruder interactions, during which resident mice increase or "ramp" their aggression. We tested the hypothesis that Arc-expressing IGCs participate in ramping aggression. Using a combination of ArcTRAP mice and chemogenetics (Cre-dependent hM4D(Gi)-mCherry AAV injections), we found that disruption of Arc-expressing IGC activity during repeated resident-intruder interactions abolishes the ramping aggression exhibited by resident male mice. This work shows that Arc-expressing AOB IGC ensembles are activated by specific chemosensory environments, and play an integral role in the establishment and expression of sex-typical social behavior. These studies identify a population of plastic interneurons in an early chemosensory circuit that display physiological features consistent with simple memory formation, increasing our understanding of central chemosensory processing and mammalian social behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The accessory olfactory system plays a vital role in rodent chemosensory social behavior. We studied experience-dependent plasticity in the accessory olfactory bulb and found that internal granule cells expressing the immediate-early gene Arc after the resident-intruder paradigm increase their excitability for several days. We investigated the roles of these Arc-expressing internal granule cells on chemosensory social behavior by chemogenetically manipulating their excitability during repeated social interactions. We found that inhibiting these cells eliminated intermale aggressive ramping behavior. These studies identify a population of plastic interneurons in an early chemosensory circuit that display physiological features consistent with simple memory formation, increasing our understanding of central chemosensory processing and mammalian social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey E Zuk
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642
| | - Hillary L Cansler
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32603
| | - Jinxin Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642
| | - Julian P Meeks
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642
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Zhong M, Cywiak C, Metto AC, Liu X, Qian C, Pelled G. Multi-session delivery of synchronous rTMS and sensory stimulation induces long-term plasticity. Brain Stimul 2021; 14:884-894. [PMID: 34029768 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Combining training or sensory stimulation with non-invasive brain stimulation has shown to improve performance in healthy subjects and improve brain function in patients after brain injury. However, the plasticity mechanisms and the optimal parameters to induce long-term and sustainable enhanced performance remain unknown. OBJECTIVE This work was designed to identify the protocols of which combining sensory stimulation with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) will facilitate the greatest changes in fMRI activation maps in the rat's primary somatosensory cortex (S1). METHODS Several protocols of combining forepaw electrical stimulation with rTMS were tested, including a single stimulation session compared to multiple, daily stimulation sessions, as well as synchronous and asynchronous delivery of both modalities. High-resolution fMRI was used to determine how pairing sensory stimulation with rTMS induced short and long-term plasticity in the rat S1. RESULTS All groups that received a single session of rTMS showed short-term increases in S1 activity, but these increases did not last three days after the session. The group that received a stimulation protocol of 10 Hz forepaw stimulation that was delivered simultaneously with 10 Hz rTMS for five consecutive days demonstrated the greatest increases in the extent of the evoked fMRI responses compared to groups that received other stimulation protocols. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide direct indication that pairing peripheral stimulation with rTMS induces long-term plasticity, and this phenomenon appears to follow a time-dependent plasticity mechanism. These results will be important to lead the design of new training and rehabilitation paradigms and training towards achieving maximal performance in healthy subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Zhong
- Neuroengineering Division, The Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Carolina Cywiak
- Neuroengineering Division, The Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Abigael C Metto
- Neuroengineering Division, The Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Xiang Liu
- Neuroengineering Division, The Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Chunqi Qian
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Galit Pelled
- Neuroengineering Division, The Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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Simonetti M, Paldy E, Njoo C, Bali KK, Worzfeld T, Pitzer C, Kuner T, Offermanns S, Mauceri D, Kuner R. The impact of Semaphorin 4C/Plexin-B2 signaling on fear memory via remodeling of neuronal and synaptic morphology. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:1376-1398. [PMID: 31444474 PMCID: PMC7985029 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0491-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant fear is a cornerstone of several psychiatric disorders. Consequently, there is large interest in elucidation of signaling mechanisms that link extracellular cues to changes in neuronal function and structure in brain pathways that are important in the generation and maintenance of fear memory and its behavioral expression. Members of the Plexin-B family of receptors for class 4 semaphorins play important roles in developmental plasticity of neurons, and their expression persists in some areas of the adult nervous system. Here, we aimed to elucidate the role of Semaphorin 4C (Sema4C) and its cognate receptor, Plexin-B2, in the expression of contextual and cued fear memory, setting a mechanistic focus on structural plasticity and exploration of contributing signaling pathways. We observed that Plexin-B2 and Sema4C are expressed in forebrain areas related to fear memory, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala and the hippocampus, and their expression is regulated by aversive stimuli that induce fear memory. By generating forebrain-specific Plexin-B2 knockout mice and analyzing fear-related behaviors, we demonstrate that Sema4C-PlexinB2 signaling plays a crucial functional role in the recent and remote recall of fear memory. Detailed neuronal morphological analyses revealed that Sema4C-PlexinB2 signaling largely mediates fear-induced structural plasticity by enhancing dendritic ramifications and modulating synaptic density in the adult hippocampus. Analyses on signaling-related mutant mice showed that these functions are mediated by PlexinB2-dependent RhoA activation. These results deliver important insights into the mechanistic understanding of maladaptive plasticity in fear circuits and have implications for novel therapeutic strategies against fear-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Simonetti
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eszter Paldy
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christian Njoo
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kiran Kumar Bali
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Worzfeld
- grid.10253.350000 0004 1936 9756Institute of Pharmacology, Marburg University, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 1, 35043 Marburg, Germany ,grid.418032.c0000 0004 0491 220XDepartment of Pharmacology, Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Ludwigstrasse 43, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Claudia Pitzer
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Interdisciplinary Neurobehavioral Core, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kuner
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Anatomy and Cell Biology Institute, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Offermanns
- grid.418032.c0000 0004 0491 220XDepartment of Pharmacology, Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Ludwigstrasse 43, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Daniela Mauceri
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of Neurobiology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rohini Kuner
- Institute of Pharmacology, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 366, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
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Willis EF, Bartlett PF, Vukovic J. Protocol for Short- and Longer-term Spatial Learning and Memory in Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:197. [PMID: 29089878 PMCID: PMC5651027 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on the role of the hippocampus in higher cognitive functions such as spatial learning and memory in rodents are reliant upon robust and objective behavioral tests. This protocol describes one such test—the active place avoidance (APA) task. This behavioral task involves the mouse continuously integrating visual cues to orientate itself within a rotating arena in order to actively avoid a shock zone, the location of which remains constant relative to the room. This protocol details the step-by-step procedures for a novel paradigm of the hippocampal-dependent APA task, measuring acquisition of spatial learning during a single 20-min trial (i.e., short-term memory), with spatial memory encoding and retrieval (i.e., long-term memory) assessed by trials conducted over consecutive days. Using the APA task, cognitive flexibility can be assessed using the reversal learning paradigm, as this increases the cognitive load required for efficient performance in the task. In addition to a detailed experimental protocol, this paper also describes the range of its possible applications, the expected key results, as well as the analytical methods to assess the data, and the pitfalls/troubleshooting measures. The protocol described herein is highly robust and produces replicable results, thus presenting an important paradigm that enables the assessment of subtle short-term changes in spatial learning and memory, such as those observed for many experimental interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily F Willis
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Perry F Bartlett
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Jana Vukovic
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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