Inhibiting the LPS-induced enhancement of mEPSC frequency in superficial dorsal horn neurons may serve as an electrophysiological model for alleviating pain

Microglia stimulation produces antidepressant-like effects in a mouse depression model induced by adolescent chronic unpredictable stress

Depression triggered by harmful stress in adolescents is a common phenomenon that can lead to serious social problems. Its treatment is still frustrating in the clinic. We reported the phenomenon that a 12-day chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), starting on postnatal day 28, led to a significant decrease in the number of microglia in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in adult mice. Reversing this decline with a single injection of low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a classical immunostimulant, could rapidly reverse the depression-like behavior induced by 12 days of CUS stimulation during adolescence. In the dose-dependent experiment, a single injection of LPS at doses of 75 and 100 μg/kg, but not at doses of 25 and 50 μg/kg, produced an antidepressant effect in mice exposed to 12-day CUS during adolescence. The time-dependent experiment showed that the antidepressant effect of the single injection of LPS (100 μg/kg) occurred at time points 5 and 8 h, but not 3 h after LPS injection. The antidepressant effect of the single LPS injection (100 μg/kg) lasted for at least 7 days, and 14 days after the single LPS injection, a repeated injection could still induce the stressed mice to develop an antidepressant phenotype. Furthermore, inhibition of microglia by minocycline or depletion of microglia by PLX3397 was found to prevent the antidepressant effect of the single LPS injection. These results suggest that reversing the decline of microglia in the dentate gyrus may be a potential strategy for the treatment of depression induced by harmful stress in adolescents.

Dual effect of anandamide on spinal nociceptive transmission in control and inflammatory conditions

Anandamide (AEA) is an important modulator of nociception in the spinal dorsal horn, acting presynaptically through Cannabinoid (CB1) and Transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV1) receptors. The role of AEA (1 µM, 10 µM, and 30 µM) application on the modulation of nociceptive synaptic transmission under control and inflammatory conditions was studied by recording miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) from neurons in spinal cord slices. Inhibition of the CB1 receptors by PF514273, TRPV1 by SB366791, and the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) by URB597 was used. Under naïve conditions, the AEA application did not affect the mEPSCs frequency (1.43±0.12 Hz) when all the recorded neurons were considered. The mEPSC frequency increased (180.0±39.2%) only when AEA (30 µM) was applied with PF514273 and URB597. Analysis showed that one sub-population of neurons had synaptic input inhibited (39.1% of neurons), the second excited (43.5%), whereas 8.7% showed a mixed effect and 8.7% did not respond to the AEA. With inflammation, the AEA effect was highly inhibitory (72.7%), while the excitation was negligible (9.1%), and 18.2% were not modulated. After inflammation, more neurons (45.0%) responded even to low AEA by mEPSC frequency increase with PF514273/URB597 present. AEA-induced dual (excitatory/inhibitory) effects at the 1st nociceptive synapse should be considered when developing analgesics targeting the endocannabinoid system. These findings contrast the clear inhibitory effects of the AEA precursor 20:4-NAPE application described previously and suggest that modulation of endogenous AEA production may be more favorable for analgesic treatments.

Protective mechanism of Paeonol on central nervous system

Cerebrovascular diseases involve neuronal damage, resulting in degenerative neuropathy and posing a serious threat to human health. The discovery of effective drug components from natural plants and the study of their mechanism are a research idea different from chemical synthetic medicines. Paeonol is the main active component of traditional Chinese medicine Paeonia lactiflora Pall. It widely exists in many medicinal plants and has pharmacological effects such as anti-atherosclerosis, antiplatelet aggregation, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammatory, which keeps generally used in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Based on the therapeutic effects of Paeonol for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, this article reviewed the pharmacological effects of Paeonol in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy, diabetes encephalopathy, and other neurological diseases, providing a reference for the research of the mechanism of Paeonol in central nervous system diseases.

Microglia maintain the normal structure and function of the hippocampal astrocyte network

Microglial control of activity‐dependent plasticity and synaptic remodeling in neuronal networks has been the subject of intense research in the past several years. Although microglia–neuron interactions have been extensively studied, less is known about how microglia influence astrocyte‐dependent control over neuronal structure and function. Here, we explored a role for microglia in regulating the structure and function of the astrocyte syncytium in mouse hippocampus. After depleting microglia using a CSF1R antagonist (PLX5622, Plexxikon), we observed severe disruption of astrocyte syncytial isopotentiality and dye coupling. A decrease in astrocyte‐specific gap junction connexin (Cx) 30 and 43 expression, at least partially accounts for these microglia‐dependent changes in astrocytes. Because neuronal function requires intact astrocyte coupling, we also evaluated the effects of microglia depletion on synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. Without microglia, the strength of synaptic transmission was reduced at baseline and after long‐term potentiation (LTP). Conversely, priming microglia with systemic injections of lipopolysaccharide enhanced CA3‐CA1 synaptic transmission. This microglia‐induced scaling of synaptic transmission was associated with increased expression of post‐synaptic scaffold proteins (Homer1) in CA1. However, astrocyte network function was not affected by microglia priming, indicating that microglia‐dependent effects on astrocytes and neurons vary across functional states. Through manipulation of microglia in the brain, our results reveal the importance of microglia in homeostatic regulation of the astrocyte syncytium and scaling of synaptic transmission. These novel mechanisms uncover a new direction for future studies interrogating microglia function in various physiological and pathological contexts.

Astrocytes play a critical role in mediating the effect of acute ethanol on central amygdala glutamatergic transmission

The Central Amygdala (CeA) has been heavily implicated in many aspects of alcohol use disorder. Ethanol (EtOH) has been shown to modulate glutamatergic transmission in the lateral subdivision of the CeA, however, the exact mechanism of this modulation is still unclear. EtOH exposure is associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokines in the CeA, and inhibition of neuroimmune cells (microglia and astrocytes) has previously been shown to reduce EtOH drinking in animal models. Since neuroimmune activation seems to be involved in many of the effects of EtOH, we hypothesized that acute EtOH exposure will increase excitatory glutamatergic transmission in the CeA via modulation of neuroimmune cells. Using ex vivo brain slice whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology, it was found that a physiologically relevant concentration of EtOH (20 mM) significantly increased presynaptic glutamatergic transmission in the CeA. Pharmacologic and chemogenetic inhibition of astrocyte function significantly reduced the ability of EtOH to modulate CeA glutamatergic transmission with minimal impact of microglia inhibition. This finding prompted additional studies examining whether direct neuroimmune activation through lipopolysaccharide (LPS) might lead to an increase in the glutamatergic transmission in the CeA. It was found that LPS modulation of glutamatergic transmission was limited by microglia activation and required astrocyte signaling. Taken together these results support the hypothesis that acute EtOH enhances lateral CeA glutamatergic transmission through an astrocyte mediated mechanism.

Photoresponsive Vaccine-Like CAR-M System with High-Efficiency Central Immune Regulation for Inflammation-Related Depression

Increasing evidence suggests that activation of microglia-induced neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of depression. Consequently, targeting the central nervous system to reduce neuroinflammation holds great promise for the treatment of depression. However, few drugs can enter the brain via a circulatory route through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to reach the central nervous system efficiently, which limits the pharmacological treatment for neuropsychiatric diseases. Herein, a light-responsive system named UZPM, consisting of blue-emitting NaYF₄ :Yb, Tm@zeolitic-imidazolate framework (UCNP@ZIF-8), photoacid (PA), and melatonin (MT) is developed to address the above issues. Meanwhile, UZPM is introduced into macrophages by functional liposomes fusion and modified with hydroxylamine groups on the cell surface. Aldehyde-modified cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) is used as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) targeting group to modify the surface of macrophages by aldehyde/hydroxylamine condensation to precisely target central M1-type microglia (CAR-M-UZPM). Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that the CAR-M-UZPM drug delivery system can efficiently penetrate the BBB, targeting centrally activated microglia, and thus, inhibiting the M1-type polarization of microglia, producing continuous vaccine-like anti-inflammatory effects that prevent the occurrence and development of inflammation-related depression.

Automated home-cage monitoring as a potential measure of sickness behaviors and pain-like behaviors in LPS-treated mice

The use of endotoxin, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a model of sickness behavior, has attracted recent attention. To objectively investigate sickness behavior along with its pain-like behaviors in LPS-treated mice, the behavioral measurement requires accurate methods, which reflects clinical relevance. While reflexive pain response tests have been used for decades for pain assessment, its accuracy and clinical relevance remain problematic. Hence, we used automated home-cage monitoring LABORAS to evaluate spontaneous locomotive behaviors in LPS-induced mice. LPS-treated mice displayed sickness behaviors including pain-like behaviors in automated home-cage monitoring characterized by decreased mobile behaviors (climbing, locomotion, rearing) and increased immobility compared to that of the control group in both short- and long-term locomotive assessments. Here, in short-term measurement, both in the open-field test and automated home-cage monitoring, mice demonstrated impaired locomotive behaviors. We also assessed 24 h long-term locomotor activity in the home-cage system, which profiled the diurnal behaviors of LPS-stimulated mice. The results demonstrated significant behavioral impairment in LPS-stimulated mice compared to the control mice in both light and dark phases. However, the difference is more evident in the dark phase compared to the light phase owing to the nocturnal activity of mice. In addition, the administration of indomethacin as a pharmacological intervention improved sickness behaviors in the open-field test as well as automated home-cage monitoring, confirming that automated home-cage monitoring could be potentially useful in pharmacological screening. Together, our results demonstrate that automated home-cage monitoring could be a feasible alternative to conventional methods, such as the open-field test and combining several behavioral assessments may provide a better understanding of sickness behavior and pain-like behaviors in LPS-treated mice.

Discovery and characterization of the novel conotoxin Lv1d from Conus lividus that presents analgesic activity

Cone snails are predatory gastropod mollusks that are distributed in all tropical marine environments and contain small peptides (conotoxins) in their venom to capture prey. However, the biochemical and molecular aspects of conotoxins remain poorly understood. In this article, a novel α4/7-conotoxin, Lv1d, was obtained from the venom duct cDNA library of the worm-hunting Conus lividus collected from the South China Sea. The cDNA of Lv1c encodes a 65 residue conopeptide precursor, which consists of a 21 residue signal peptide, a 27 residue Pro region, and 17 residues of mature peptide. The mature peptide Lv1d was chemically synthesized according to the sequence GCCSDPPCRHKHQDLCG. It was found that 10 μM Lv1d can completely inhibit frog sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle contractility within 60 min. Moreover, 100 μg/kg Lv1d showed good analgesic effects in mouse hot plate model and formalin test. Patch clamp experiments showed that 5 μM Lv1d can inhibit the cholinergic microexcitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) requency and amplitude of projection neurons in Drosophila. In conclusion, the synthesis of Lv1d and its biological and physiological data might contribute to the development of this peptide as a novel potential drug for therapeutic applications. This finding also expands the knowledge of the targeting mechanism of the α4/7-subfamily conotoxins.

Analgesic and Neuroprotective Effects of Electroacupuncture in a Dental Pulp Injury Model-A Basic Research

Irreversible pulpitis is an extremely painful condition and its consequence in the central nervous system (CNS) remains unclear. A mouse model of dental pulp injury (DPI) resembles the irreversible pulpitis profile in humans. This study sought to determine whether pain induced by DPI activates microglia and astrocytes in the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc), as well as increases levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and whether electroacupuncture (EA) can be a potential analgesic and neuroprotective therapy following DPI. Pain behavior was measured via head-withdrawal threshold (HWT) and burrowing behavior at days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 after DPI. A marked decrease in HWT and burrowing activity was observed from day 1 to 14 after DPI and no changes were seen on day 21. Microglial and astrocytes activation; along with high cytokine (TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-6) levels, were observed in the Vc at 21 days after DPI. These effects were attenuated by verum (local and distal) EA, as well as oral ibuprofen administration. The results suggest that DPI-induced pain and glial activations in the Vc and EA exert analgesic efficacy at both local and distal acupoints. Furthermore, verum (local and distal) EA might be associated with the modulations of microglial and astrocytes activation.