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Kim YK, Choe HK. Core clock gene, Bmal1, is required for optimal second-level interval production. Anim Cells Syst (Seoul) 2023; 27:425-435. [PMID: 38125761 PMCID: PMC10732218 DOI: 10.1080/19768354.2023.2290827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Perception and production of second-level temporal intervals are critical in several behavioral and cognitive processes, including adaptive anticipation, motor control, and social communication. These processes are impaired in several neurological and psychological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Although evidence indicates that second-level interval timing exhibit circadian patterns, it remains unclear whether the core clock machinery controls the circadian pattern of interval timing. To investigate the role of core clock molecules in interval timing capacity, we devised a behavioral assay called the interval timing task to examine prospective motor interval timing ability. In this task, the mouse produces two separate nose pokes in a pretrained second-level interval to obtain a sucrose solution as a reward. We discovered that interval perception in wild-type mice displayed a circadian pattern, with the best performance observed during the late active phase. To investigate whether the core molecular clock is involved in the circadian control of interval timing, we employed Bmal1 knockout mice (BKO) in the interval timing task. The interval production of BKO did not display any difference between early and late active phase, without reaching the optimal interval production level observed in wild-type. In summary, we report that the core clock gene Bmal1 is required for the optimal performance of prospective motor timing typically observed during the late part of the active period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoon Kyoung Kim
- Department of Brain Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Kyoung Choe
- Department of Brain Sciences, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu, Republic of Korea
- Convergence Research Advanced Centre for Olfaction, DGIST, Daegu, Republic of Korea
- Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI), Daegu, Republic of Korea
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2
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Improved cognitive performance in trace amine-associated receptor 5 (TAAR5) knock-out mice. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14708. [PMID: 36038766 PMCID: PMC9424310 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18924-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) are a family of G protein-coupled receptors present in mammals in the brain and several peripheral organs. Apart from its olfactory role, TAAR5 is expressed in the major limbic brain areas and regulates brain serotonin functions and emotional behaviours. However, most of its functions remain undiscovered. Given the role of serotonin and limbic regions in some aspects of cognition, we used a temporal decision-making task to unveil a possible role of TAAR5 in cognitive processes. We found that TAAR5 knock-out mice showed a generally better performance due to a reduced number of errors and displayed a greater rate of improvement at the task than WT littermates. However, task-related parameters, such as time accuracy and uncertainty have not changed significantly. Overall, we show that TAAR5 modulates specific domains of cognition, highlighting a new role in brain physiology.
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3
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Timing behavior in genetic murine models of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:699-717. [PMID: 33404792 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-06021-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
How timing behavior is altered in different neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders is a contemporary research question. Genetic murine models (GMM) that offer high construct validity also serve as useful tools to investigate this question. But the literature on timing behavior of different GMMs largely remains to be consolidated. The current paper addresses this gap by reviewing studies that have been conducted with GMMs of neurodevelopmental (e.g. ADHD, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder), neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease) as well as circadian and other mutant lines. The review focuses on those studies that specifically utilized the peak interval procedure to improve the comparability of findings both within and between different disease models. The reviewed studies revealed timing deficits that are characteristic of different disorders. Specifically, Huntington's disease models had weaker temporal control over the termination of their anticipatory responses, Alzheimer's disease models had earlier timed responses, schizophrenia models had weaker temporal control, circadian mutants had shifted timed responses consistent with shifts in the circadian periods. The differences in timing behavior were less consistent for other conditions such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and mutations related to intellectual disability. We discuss the implications of these findings for the neural basis of an internal stopwatch. Finally, we make methodological recommendations for future research for improving the comparability of the timing behavior across different murine models.
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Tinarelli F, Ivanova E, Colombi I, Barini E, Balzani E, Garcia CG, Gasparini L, Chiappalone M, Kelsey G, Tucci V. Cell-cell coupling and DNA methylation abnormal phenotypes in the after-hours mice. Epigenetics Chromatin 2021; 14:1. [PMID: 33407878 PMCID: PMC7789812 DOI: 10.1186/s13072-020-00373-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background DNA methylation has emerged as an important epigenetic regulator of brain processes, including circadian rhythms. However, how DNA methylation intervenes between environmental signals, such as light entrainment, and the transcriptional and translational molecular mechanisms of the cellular clock is currently unknown. Here, we studied the after-hours mice, which have a point mutation in the Fbxl3 gene and a lengthened circadian period. Methods In this study, we used a combination of in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro approaches. We measured retinal responses in Afh animals and we have run reduced representation bisulphite sequencing (RRBS), pyrosequencing and gene expression analysis in a variety of brain tissues ex vivo. In vitro, we used primary neuronal cultures combined to micro electrode array (MEA) technology and gene expression. Results We observed functional impairments in mutant neuronal networks, and a reduction in the retinal responses to light-dependent stimuli. We detected abnormalities in the expression of photoreceptive melanopsin (OPN4). Furthermore, we identified alterations in the DNA methylation pathways throughout the retinohypothalamic tract terminals and links between the transcription factor Rev-Erbα and Fbxl3. Conclusions The results of this study, primarily represent a contribution towards an understanding of electrophysiological and molecular phenotypic responses to external stimuli in the Afh model. Moreover, as DNA methylation has recently emerged as a new regulator of neuronal networks with important consequences for circadian behaviour, we discuss the impact of the Afh mutation on the epigenetic landscape of circadian biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Tinarelli
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,BioMed X Innovation Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 515, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Elena Ivanova
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ilaria Colombi
- Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,Brain Development and Disease, NBT, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy
| | - Erica Barini
- Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disease Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co, Knollstr, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Edoardo Balzani
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10006, USA
| | - Celina Garcia Garcia
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy
| | - Laura Gasparini
- Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disease Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co, Knollstr, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Michela Chiappalone
- Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.,Rehab Technologies, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy
| | - Gavin Kelsey
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Valter Tucci
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, via Morego, 30, 16163, Genova, Italy.
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Moreno CRC, Wright K, Skene DJ, Louzada FM. Phenotypic plasticity of circadian entrainment under a range of light conditions. Neurobiol Sleep Circadian Rhythms 2020; 9:100055. [PMID: 32923743 PMCID: PMC7475273 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbscr.2020.100055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The response to a zeitgeber, particularly the light/dark cycle, may vary phenotypically. Phenotypic plasticity can be defined as the ability of one genome to express different phenotypes in response to environmental variation. In this opinion paper, we present some evidence that one of the most prominent effects of the introduction of electric light to the everyday life of humans is a significant increase in phenotypic plasticity and differences in interindividual phases of entrainment. We propose that the healthy limits of phenotypic plasticity have been surpassed in contemporary society. Electric light increased phenotypic plasticity in humans and differences in interindividual phases of entrainment. Healthy limits of phenotypic plasticity have been surpassed in contemporary society. The correlation between biological time (DLMO) and behavioral time (MSFsc) is reduced in the population without access to electrical light.
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Affiliation(s)
- C R C Moreno
- School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, Brazil.,Stress Research Institute, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden
| | - K Wright
- Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
| | - D J Skene
- Chronobiology, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, UK
| | - F M Louzada
- Department of Physiology, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil
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Ansar M, Paracha SA, Serretti A, Sarwar MT, Khan J, Ranza E, Falconnet E, Iwaszkiewicz J, Shah SF, Qaisar AA, Santoni FA, Zoete V, Megarbane A, Ahmed J, Colombo R, Makrythanasis P, Antonarakis SE. Biallelic variants in FBXL3 cause intellectual disability, delayed motor development and short stature. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 28:972-979. [PMID: 30481285 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
FBXL3 (F-Box and Leucine Rich Repeat Protein 3) encodes a protein that contains an F-box and several tandem leucine-rich repeats (LRR) domains. FBXL3 is part of the SCF (Skp1-Cullin-F box protein) ubiquitin ligase complex that binds and leads to phosphorylation-dependent degradation of the central clock protein cryptochromes (CRY1 and CRY2) by the proteasome and its absence causes circadian phenotypes in mice and behavioral problems. No FBXL3-related phenotypes have been described in humans. By a combination of exome sequencing and homozygosity mapping, we analyzed two consanguineous families with intellectual disability and identified homozygous loss-of-function (LoF) variants in FBXL3. In the first family, from Pakistan, an FBXL3 frameshift variant [NM_012158.2:c.885delT:p.(Leu295Phefs*25)] was the onlysegregating variant in five affected individuals in two family loops (LOD score: 3.12). In the second family, from Lebanon, we identified a nonsense variant [NM_012158.2:c.445C>T:p.(Arg149*)]. In a third patient from Italy, a likely deleterious non-synonymous variant [NM_012158.2:c.1072T>C:p.(Cys358Arg)] was identified in homozygosity. Protein 3D modeling predicted that the Cys358Arg change influences the binding with CRY2 by destabilizing the structure of the FBXL3, suggesting that this variant is also likely to be LoF. The eight affected individuals from the three families presented with a similar phenotype that included intellectual disability, developmental delay, short stature and mild facial dysmorphism, mainly large nose with a bulbous tip. The phenotypic similarity and the segregation analysis suggest that FBXL3 biallelic, LoF variants link this gene with syndromic autosomal recessive developmental delay/intellectual disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Ansar
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sohail Aziz Paracha
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Alessandro Serretti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Muhammad T Sarwar
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Jamshed Khan
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Emmanuelle Ranza
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Service of Genetic Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Emilie Falconnet
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Justyna Iwaszkiewicz
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, Batiment Genopode, Unil Sorge, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sayyed Fahim Shah
- Department of Medicine, KMU Institute of Medical Sciences, Kohat, Pakistan
| | | | - Federico A Santoni
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Zoete
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling Group, Batiment Genopode, Unil Sorge, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Department of Fundamental Oncology, Lausanne University, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Route de la Corniche 9A, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | | | - Jawad Ahmed
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Roberto Colombo
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University IRCCS Policlinico Gemelli, Rome, Italy.,Center for the Study of Rare Hereditary Diseases, Niguarda Ca' Granda Metropolitan Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Periklis Makrythanasis
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Stylianos E Antonarakis
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Service of Genetic Medicine, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,iGE3 Institute of Genetics and Genomics of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Social dominance predicts hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor recruitment and resilience to prenatal adversity. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9595. [PMID: 29941995 PMCID: PMC6018627 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27988-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The developing fetus is highly sensitive to prenatal stress, which may alter Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis programming and increase the risk of behavioral disorders. There is high variability among the human population, wherein many offspring of stressed pregnancies display resilience to adversity, while the remainder displays vulnerability. In order to identify biological substrates mediating between resilience or vulnerability to prenatal adversity, we exposed stress-resistant Dominant (Dom) and stress-sensitive Submissive (Sub) mice to mild prenatal restraint stress (PRS, 45 min on gestational days (GD) 15, 16 and 17). We hypothesized that PRS would differentially alter prenatal programming of limbic regions regulating the HPA axis and affect among Dom and Sub offspring. Indeed, PRS increased Sub offspring’s serum corticosterone, and exaggerated their anxiety- and depressive-like behavior, while Dom offspring remained resilient to the hormonal and behavioral consequences of PRS. Moreover, PRS exposure markedly facilitated glucocorticoid receptor (GR) recruitment to the hippocampus among Dom mice in response to restraint stress, which may be responsible for their resilience to stressful challenge. These findings suggest proclivity to adaptive or maladaptive prenatal programming of hippocampal GR recruitment to be inheritable and predictable by social dominance or submissiveness.
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