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Smith KB, Murack M, Sharani SA, Ismail N. Environmental Enrichment Cage for Laboratory Mice: A Downloadable Alternative. Curr Protoc 2024; 4:e913. [PMID: 38230543 DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Environmentally enriched housing (EE) provides a stimulating and species-typical environment that enhances brain plasticity and cognition, while reducing disease severity in laboratory animals. However, standardizing EE protocols has been challenging due to issues such as variability, high pricing, or limited laboratory space. To address these challenges, we present a replicable and cost-efficient cage protocol that is accessible to researchers with limited resources and space constraints. The protocol is designed to provide a stimulating and species-typical environment for the animals. It incorporates elements such as social interaction, physical exercise, cognitive stimulation, manipulable objects, environmental variability, and sensory stimulation. As evidenced in our previous studies using our protocol, users can expect to observe similar neuroplastic and health-wise benefits that accompany EE experimental paradigms. These included straightforward step-by-step guide, which allows for construction of functional EE cages in under 8 hr. Basic knowledge of 3D printing and laser cutting is required, but no advanced skills are necessary. The protocol enables researchers to create stimulating and replicable environments that promote animal welfare, enhance brain plasticity, and yield valuable experimental results for low cost. © 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: An effective and cost-efficient environmental enrichment cage designed to encourage standardization amongst laboratory protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin B Smith
- NISE Laboratory - University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael Murack
- NISE Laboratory - University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sara Al Sharani
- NISE Laboratory - University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nafissa Ismail
- NISE Laboratory - University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- University of Ottawa LIFE Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Indrigo M, Morella I, Orellana D, d'Isa R, Papale A, Parra R, Gurgone A, Lecca D, Cavaccini A, Tigaret CM, Cagnotto A, Jones K, Brooks S, Ratto GM, Allen ND, Lelos MJ, Middei S, Giustetto M, Carta AR, Tonini R, Salmona M, Hall J, Thomas K, Brambilla R, Fasano S. Nuclear ERK1/2 signaling potentiation enhances neuroprotection and cognition via Importinα1/KPNA2. EMBO Mol Med 2023; 15:e15984. [PMID: 37792911 PMCID: PMC10630888 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202215984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell signaling is central to neuronal activity and its dysregulation may lead to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Here, we show that selective genetic potentiation of neuronal ERK signaling prevents cell death in vitro and in vivo in the mouse brain, while attenuation of ERK signaling does the opposite. This neuroprotective effect mediated by an enhanced nuclear ERK activity can also be induced by the novel cell penetrating peptide RB5. In vitro administration of RB5 disrupts the preferential interaction of ERK1 MAP kinase with importinα1/KPNA2 over ERK2, facilitates ERK1/2 nuclear translocation, and enhances global ERK activity. Importantly, RB5 treatment in vivo promotes neuroprotection in mouse models of Huntington's (HD), Alzheimer's (AD), and Parkinson's (PD) disease, and enhances ERK signaling in a human cellular model of HD. Additionally, RB5-mediated potentiation of ERK nuclear signaling facilitates synaptic plasticity, enhances cognition in healthy rodents, and rescues cognitive impairments in AD and HD models. The reported molecular mechanism shared across multiple neurodegenerative disorders reveals a potential new therapeutic target approach based on the modulation of KPNA2-ERK1/2 interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Indrigo
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific InstituteMilanoItaly
| | - Ilaria Morella
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Daniel Orellana
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific InstituteMilanoItaly
| | - Raffaele d'Isa
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific InstituteMilanoItaly
| | - Alessandro Papale
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Riccardo Parra
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze CNR, and Scuola Normale SuperiorePisaItaly
| | | | - Daniela Lecca
- Department of Biomedical SciencesUniversity of CagliariCagliariItaly
| | - Anna Cavaccini
- Neuromodulation of Cortical and Subcortical Circuits LaboratoryFondazione Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenovaItaly
| | - Cezar M Tigaret
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, School of MedicineCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Alfredo Cagnotto
- Dipartimento di Biochimica e Farmacologia MolecolareIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri‐IRCCSMilanoItaly
| | | | - Simon Brooks
- School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | | | | | | | - Silvia Middei
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology CNRRomaItaly
| | - Maurizio Giustetto
- Department of NeuroscienceUniversity of TorinoTorinoItaly
- National Institute of NeuroscienceTorinoItaly
| | - Anna R Carta
- Department of Biomedical SciencesUniversity of CagliariCagliariItaly
| | - Raffaella Tonini
- Neuromodulation of Cortical and Subcortical Circuits LaboratoryFondazione Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaGenovaItaly
| | - Mario Salmona
- Dipartimento di Biochimica e Farmacologia MolecolareIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri‐IRCCSMilanoItaly
| | - Jeremy Hall
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, School of MedicineCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Kerrie Thomas
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, School of MedicineCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Riccardo Brambilla
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie “Lazzaro Spallanzani”Università degli Studi di PaviaPaviaItaly
| | - Stefania Fasano
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
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Nieves-Vázquez CI, Detrés-Marquéz AC, Torres-Reverón A, Appleyard CB, Llorens-De Jesús AP, Resto IN, López-Rodríguez V, Ramos-Echevarría PM, Castro EM, Flores I. Feasibility and acceptability of an adapted environmental enrichment intervention for endometriosis: A pilot study. Front Glob Womens Health 2023; 3:1058559. [PMID: 36683601 PMCID: PMC9846621 DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.1058559] [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: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction We have previously shown that Environmental Enrichment (EE)-consisting of social support, novelty, and open spaces-decreased disease progression and anxiety in a rat model of endometriosis. We developed a novel EE intervention to be tested in a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) in patients with endometriosis, a painful, stressful disease. Objective To translate and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an adapted EE intervention as an adjuvant to standard-of-care for endometriosis patients. Methods Feasibility was assessed through recruitment, enrollment, and adherence rates. Acceptability was evaluated through a post-intervention survey and focus group discussion 3-months after the end of the intervention. Results Of the 103 subjects recruited, 64 were randomized to the intervention group and 39 to the control group. At the start of the intervention, the study groups consisted of 29 (intervention) and 27 (control) subjects. Enrollment rates were 45.3% and 69.2%, and adherence rates were 41.4% and 100% for the intervention and control groups, respectively. Delays resulting from natural events (earthquakes, the COVID-19 pandemic) impacted enrollment and adherence rates. The most common reasons for missing an intervention were period pain (39.1%) and work-study (34.8%). There was high acceptability (>80%) of the intervention's logistics. The majority (82.4%) of subjects would continue participating in support groups regularly, and 95.7% would recommend the intervention to other patients. Conclusions We showed that EE could be translated into an acceptable integrative multi-modal therapy perceived as valuable among participants who completed the intervention. High attrition/low adherence indicates that additional refinements would be needed to improve feasibility. Acceptability data indicate that EE has the potential to be integrated into the clinical management of patients with endometriosis and other inflammatory, painful disorders. Studies are ongoing to assess the efficacy of EE in improving pain symptoms, mental health, and quality of life (QoL).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Annelyn Torres-Reverón
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
| | - Caroline B. Appleyard
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
| | | | - Ivana N. Resto
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | | | | | - Eida M. Castro
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - Idhaliz Flores
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
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Sexual Dimorphism in Neurodegenerative Diseases and in Brain Ischemia. Biomolecules 2022; 13:biom13010026. [PMID: 36671411 PMCID: PMC9855831 DOI: 10.3390/biom13010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological studies and clinical observations show evidence of sexual dimorphism in brain responses to several neurological conditions. It is suggested that sex-related differences between men and women may have profound effects on disease susceptibility, pathophysiology, and progression. Sexual differences of the brain are achieved through the complex interplay of several factors contributing to this phenomenon, such as sex hormones, as well as genetic and epigenetic differences. Despite recent advances, the precise link between these factors and brain disorders is incompletely understood. This review aims to briefly outline the most relevant aspects that differ between men and women in ischemia and neurodegenerative disorders (AD, PD, HD, ALS, and SM). Recognition of disparities between both sexes could aid the development of individual approaches to ameliorate or slow the progression of intractable disorders.
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St-Cyr S, Smith AR, Davidson BL. Temporal Phenotypic Changes in Huntington's Disease Models for Preclinical Studies. J Huntingtons Dis 2022; 11:35-57. [PMID: 35213386 PMCID: PMC9028736 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-210515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Background: Mouse models bearing genetic disease mutations are instrumental in the development of therapies for genetic disorders. Huntington’s disease (HD) is a late-onset lethal dominant genetic disorder due to a CAG repeat within exon 1 of the Huntingtin (Htt) gene. Several mice were developed to model HD through the expression of a transgenic fragment (exon 1 of the human HTT), the knock-in mutation of the CAG repeat in the context of the mouse Htt gene, or the full-length HTT human gene. The different mouse models present distinct onset, symptoms, and progression of the disease. Objective: The objective of this study is to advise on the best behavioral tests to assess disease progression in three HD mouse models. Methods: We tested N171-82Q transgenic mice, zQ175 knock-in mice, and BACHD full-length mice in a comprehensive behavior test battery in early, mid-, and late disease stages. Results: We contrast and compare the models and the emerging phenotypes with the available literature. These results suggest the most effective behavioral tests and appropriate sample sizes to detect treatment efficacy in each model at the different ages. We provide options for early detection of motor deficits while minimizing testing time and training. Conclusion: This information will inform researchers in the HD field as to which mouse model, tests and sample sizes can accurately and sensitively detect treatment efficacy in preclinical HD research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie St-Cyr
- The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Alicia R Smith
- The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Beverly L Davidson
- The Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,The Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, The Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Chuang CL, Demontis F. Systemic manifestation and contribution of peripheral tissues to Huntington's disease pathogenesis. Ageing Res Rev 2021; 69:101358. [PMID: 33979693 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease that is caused by expansion of cytosine/adenosine/guanine repeats in the huntingtin (HTT) gene, which leads to a toxic, aggregation-prone, mutant HTT-polyQ protein. Beyond the well-established mechanisms of HD progression in the central nervous system, growing evidence indicates that also peripheral tissues are affected in HD and that systemic signaling originating from peripheral tissues can influence the progression of HD in the brain. Herein, we review the systemic manifestation of HD in peripheral tissues, and the impact of systemic signaling on HD pathogenesis. Mutant HTT induces a body wasting syndrome (cachexia) primarily via its activity in skeletal muscle, bone, adipose tissue, and heart. Additional whole-organism effects induced by mutant HTT include decline in systemic metabolic homeostasis, which stems from derangement of pancreas, liver, gut, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and circadian functions. In addition to spreading via the bloodstream and a leaky blood brain barrier, HTT-polyQ may travel long distance via its uptake by neurons and its axonal transport from the peripheral to the central nervous system. Lastly, signaling factors that are produced and/or secreted in response to therapeutic interventions such as exercise or in response to mutant HTT activity in peripheral tissues may impact HD. In summary, these studies indicate that HD is a systemic disease that is influenced by intertissue signaling and by the action of pathogenic HTT in peripheral tissues. We propose that treatment strategies for HD should include the amelioration of HD symptoms in peripheral tissues. Moreover, harnessing signaling between peripheral tissues and the brain may provide a means for reducing HD progression in the central nervous system.
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7
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Hair and salivary cortisol and their relationship with lifestyle, mood and cognitive outcomes in premanifest Huntington's disease. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5464. [PMID: 33750863 PMCID: PMC7943576 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84726-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Salivary cortisol dysrhythmias have been reported in some, but not all studies assessing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in Huntington's disease (HD). These differences are presumed to be due to environmental influences on temporal salivary cortisol measurement. Further exploration of HPA-axis function using a more stable and longer-term measure, such as hair cortisol, is needed to confirm earlier findings. This study aimed to evaluate hair and salivary cortisol concentrations and their associations with clinical and lifestyle outcomes in individuals with premanifest HD (n = 26) compared to healthy controls (n = 14). Participants provided saliva and hair samples and data were collected on clinical disease outcomes, mood, cognition, physical activity, cognitive reserve, sleep quality and social network size to investigate relationships between clinical and lifestyle outcomes and cortisol concentrations. Hair and salivary cortisol concentrations did not significantly differ between the premanifest HD and control groups. No significant associations were observed between hair or salivary cortisol concentrations and cognitive, mood or lifestyle outcomes. However, hair cortisol concentrations were significantly associated with disease outcomes in individuals with premanifest HD. Significant associations between hair cortisol concentrations and measures of disease burden and onset may suggest a potential disease marker and should be explored longitudinally in a larger sample of individuals with HD.
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8
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Dubois C, Kong G, Tran H, Li S, Pang TY, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Small Non-coding RNAs Are Dysregulated in Huntington's Disease Transgenic Mice Independently of the Therapeutic Effects of an Environmental Intervention. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:3308-3318. [PMID: 33675499 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02342-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. Transcriptomic dysregulations are well-documented in HD and alterations in small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), could underpin that phenomenon. Additionally, environmental enrichment (EE), which is used to model a stimulating lifestyle in pre-clinical research, has been shown to ameliorate HD-related symptoms. However, the mechanisms mediating the therapeutic effects of EE remain largely unknown. This study assessed the effect of EE on sncRNA expression in the striatum of female R6/1 transgenic HD mice at 12 weeks (prior to over motor deficits) and 20 weeks (fully symptomatic) of age. When comparing wild-type and R6/1 mice in the standard housing condition, we found 6 and 64 miRNAs that were differentially expressed at 12 and 20 weeks of age, respectively. The 6 miRNAs (miR-132, miR-212, miR-222, miR-1a, miR-467a, and miR-669c) were commonly dysregulated at both time points. Additionally, genotype had minor effects on the levels of other sncRNAs, in particular, 1 piRNA was dysregulated at 12 weeks of age, and at 20 weeks of age 11 piRNAs, 1 tRNA- and 2 snoRNA-derived fragments were altered in HD mice. No difference in the abundance of other sncRNA subtypes, including rRNA- and snRNA- derived fragments, were observed. While EE improved locomotor symptoms in HD, we found no effect of the housing condition on any of the sncRNA populations examined. Our findings show that HD mainly affects miRNAs and has a minor effect on other sncRNA populations. Furthermore, the therapeutic effects of EE are not associated with the rescue of these dysregulated sncRNAs and may therefore exert these experience-dependent effects via other molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine Dubois
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Geraldine Kong
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Harvey Tran
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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Rojas-Carvajal M, Sequeira-Cordero A, Brenes JC. The environmental enrichment model revisited: A translatable paradigm to study the stress of our modern lifestyle. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:2359-2392. [PMID: 33638921 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Mounting evidence shows that physical activity, social interaction and sensorimotor stimulation provided by environmental enrichment (EE) exert several neurobehavioural effects traditionally interpreted as enhancements relative to standard housing (SH) conditions. However, this evidence rather indicates that SH induces many deficits, which could be ameliorated by exposing animals to an environment vaguely mimicking some features of their wild habitat. Rearing rodents in social isolation (SI) can aggravate such deficits, which can be restored by SH or EE. It is not surprising, therefore, that most preclinical stress models have included severe and unnatural stressors to produce a stress response prominent enough to be distinguishable from SH or SI-frequently used as control groups. Although current stress models induce a stress-related phenotype, they may fail to represent the stress of our urban lifestyle characterized by SI, poor housing and working environments, sedentarism, obesity and limited access to recreational activities and exercise. In the following review, we discuss the stress of living in urban areas and how exposures to and performing activities in green environments are stress relievers. Based on the commonalities between human and animal EE, we discuss how models of housing conditions (e.g., SI-SH-EE) could be adapted to study the stress of our modern lifestyle. The housing conditions model might be easy to implement and replicate leading to more translational results. It may also contribute to accomplishing some ethical commitments by promoting the refinement of procedures to model stress, diminishing animal suffering, enhancing animal welfare and eventually reducing the number of experimental animals needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mijail Rojas-Carvajal
- Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
| | - Andrey Sequeira-Cordero
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
| | - Juan C Brenes
- Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.,Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica
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Fennell KA, Busby RGG, Li S, Bodden C, Stanger SJ, Nixon B, Short AK, Hannan AJ, Pang TY. Limitations to intergenerational inheritance: subchronic paternal stress preconception does not influence offspring anxiety. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16050. [PMID: 32994491 PMCID: PMC7525454 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72560-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Independent studies have observed that a paternal history of stress or trauma is associated with his children having a greater likelihood of developing psychopathologies such as anxiety disorders. This father-to-child effect is reproduced in several mouse models of stress, which have been crucial in developing a greater understanding of intergenerational epigenetic inheritance. We previously reported that treatment of C57Bl/6J male breeders with low-dose corticosterone (CORT) for 28 days prior to mating yielded increased anxiety-related behaviours in their male F1 offspring. The present study aimed to determine whether subchronic 7-day CORT treatment of male mice just prior to mating would be sufficient to induce intergenerational modifications of anxiety-related behaviours in offspring. We report that subchronic CORT treatment of male breeders reduced their week-on-week body weight gain and altered NR3C1 and CRH gene expression in the hypothalamus. There were no effects on sperm count and glucocorticoid receptor protein levels within the epididymal tissue of male breeders. Regarding the F1 offspring, screening for anxiety-related behaviours using the elevated-plus maze, light–dark box, and novelty-suppressed feeding test revealed no differences between the offspring of CORT-treated breeders compared to controls. Thus, it is crucial that future studies take into consideration the duration of exposure when assessing the intergenerational impacts of paternal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Fennell
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - R G G Busby
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.,Institute of Applied BioSciences and Chemistry, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - S Li
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - C Bodden
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - S J Stanger
- Discipline of Biological Sciences, Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.,Pregnancy and Reproduction Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW, 2305, Australia
| | - B Nixon
- Discipline of Biological Sciences, Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.,Pregnancy and Reproduction Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW, 2305, Australia
| | - A K Short
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.,Department of Pediatrics, University of CA - Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - A J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - T Y Pang
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, 30 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia. .,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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11
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Gubert C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Why Woody got the blues: The neurobiology of depression in Huntington's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 142:104958. [PMID: 32526274 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an extraordinary disorder that usually strikes when individuals are in the prime of their lives, as was the case for the influential 20th century musician Woody Guthrie. HD demonstrates the exceptionally fine line between life and death in such 'genetic diseases', as the only difference between those who suffer horribly and die slowly of this disease is often just a handful of extra tandem repeats (beyond the normal polymorphic range) in a genome that constitutes over 3 billion paired nucleotides of DNA. Furthermore, HD presents as a complex and heterogenous combination of psychiatric, cognitive and motor symptoms, so can appear as an unholy trinity of 'three disorders in one'. The autosomal dominant nature of the disorder is also extremely challenging for affected families, as a 'flip of a coin' dictates which children inherit the mutation from their affected parent, and the gene-negative family members bear the burden of caring for the other half of the family that is affected. In this review, we will focus on one of the earliest, and most devastating, symptoms associated with HD, depression, which has been reported to affect approximately half of gene-positive HD family members. We will discuss the pathogenesis of HD, and depressive symptoms in particular, including molecular and cellular mechanisms, and potential genetic and environmental modifiers. This expanding understanding of HD pathogenesis may not only lead to novel therapeutic options for HD families, but may also provide insights into depression in the wider population, which has the greatest burden of disease of any disorder and an enormous unmet need for new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gubert
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
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12
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Gubert C, Kong G, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Exercise, diet and stress as modulators of gut microbiota: Implications for neurodegenerative diseases. Neurobiol Dis 2019; 134:104621. [PMID: 31628992 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 194] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The last decade has witnessed an exponentially growing interest in gut microbiota and the gut-brain axis in health and disease. Accumulating evidence from preclinical and clinical research indicate that gut microbiota, and their associated microbiomes, may influence pathogenic processes and thus the onset and progression of various diseases, including neurological and psychiatric disorders. In fact, gut dysbiosis (microbiota dysregulation) has been associated with a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and motor neuron disease, as well as multiple sclerosis. The gut microbiota constitutes a dynamic microbial system constantly challenged by many biological variables, including environmental factors. Since the gut microbiota constitute a changeable and experience-dependent ecosystem, they provide potential therapeutic targets that can be modulated as new interventions for dysbiosis-related disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. This article reviews the evidence for environmental modulation of gut microbiota and its relevance to brain disorders, exploring in particular the implications for neurodegenerative diseases. We will focus on three major environmental factors that are known to influence the onset and progression of those diseases, namely exercise, diet and stress. Further exploration of environmental modulation, acting via both peripheral (e.g. gut microbiota and associated metabolic dysfunction or 'metabolopathy') and central (e.g. direct effects on CNS neurons and glia) mechanisms, may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches, such as enviromimetics, for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gubert
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Geraldine Kong
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
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Galts CP, Bettio LE, Jewett DC, Yang CC, Brocardo PS, Rodrigues ALS, Thacker JS, Gil-Mohapel J. Depression in neurodegenerative diseases: Common mechanisms and current treatment options. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:56-84. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Zajac MS, Renoir T, Perreau VM, Li S, Adams W, van den Buuse M, Hannan AJ. Short-Term Environmental Stimulation Spatiotemporally Modulates Specific Serotonin Receptor Gene Expression and Behavioral Pharmacology in a Sexually Dimorphic Manner in Huntington's Disease Transgenic Mice. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11:433. [PMID: 30618600 PMCID: PMC6295568 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a tandem repeat mutation encoding an expanded polyglutamine tract in the huntingtin protein, which leads to cognitive, psychiatric and motor dysfunction. Exposure to environmental enrichment (EE), which enhances levels of cognitive stimulation and physical activity, has therapeutic effects on cognitive, affective and motor function of transgenic HD mice. The present study investigated gene expression changes and behavioral pharmacology in male and female R6/1 transgenic HD mice at an early time-point in HD progression associated with onset of cognitive and affective abnormalities, following EE and exercise (wheel running) interventions. We have demonstrated changes in expression levels of the serotonin (5-HT) receptor Htr1a, Htr1b, Htr2a and Htr2c genes (encoding the 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, respectively) in HD brains at 8 weeks of age, using quantitative real-time PCR. In contrast, expression of the serotonin transporter (SerT, also known as 5-HTT or Slc6a4) was not altered in these brains. Furthermore, we identified region-specific, sex-specific and environmentally regulated (comparing EE, exercise and standard housing conditions) impacts on gene expression of particular 5-HT receptors, as well as SerT. For example, SerT gene expression was upregulated by exercise (wheel running from 6 to 8 weeks of age) in the hippocampus. Interestingly, when EE was introduced from 6 to 8 weeks of age, Htr2a gene expression was upregulated in the cortex, striatum and hippocampus of male mice. EE also rescued the functional activity of 5-HT2 receptors as observed in the head-twitch test, reflecting sexually dimorphic effects of environmental stimulation. These findings demonstrate that disruption of the serotonergic system occurs early in HD pathogenesis and, together with previous findings, show that the timing and duration of environmental interventions are critical in terms of their ability to modify gene expression. This study is the first to show that EE is able to selectively enhance both gene expression of a neurotransmitter receptor and the functional consequences on behavioral pharmacology, and links this molecular modulation to the therapeutic effects of environmental stimulation in this neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle S Zajac
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Victoria M Perreau
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Wendy Adams
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Maarten van den Buuse
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Normalizing glucocorticoid levels attenuates metabolic and neuropathological symptoms in the R6/2 mouse model of huntington's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2018; 121:214-229. [PMID: 30292559 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2018.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/30/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal genetic neurological disorder caused by a mutation in the human Huntingtin (HTT) gene. This mutation confers a toxic gain of function of the encoded mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein, leading to widespread neuropathology including the formation of mHTT-positive inclusion bodies, gene dysregulation, reduced levels of adult dentate gyrus neurogenesis and neuron loss throughout many regions of the brain. Additionally, because HTT is ubiquitously expressed, several peripheral tissues are also affected. HD patients suffer from progressive motor, cognitive, psychiatric, and metabolic symptoms, including weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting. HD patients also show neuroendocrine changes including a robust, significant elevation in circulating levels of the glucocorticoid, cortisol. Previously, we confirmed that the R6/2 mouse model of HD exhibits elevated corticosterone (the rodent homolog of cortisol) levels and demonstrated that experimentally elevated corticosterone exacerbates R6/2 HD symptomology, resulting in severe and rapid weight loss and a shorter latency to death. Given that efficacious therapeutics are lacking for HD, here we investigated whether normalizing glucocorticoid levels could serve as a viable therapeutic approach for this disease. We tested the hypothesis that normalizing glucocorticoids to wild-type levels would ameliorate HD symptomology. Wild-type (WT) and transgenic R6/2 mice were allocated to three treatment groups: 1) adrenalectomy with normalized, WT-level corticosterone replacement (10 μg/ml), 2) adrenalectomy with high HD-level corticosterone replacement (35 μg/ml), or 3) sham surgery with no corticosterone replacement. Normalizing corticosterone to WT levels led to an improvement in metabolic rate in male R6/2 mice, as indicated by indirect calorimetry, including a reduction in oxygen consumption and normalization of respiratory exchange ratio values (p < .05 for both). Normalizing corticosterone also ameliorated brain atrophy in female R6/2 mice and skeletal muscle wasting in both male and female R6/2 mice (p < .05 for all). Female R6/2 mice given WT-level corticosterone replacement also showed a reduction in HD neuropathological markers, including a reduction in mHTT inclusion burden in the striatum, cortex, and hippocampus (p < .05 for all). This data illustrates that ameliorating glucocorticoid dysregulation leads to a significant improvement in HD symptomology in the R6/2 mouse model and suggests that cortisol-reducing therapeutics may be of value in improving HD patient quality of life.
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Schuldenzucker V, Schubert R, Muratori LM, Freisfeld F, Rieke L, Matheis T, Schramke S, Motlik J, Kemper N, Radespiel U, Reilmann R. Behavioral Assessment of Stress Compensation in Minipigs Transgenic for the Huntington Gene Using Cortisol Levels: A Proof-of-Concept Study. J Huntingtons Dis 2018; 7:151-161. [DOI: 10.3233/jhd-180285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Verena Schuldenzucker
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Robin Schubert
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
| | - Lisa M. Muratori
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Technology and Management, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Frauke Freisfeld
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Lorena Rieke
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Tamara Matheis
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Sarah Schramke
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
| | - Jan Motlik
- Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, v.v.i., AS CR, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Nicole Kemper
- Institute of Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behavior, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ute Radespiel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ralf Reilmann
- George-Huntington-Institute, Technology-Park, Muenster, Germany
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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Rawat A, Guo J, Renoir T, Pang TY, Hannan AJ. Hypersensitivity to sertraline in the absence of hippocampal 5-HT 1AR and 5-HTT gene expression changes following paternal corticosterone treatment. ENVIRONMENTAL EPIGENETICS 2018; 4:dvy015. [PMID: 30046455 PMCID: PMC6054191 DOI: 10.1093/eep/dvy015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The male germ line is capable of transmitting a legacy of stress exposure to the next generation of offspring. This transgenerational process manifests by altering offspring affective behaviours, cognition and metabolism. Paternal early life trauma causes hippocampal serotonergic dysregulation in male offspring. We previously showed a transgenerational modification to male offspring anxiety-like behaviours by treatment of adult male breeders with corticosterone (CORT) prior to mating. In the present study, we used offspring from our paternal CORT model and characterised offspring serotonergic function by examining their responses to the 5HT1AR agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, sertraline. We also examined whether post-weaning environmental enrichment, a paradigm well-known to modulate serotonergic signalling in the brain, had the capacity to normalise the anxiety phenotype of male offspring. Finally, we assessed gene expression levels of 5HT1AR and serotonin transporter in the offspring hippocampus to determine whether deficits in gene transcription contributed to the male-only anxiety phenotype. We report that male and female offspring of CORT-treated fathers are hypersensitive to sertraline but have normal hypothermic responses to 8-OH-DPAT. No deficits in htr1a and sert were found in association with paternal CORT treatment, and environmental enrichment did not rescue the anxiety phenotype of male offspring on the elevated-plus maze. These findings indicate that varying forms of paternal stress exert different effects on offspring brain serotonergic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arina Rawat
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jackey Guo
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
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Novel approaches to alcohol rehabilitation: Modification of stress-responsive brain regions through environmental enrichment. Neuropharmacology 2018; 145:25-36. [PMID: 29477298 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2017] [Revised: 02/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Relapse remains the most prominent hurdle to successful rehabilitation from alcoholism. The neural mechanisms underlying relapse are complex, but our understanding of the brain regions involved, the anatomical circuitry and the modulation of specific nuclei in the context of stress and cue-induced relapse have improved significantly in recent years. In particular, stress is now recognised as a significant trigger for relapse, adding to the well-established impact of chronic stress to escalate alcohol consumption. It is therefore unsurprising that the stress-responsive regions of the brain have also been implicated in alcohol relapse, such as the nucleus accumbens, amygdala and the hypothalamus. Environmental enrichment is a robust experimental paradigm which provides a non-pharmacological tool to alter stress response and, separately, alcohol-seeking behaviour and symptoms of withdrawal. In this review, we examine and consolidate the preclinical evidence that alcohol seeking behaviour and stress-induced relapse are modulated by environmental enrichment, and these are primarily mediated by modification of neural activity within the key nodes of the addiction circuitry. Finally, we discuss the limited clinical evidence that stress-reducing approaches such as mindfulness could potentially serve as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of alcoholism. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled "Neurobiology of Environmental Enrichment".
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Cao JK, Detloff PJ, Gardner RG, Stella N. Sex-dependent behavioral impairments in the HdhQ350/+ mouse line. Behav Brain Res 2018; 337:34-45. [PMID: 28927719 PMCID: PMC5659761 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Revised: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by gradual deterioration of motor and cognitive functions and development of psychiatric deficits. Animal models provide powerful means to study the pathological processes, molecular dysfunctions and symptoms associated with HD. We performed a longitudinal behavioral study of the newly developed HdhQ350/+ mouse line, a knock-in model that expresses a repeat of 350 glutamines. We found remarkable sex-dependent differences on symptom onset and severity. While both sexes lose weight and grip strength, only HdhQ350/+ males have impaired motor coordination as measured by the rotarod and alterations in gait as measured by the catwalk assay. While HdhQ350/+ females do not exhibit impairment in motor coordination, we found a reduction in dark phase locomotor activity. Male and female HdhQ350/+ mice do not show anxiety as measured by the elevated plus maze or changes in exploration as measured by the open field test. To investigate these sex-dependent differences, we performed western blot analyses of striatal tissue. We measured equal mutant huntingtin protein expression in both sexes and found evidence of aggregation. We found the expected decrease of DARPP-32 expression only in female HdhQ350/+ mice. Remarkably, we found no evidence of reduction in synaptophysin or CB1 receptors in HdhQ350/+ tissue of either sex. Our study indicates that male and female HdhQ350/+ mice differentially recapitulate select behavioral impairments commonly measured in other HD mouse models with limited sex-dependent changes in recognized histopathological markers. We conclude that expanded polyglutamine repeats influence HD pathogenesis in a sex-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica K Cao
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States
| | - Peter J Detloff
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, United States
| | - Richard G Gardner
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States
| | - Nephi Stella
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, United States.
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20
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Gardiner SL, van Belzen MJ, Boogaard MW, van Roon-Mom WMC, Rozing MP, van Hemert AM, Smit JH, Beekman ATF, van Grootheest G, Schoevers RA, Oude Voshaar RC, Roos RAC, Comijs HC, Penninx BWJH, van der Mast RC, Aziz NA. Huntingtin gene repeat size variations affect risk of lifetime depression. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:1277. [PMID: 29225330 PMCID: PMC5802693 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-017-0042-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Revised: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder caused by a cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat expansion in the HTT gene. Although HD is frequently complicated by depression, it is still unknown to what extent common HTT CAG repeat size variations in the normal range could affect depression risk in the general population. Using binary logistic regression, we assessed the association between HTT CAG repeat size and depression risk in two well-characterized Dutch cohorts─the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety and the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons─including 2165 depressed and 1058 non-depressed persons. In both cohorts, separately as well as combined, there was a significant non-linear association between the risk of lifetime depression and HTT CAG repeat size in which both relatively short and relatively large alleles were associated with an increased risk of depression (β = -0.292 and β = 0.006 for the linear and the quadratic term, respectively; both P < 0.01 after adjustment for the effects of sex, age, and education level). The odds of lifetime depression were lowest in persons with a HTT CAG repeat size of 21 (odds ratio: 0.71, 95% confidence interval: 0.52 to 0.98) compared to the average odds in the total cohort. In conclusion, lifetime depression risk was higher with both relatively short and relatively large HTT CAG repeat sizes in the normal range. Our study provides important proof-of-principle that repeat polymorphisms can act as hitherto unappreciated but complex genetic modifiers of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Gardiner
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands ,0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Martine J. van Belzen
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Clinical Genetics, and Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Merel W. Boogaard
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands ,0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Clinical Genetics, and Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willeke M. C. van Roon-Mom
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten P. Rozing
- 0000 0001 0674 042Xgrid.5254.6Department of Public Health, Section of Social Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Albert M. van Hemert
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes H. Smit
- 0000 0001 0686 3219grid.466632.3Department of Psychiatry, and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Aartjan T. F. Beekman
- 0000 0001 0686 3219grid.466632.3Department of Psychiatry, and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gerard van Grootheest
- 0000 0001 0686 3219grid.466632.3Department of Psychiatry, and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert A. Schoevers
- 0000 0000 9558 4598grid.4494.dDepartment of Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Richard C. Oude Voshaar
- 0000 0000 9558 4598grid.4494.dDepartment of Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Raymund A. C. Roos
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hannie C. Comijs
- 0000 0001 0686 3219grid.466632.3Department of Psychiatry, and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Brenda W. J. H. Penninx
- 0000 0001 0686 3219grid.466632.3Department of Psychiatry, and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center/GGZ inGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Roos C. van der Mast
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands ,0000 0001 0790 3681grid.5284.b Department of Psychiatry, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - N. Ahmad Aziz
- 0000000089452978grid.10419.3dDepartments of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands ,0000000121901201grid.83440.3bDepartment of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
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Torres-Reverón A, Rivera LL, Flores I, Appleyard CB. Environmental Manipulations as an Effective Alternative Treatment to Reduce Endometriosis Progression. Reprod Sci 2017; 25:1336-1348. [PMID: 29137551 DOI: 10.1177/1933719117741374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Treatments for endometriosis include pharmacological or surgical procedures that produce significant side effects. We aimed to determine how environmental enrichment (EE) could impact the progression of endometriosis using the autotransplantation rat model. Female rats were exposed to EE (endo-EE: toys and nesting materials, 4 rats per cage, larger area enclosure) or no enrichment (endo-NE: 2 rats per cage) starting on postnatal day 21. After 8 weeks, sham surgery or surgical endometriosis was induced by suturing uterine horn tissue next to the intestinal mesentery, then allowed to progress for 60 days during which EE or NE continued. At the time of killing, we measured anxiety behaviors, collected endometriotic vesicles and uterus, and processed for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), urocortin-1, CRH receptors type 1 and type 2, and glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Endometriosis did not affect anxiety-like behaviors, yet rats in enriched conditions showed lower basal anxiety behaviors than the nonenriched group. Importantly, the endo-EE group showed a 28% reduction in the number of endometriosis vesicles and the vesicles were significantly smaller compared to the endo-NE group. Endometriosis increased CRH and GR only in the vesicles of endo-NE, and this increase was dampened in the endo-EE. However, urocortin 1 was increased in the vesicles of the endo-EE group, suggesting different pathways of activation of CRH receptors in this group. Our results suggest that the use of multimodal complementary therapies that reduce stress in endometriosis could be an effective and safe treatment alternative, with minimal side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelyn Torres-Reverón
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA.,3 Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA
| | - Leslie L Rivera
- 2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA.,3 Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA
| | - Idhaliz Flores
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - Caroline B Appleyard
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,5 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
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Paternal environmental enrichment transgenerationally alters affective behavioral and neuroendocrine phenotypes. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2017; 77:225-235. [PMID: 28104556 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Revised: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 11/11/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated that paternal stress in rodents can result in modification of offspring behavior. Environmental enrichment, which enhances cognitive stimulation and physical activity, modifies various behaviors and reduces stress responses in adult rodents. We investigated the transgenerational influence of paternal environmental enrichment on offspring behavior and physiological stress response. Adult C57BL/6J male mice (F0) were exposed to either environmental enrichment or standard housing for four weeks and then pair-mated with naïve females. The F2 generation was generated using F1 male offspring. Male and female F1 and F2 offspring were tested for anxiety using the elevated-plus maze and large open field at 8 weeks of age. Depression-related behavior was assessed using the forced-swim test. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function was determined by quantification of serum corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels at baseline and after forced-swim stress. Paternal environmental enrichment was associated with increased body weights of male F1 and F2 offspring. There was no significant effect on F1 offspring anxiety and depression-related behaviors. There were no changes in anxiety-related behaviors in the F2 offspring, however these mice displayed a reduced latency to immobility in the forced-swim test. Furthermore, F2 females had significantly higher serum corticosterone levels post-stress, but not ACTH. These results show that paternal environmental enrichment exerts a sex-specific transgenerational impact on the behavioral and physiological response to stress. Our findings have implications for the modelling of psychiatric disorders in rodents.
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Bartlett DM, Cruickshank TM, Hannan AJ, Eastwood PR, Lazar AS, Ziman MR. Neuroendocrine and neurotrophic signaling in Huntington’s disease: Implications for pathogenic mechanisms and treatment strategies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:444-454. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Revised: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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24
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Renoir T, Pang TY, Shikano Y, Li S, Hannan AJ. Loss of the Sexually Dimorphic Neuro-Inflammatory Response in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2016; 4:297-303. [PMID: 26599196 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-150153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We previously reported sex differences in depression-like behaviours in a mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD). OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that immune response could also be altered in HD mice in a sex-dependent manner. METHODS Here, we assessed the molecular effects of an acute challenge with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in female versus male R6/1 transgenic HD mice. RESULTS We found an enhancement of LPS-induced TNF-α gene expression in the hypothalamus of female HD mice. TNF-α serum levels following LPS administration were also higher in female HD mice compared to WT animals. In contrast, male HD mice exhibited reduced LPS-induced TNF-α gene expression compared to WT animals. DISCUSSION Our findings suggest that immune response to LPS is altered in HD mice in a sex-dependent manner. These pro-inflammatory abnormalities may contribute to the sexually dimorphic depression-like behaviours displayed by this mouse model of HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Yoshiko Shikano
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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25
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Dufour BD, McBride JL. Corticosterone dysregulation exacerbates disease progression in the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Exp Neurol 2016; 283:308-17. [PMID: 27381424 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Revised: 05/28/2016] [Accepted: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurological disorder that causes severe and progressive motor, cognitive, psychiatric, and metabolic symptoms. There is a robust, significant elevation in circulating levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in HD patients; however, the causes and consequences of this elevation are largely uncharacterized. Here, we evaluated whether elevated levels of corticosterone, the rodent homolog of cortisol, contributed to the development of symptomology in transgenic HD mice. Wild-type (WT) and transgenic R6/2 mice were given either 1) adrenalectomy with WT-level corticosterone replacement (10ng/ml), 2) adrenalectomy with high HD-level corticosterone replacement (60ng/ml), or 3) sham surgery without replacement. R6/2 mice on HD-level replacement showed severe and rapid weight loss (p<0.05) and a shorter latency to death (p<0.01) relative to the HD mice on WT-level replacement. We further evaluated basal and stress-induced levels of circulating corticosterone in R6/2 mice throughout the course of their life. We found that R6/2 transgenic HD mice display a spontaneous elevation in circulating corticosterone levels that became significant at 10weeks of age. Furthermore, we identified significant dysregulation of circadian rhythmicity of corticosterone release measured over a 24h period compared to wild-type controls. Unexpectedly, we found that R6/2 transgenic mice show a blunted corticosterone response to restraint stress, compared to wild-type mice. Together, these data provide further evidence that HPA-axis activity is abnormal in R6/2 mice, and highlight the important role that cortisol plays in HD symptom development. Our findings suggest that cortisol-reducing therapeutics may be of value in improving HD patient quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett D Dufour
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Jodi L McBride
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA.
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26
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Metabolic and behavioral effects of mutant huntingtin deletion in Sim1 neurons in the BACHD mouse model of Huntington's disease. Sci Rep 2016; 6:28322. [PMID: 27334347 PMCID: PMC4917832 DOI: 10.1038/srep28322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypothalamic pathology, metabolic dysfunction and psychiatric symptoms are part of Huntington disease (HD), which is caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Inactivation of mutant HTT selectively in the hypothalamus prevents the development of metabolic dysfunction and depressive-like behavior in the BACHD mouse model. The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is implicated in metabolic and emotional control, therefore we here tested whether inactivation of mutant HTT in the PVN affects metabolic and psychiatric manifestations of HD in BACHD mice. BACHD mice were crossed with mice expressing Cre-recombinase under the Sim1 promoter (Sim1-Cre) to inactivate mutant HTT in Sim1 expressing cells, i.e. the PVN of the hypothalamus. We found that inactivation of mutant HTT in Sim1 cells had a sex-specific effect on both the metabolic and the psychiatric phenotype, as these phenotypes were no longer different in male BACHD/Sim1-Cre mice compared to wild-type littermates. We also found a reduced number of GnRH neurons specifically in the anterior hypothalamus and an increased testes weight in male BACHD mice compared to wild-type littermates. Taken together, expression of mutant HTT in Sim1 cells may play a role for the development of metabolic dysfunction and depressive-like behavior in male BACHD mice.
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27
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Wright DJ, Gray LJ, Finkelstein DI, Crouch PJ, Pow D, Pang TY, Li S, Smith ZM, Francis PS, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. N-acetylcysteine modulates glutamatergic dysfunction and depressive behavior in Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2016; 25:2923-2933. [PMID: 27179791 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddw144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2016] [Revised: 04/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutamatergic dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders and Huntington's disease (HD), in which depression is the most common psychiatric symptom. Synaptic glutamate homeostasis is regulated by cystine-dependent glutamate transporters, including GLT-1 and system xc- In HD, the enzyme regulating cysteine (and subsequently cystine) production, cystathionine-γ-lygase, has recently been shown to be lowered. The aim of the present study was to establish whether cysteine supplementation, using N-acetylcysteine (NAC) could ameliorate glutamate pathology through the cystine-dependent transporters, system xc- and GLT-1. We demonstrate that the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of HD has lower basal levels of cystine, and showed depressive-like behaviors in the forced-swim test. Administration of NAC reversed these behaviors. This effect was blocked by co-administration of the system xc- and GLT-1 inhibitors CPG and DHK, showing that glutamate transporter activity was required for the antidepressant effects of NAC. NAC was also able to specifically increase glutamate in HD mice, in a glutamate transporter-dependent manner. These in vivo changes reflect changes in glutamate transporter protein in HD mice and human HD post-mortem tissue. Furthermore, NAC was able to rescue changes in key glutamate receptor proteins related to excitotoxicity in HD, including NMDAR2B. Thus, we have shown that baseline reductions in cysteine underlie glutamatergic dysfunction and depressive-like behavior in HD and these changes can be rescued by treatment with NAC. These findings have implications for the development of new therapeutic approaches for depressive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean J Wright
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia
| | - Laura J Gray
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia, .,School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia
| | - David I Finkelstein
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Peter J Crouch
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - David Pow
- The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Zoe M Smith
- Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia
| | - Paul S Francis
- Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, 30 Royal Pde, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Curtin PCP, Farrar AM, Oakeshott S, Sutphen J, Berger J, Mazzella M, Cox K, He D, Alosio W, Park LC, Howland D, Brunner D. Cognitive Training at a Young Age Attenuates Deficits in the zQ175 Mouse Model of HD. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 9:361. [PMID: 26793080 PMCID: PMC4707270 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that causes motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. In these experiments, we tested if operant training at an early age affected adult cognitive deficits in the zQ175 KI Het (zQ175) mouse model of HD. In Experiment 1 we trained zQ175 mice in a fixed-ratio/progressive ratio (FR/PR) task to assay learning and motivational deficits. We found pronounced deficits in response rates and task engagement in naïve adult zQ175 mice (32-33 weeks age), while deficits in zQ175 mice trained from 6-7 weeks age were either absent or less severe. When those mice were re-tested as adults, FR/PR performance deficits were absent or otherwise less severe than deficits observed in naïve adult zQ175 relative to wild type (WT) mice. In Experiment 2, we used a Go/No-go operant task to assess the effects of early cognitive testing on response inhibition deficits in zQ175 mice. We found that zQ175 mice that began testing at 7-8 weeks did not exhibit deficits in Go/No-go testing, but when re-tested at 28-29 weeks age exhibited an initial impairment that diminished with training. These transient deficits were nonetheless mild relative to deficits observed among adult zQ175 mice without prior testing experience. In Experiment 3 we trained mice in a two-choice visual discrimination test to evaluate cognitive flexibility. As in prior experiments, we found performance deficits were mild or absent in mice that started training at 6-9 weeks of age, while deficits in naive mice exposed to training at 28-29 weeks were severe. Re-testing mice at 28-29 weeks age, were previously trained starting at 6-9 weeks, revealed that deficits in learning and cognitive flexibility were absent or reduced relative to effects observed in naive adults. In Experiment 4, we tested working memory deficits with a delayed non-match to position (DNMTP) test. Mice with prior experience exhibited mild working memory deficits, with males zQ175 exhibiting no deficits, and females performing significantly worse than WT mice at a single delay interval, whereas naive zQ175 exhibited severe delay-dependent deficits at all intervals exceeding 1 s. In sum, these experiments indicate that CAG-dependent impairments in motivation, motor control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory are sensitive to the environmental enrichment and experience. These findings are of clinical relevance, as HD carrier status can potentially be detected at an early age.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Dansha He
- Psychogenics Inc. Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Daniela Brunner
- Psychogenics Inc.Tarrytown, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia UniversityNew York, NY, USA
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29
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. What's wrong with my mouse cage? Methodological considerations for modeling lifestyle factors and gene-environment interactions in mice. J Neurosci Methods 2015; 265:99-108. [PMID: 26279343 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The mechanistic understanding of lifestyle contributions to disease has been largely driven by work in laboratory rodent models using environmental interventions. These interventions show an array of methodologies and sometimes unclear collective conclusions, hampering clinical interpretations. Here we discuss environmental enrichment, exercise and stress interventions to illustrate how different protocols can affect the interpretations of environmental factors in disease. We use Huntington's disease (HD) as an example because its mouse models exhibit excellent validity and HD was the first genetic animal model in which environmental stimulation was found to be beneficial. We make a number of observations and recommendations. Firstly, environmental enrichment and voluntary exercise generally show benefits across laboratories and mouse models. However, the extent to which these environmental interventions have beneficial effects depends on parameters such as the structural complexity of the cage in the case of enrichment, the timing of the intervention and the nature of the control conditions. In particular, clinical interpretations should consider deprived control living conditions and the ethological relevance of the enrichment. Secondly, stress can have negative effects on the phenotype in mouse models of HD and other brain disorders. When modeling stress, the effects of more than one type of experimental stressor should be investigated due to the heterogeneity and complexity of stress responses. With stress in particular, but ideally in all studies, both sexes should be used and the randomized group sizes need to be sufficiently powered to detect any sex effects. Opportunities for clinical translation will be guided by the 'environmental construct validity' of the preclinical data, including the culmination of complementary protocols across multiple animal models. Environmental interventions in mouse models of HD provide illustrative examples of how valid preclinical studies can lead to conclusions relevant to clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Thibault Renoir
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
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30
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Mo C, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Environmental factors as modulators of neurodegeneration: Insights from gene–environment interactions in Huntington's disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 52:178-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2014] [Revised: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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31
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Du X, Pang TY. Is Dysregulation of the HPA-Axis a Core Pathophysiology Mediating Co-Morbid Depression in Neurodegenerative Diseases? Front Psychiatry 2015; 6:32. [PMID: 25806005 PMCID: PMC4353372 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 02/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence of prodromal manifestation of neuropsychiatric symptoms in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). These affective symptoms may be observed many years before the core diagnostic symptoms of the neurological condition. It is becoming more apparent that depression is a significant modifying factor of the trajectory of disease progression and even treatment outcomes. It is therefore crucial that we understand the potential pathophysiologies related to the primary condition, which could contribute to the development of depression. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis is a key neuroendocrine signaling system involved in physiological homeostasis and stress response. Disturbances of this system lead to severe hormonal imbalances, and the majority of such patients also present with behavioral deficits and/or mood disorders. Dysregulation of the HPA-axis is also strongly implicated in the pathology of major depressive disorder. Consistent with this, antidepressant drugs, such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to alter HPA-axis activity. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding HPA-axis pathology in Alzheimer's, PD and HD, differentiating between prodromal and later stages of disease progression when evidence is available. Both clinical and preclinical evidence will be examined, but we highlight animal model studies as being particularly useful for uncovering novel mechanisms of pathology related to co-morbid mood disorders. Finally, we purpose utilizing the preclinical evidence to better inform prospective, intervention studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Du
- Mental Health Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, VIC , Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Behavioural Neurosciences Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, VIC , Australia
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32
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Ethological endophenotypes are altered by elevated stress hormone levels in both Huntington's disease and wildtype mice. Behav Brain Res 2014; 274:118-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Du X, Pang TY, Mo C, Renoir T, Wright DJ, Hannan AJ. The influence of the HPG axis on stress response and depressive-like behaviour in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Exp Neurol 2014; 263:63-71. [PMID: 25246229 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2014] [Revised: 07/19/2014] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG tandem repeat mutation encoding a polyglutamine tract expansion in the huntingtin protein. Depression is among the most common affective symptoms in HD but the pathophysiology is unclear. We have previously discovered sexually dimorphic depressive-like behaviours in the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of HD at a pre-motor symptomatic age. Interestingly, only female R6/1 mice display this phenotype. Sexual dimorphism has not been explored in the human HD population despite the well-established knowledge that the clinical depression rate in females is almost twice that of males. Female susceptibility suggests a role of sex hormones, which have been shown to modulate stress response. There is evidence suggesting that the gonads are adversely affected in HD patients, which could alter sex hormone levels. The present study examined the role sex hormones play on stress response in the R6/1 mouse model of HD, in particular, its modulatory effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and depression-like behaviour. We found that the gonads of female R6/1 mice show atrophy at an early age. Expression levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) were decreased in the hypothalamus of female HD mice, relative to wild-type female littermates, as were serum testosterone levels. Female serum estradiol levels were not significantly changed. Gonadectomy surgery reduced HPA-axis activity in female mice but had no effect on behavioural phenotypes. Furthermore, expression of the oestrogen receptor (ER) α gene was found to be higher in the adrenal cells of female HD mice. Finally, administration of an ERβ agonist diarylpropionitrile (DPN) rescued depressive-like behaviour in the female HD mice. Our findings provide new insight into the pathogenesis of sexually dimorphic neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural endophenotypes in HD, and suggest a new avenue for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Du
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Dept of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
| | - T Y Pang
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - C Mo
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - T Renoir
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Dept of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - D J Wright
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - A J Hannan
- Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Behavioural Neuroscience Division, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Dept of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
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Alwis DS, Rajan R. Environmental enrichment and the sensory brain: the role of enrichment in remediating brain injury. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:156. [PMID: 25228861 PMCID: PMC4151031 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 08/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain's life-long capacity for experience-dependent plasticity allows adaptation to new environments or to changes in the environment, and to changes in internal brain states such as occurs in brain damage. Since the initial discovery by Hebb (1947) that environmental enrichment (EE) was able to confer improvements in cognitive behavior, EE has been investigated as a powerful form of experience-dependent plasticity. Animal studies have shown that exposure to EE results in a number of molecular and morphological alterations, which are thought to underpin changes in neuronal function and ultimately, behavior. These consequences of EE make it ideally suited for investigation into its use as a potential therapy after neurological disorders, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this review, we aim to first briefly discuss the effects of EE on behavior and neuronal function, followed by a review of the underlying molecular and structural changes that account for EE-dependent plasticity in the normal (uninjured) adult brain. We then extend this review to specifically address the role of EE in the treatment of experimental TBI, where we will discuss the demonstrated sensorimotor and cognitive benefits associated with exposure to EE, and their possible mechanisms. Finally, we will explore the use of EE-based rehabilitation in the treatment of human TBI patients, highlighting the remaining questions regarding the effects of EE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dasuni S Alwis
- Department of Physiology, Monash University Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Ramesh Rajan
- Department of Physiology, Monash University Clayton, VIC, Australia
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35
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Mo C, Pang TY, Ransome MI, Hill RA, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. High stress hormone levels accelerate the onset of memory deficits in male Huntington's disease mice. Neurobiol Dis 2014; 69:248-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2013] [Revised: 04/24/2014] [Accepted: 05/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
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Skillings EA, Wood NI, Morton AJ. Beneficial effects of environmental enrichment and food entrainment in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease. Brain Behav 2014; 4:675-86. [PMID: 25328844 PMCID: PMC4107380 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 03/06/2014] [Accepted: 04/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In addition to their cognitive and motor deficits, R6/2 mice show a progressive disintegration in circadian rhythms that mirrors the problems associated with sleep-wake disturbances experienced by patients with Huntington's disease (HD). It has been shown previously that motor and cognitive performance, as well as survival, can be improved in transgenic mouse models of HD through the provision of environmental enrichment. METHODS We compared the effect of two different overnight entrainment paradigms presented either separately or in combination. The first was environmental enrichment, the second was temporal food-entrainment. Environmental enrichment was provided in the dark period (the natural active period for mice) in the form of access to a Perspex playground containing running wheels, tunnels, climbing frame, ropes and chew blocks. Food entrainment was imposed by allowing access to food only during the dark period. We assessed a number of different aspects of function in the mice, measuring general health (by SHIRPA testing, body temperature and body weight measurements), cognitive performance in the touchscreen and locomotor behavior in the open field. RESULTS There were no significant differences in cognitive performance between groups on different schedules. Environmental enrichment delayed the onset of general health deterioration, while food entrainment slowed the loss of body weight, aided the maintenance of body temperature and improved locomotor behavior. Effects were limited however, and in combination had deleterious effects on survival. CONCLUSIONS Our results support previous studies showing that environmental enrichment can be beneficial and might be used to enhance the quality of life of HD patients. However, improvements are selective and 'enrichment' per se is likely to only be useful as an adjunct to a more direct therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Skillings
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
| | - Nigel I Wood
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
| | - A Jennifer Morton
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
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37
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Hannan AJ. Environmental enrichment and brain repair: harnessing the therapeutic effects of cognitive stimulation and physical activity to enhance experience-dependent plasticity. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:13-25. [PMID: 24354721 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity, inducing enhanced sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation. In wild-type rodents, EE has been found to have a range of effects, such as enhancing experience-dependent cellular plasticity and cognitive performance, relative to standard-housed controls. Whilst environmental enrichment is of course a relative term, dependent on the nature of control environmental conditions, epidemiological studies suggest that EE has direct clinical relevance to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. EE has been demonstrated to induce beneficial effects in animal models of a wide variety of brain disorders. The first evidence of beneficial effects of EE in a genetically targeted animal model was generated using Huntington's disease transgenic mice. Subsequent studies found that EE was also therapeutic in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, consistent with epidemiological studies of relevant environmental modifiers. EE has also been found to ameliorate behavioural, cellular and molecular deficits in animal models of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. This review will focus on the effects of EE observed in animal models of neurodegenerative brain diseases, at molecular, cellular and behavioural levels. The proposal that EE may act synergistically with other approaches, such as drug and cell therapies, to facilitate brain repair will be discussed. I will also discuss the therapeutic potential of 'enviromimetics', drugs which mimic or enhance the therapeutic effects of cognitive activity and physical exercise, for both neuroprotection and brain repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Effects of chronic stress on the onset and progression of Huntington's disease in transgenic mice. Neurobiol Dis 2014; 71:81-94. [PMID: 25088714 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a tandem repeat mutation encoding an expanded polyglutamine tract. Our previous work showed that memory deficits in HD transgenic mice could be accelerated by increased levels of stress hormone, while memory in WT mice remained unaffected. HD patients experience higher levels of stress compared to the general population and symptoms of HD also include motor, cognitive, psychiatric, sexual and olfactory abnormalities, and an associated decline in activities of daily living. Therefore we investigated the impact of a robust stressor (i.e. restraint) on the onset and progression of a range of behavioral phenotypes in R6/1 transgenic HD mice. Restraint was administered for 1h daily from 6weeks of age and continued until R6/1 mice were clearly motor symptomatic at 14weeks of age. Serum corticosterone levels in both R6/1 and WT littermates were elevated immediately after the last restraint session and weight gain was suppressed in restrained animals throughout the treatment period. Motor coordination and locomotor activity were enhanced by chronic restraint in males, regardless of genotype. However, there was no effect of restraint on motor performances in female animals. At 8weeks of age, olfactory sensitivity was impaired by restraint in R6/1 HD female mice, but not in WT mice. In male R6/1 mice, the olfactory deficit was exacerbated by restraint and olfaction was also impaired in male WT mice. The development of deficits in saccharin preference, Y-maze memory, nest-building and sexually-motivated vocalizations was unaffected by chronic restraint in R6/1 and had little impact on such behavioral performances in WT animals. We provide evidence that chronic stress can negatively modulate specific endophenotypes in HD mice, while the same functions were affected to a lesser extent in WT mice. This vulnerability in HD animals seems to be sex-specific depending on the stress paradigm used. It is hoped that our work will stimulate clinical investigations into the effects of stress on both pre-symptomatic and symptomatic gene-positive members of HD families, and inform the development of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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The effects of environmental enrichment on depressive and anxiety-relevant behaviors in socially isolated prairie voles. Psychosom Med 2014; 76:277-84. [PMID: 24804886 PMCID: PMC4020982 DOI: 10.1097/psy.0000000000000052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social isolation is associated with depression, anxiety, and negative health outcomes. Environmental enrichment, including environmental and cognitive stimulation with inanimate objects and opportunities for physical exercise, may be an effective strategy to include in treatment paradigms for affective disorders as a function of social isolation. In a rodent model-the socially monogamous prairie vole-we investigated the hypothesis that depression- and anxiety-related behaviors after social isolation would be prevented and remediated with environmental enrichment. METHODS Experiment 1 investigated the preventive effects of environmental enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered concurrently with social isolation. Experiment 2 investigated the remediating effects of enrichment on negative affective behaviors when administered after a period of isolation. Behaviors were measured in three operational tests: open field, forced swim test (FST), and elevated plus maze. RESULTS In isolated prairie voles, enrichment prevented depression-relevant (immobility in FST, group × housing interaction, p = .049) and anxiety-relevant behaviors (exploration in open field, group × housing interaction, p = .036; exploration in elevated plus maze, group × housing interaction, p = .049). Delayed enrichment also remediated these behaviors in isolated animals (immobility in FST, main effect of housing, p = .001; exploration in open field, main effect of housing, p = .047; exploration in elevated plus maze, main effect of housing, p = .001) and was slightly more effective than physical exercise alone in remediating anxiety-relevant behaviors. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide insight into the beneficial effects of an enriched environment on depression- and anxiety-relevant behaviors using a translational rodent model of social isolation.
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Pla P, Orvoen S, Saudou F, David DJ, Humbert S. Mood disorders in Huntington's disease: from behavior to cellular and molecular mechanisms. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:135. [PMID: 24795586 PMCID: PMC4005937 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 04/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is best known for its effect on motor control. Mood disturbances such as depression, anxiety, and irritability also have a high prevalence in patients with HD, and often start before the onset of motor symptoms. Various rodent models of HD recapitulate the anxiety/depressive behavior seen in patients. HD is caused by an expanded polyglutamine stretch in the N-terminal part of a 350 kDa protein called huntingtin (HTT). HTT is ubiquitously expressed and is implicated in several cellular functions including control of transcription, vesicular trafficking, ciliogenesis, and mitosis. This review summarizes progress in efforts to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying behavioral disorders in patients with HD. Dysfunctional HTT affects cellular pathways that are involved in mood disorders or in the response to antidepressants, including BDNF/TrkB and serotonergic signaling. Moreover, HTT affects adult hippocampal neurogenesis, a physiological phenomenon that is implicated in some of the behavioral effects of antidepressants and is linked to the control of anxiety. These findings are consistent with the emerging role of wild-type HTT as a crucial component of neuronal development and physiology. Thus, the pathogenic polyQ expansion in HTT could lead to mood disorders not only by the gain of a new toxic function but also by the perturbation of its normal function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Pla
- Institut Curie Orsay, France ; CNRS UMR3306 Orsay, France ; INSERM U1005 Orsay, France ; Faculté des Sciences, Université Paris-Sud Orsay, France
| | - Sophie Orvoen
- EA3544, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris-Sud Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Frédéric Saudou
- Institut Curie Orsay, France ; CNRS UMR3306 Orsay, France ; INSERM U1005 Orsay, France
| | - Denis J David
- EA3544, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris-Sud Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Sandrine Humbert
- Institut Curie Orsay, France ; CNRS UMR3306 Orsay, France ; INSERM U1005 Orsay, France
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Novel ethological endophenotypes in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Behav Brain Res 2014; 276:17-27. [PMID: 24747660 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative disorder with a characteristic triad of cognitive, affective and motor symptoms. Transgenic HD mice show excellent construct and face validity for many of these symptoms, however the decline in some facets of every day activity in humans is difficult to model. One approach is the assessment of species-relevant behaviors. Here we described three ethologically appropriate tests in the mouse-olfactory sensitivity, nest-building and sexually-motivated vocalizations. In R6/1 HD mice, olfactory and nest-building tests were sensitive to early dysfunctions induced by the HD mutation. Male vocalization testing revealed a late-stage sexual disinterest in R6/1 HD mice compared to WT littermates. We show that essential, species-relevant functions are disrupted by the HD mutation. The development of integrative behavioral assays which more closely model 'activities of daily living' (ADL) will facilitate the testing of novel therapeutic interventions in animal models as well as their clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia
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Rattray I, Smith EJ, Crum WR, Walker TA, Gale R, Bates GP, Modo M. Correlations of behavioral deficits with brain pathology assessed through longitudinal MRI and histopathology in the R6/1 mouse model of Huntington's disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e84726. [PMID: 24367693 PMCID: PMC3868608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2013] [Accepted: 11/18/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. The R6 mouse models of HD express a mutant version of exon 1 HTT and typically develop motor and cognitive impairments, a widespread huntingtin (HTT) aggregate pathology and brain atrophy. Unlike the more commonly used R6/2 mouse line, R6/1 mice have fewer CAG repeats and, subsequently, a less rapid pathological decline. Compared to the R6/2 line, fewer descriptions of the progressive pathologies exhibited by R6/1 mice exist. The association between the molecular and cellular neuropathology with brain atrophy, and with the development of behavioral phenotypes remains poorly understood in many models of HD. In attempt to link these factors in the R6/1 mouse line, we have performed detailed assessments of behavior and of regional brain abnormalities determined through longitudinal, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as an end-stage, ex vivo MRI study and histological assessment. We found progressive decline in both motor and non-motor related behavioral tasks in R6/1 mice, first evident at 11 weeks of age. Regional brain volumes were generally unaffected at 9 weeks, but by 17 weeks there was significant grey matter atrophy. This age-related brain volume loss was validated using a more precise, semi-automated Tensor Based morphometry assessment. As well as these clear progressive phenotypes, mutant HTT (mHTT) protein, the hallmark of HD molecular pathology, was widely distributed throughout the R6/1 brain and was accompanied by neuronal loss. Despite these seemingly concomitant, robust pathological phenotypes, there appeared to be little correlation between the three main outcome measures: behavioral performance, MRI-detected brain atrophy and histopathology. In conclusion, R6/1 mice exhibit many features of HD, but the underlying mechanisms driving these clear behavioral disturbances and the brain volume loss, still remain unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Rattray
- King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- King’s College London, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, London, United Kingdom
| | - Edward J. Smith
- King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- King’s College London, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, London, United Kingdom
| | - William R. Crum
- King’s College London, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas A. Walker
- King’s College London, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, London, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Gale
- King’s College London, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gillian P. Bates
- King’s College London, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michel Modo
- King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Radiology, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Mo C, Renoir T, Pang TY, Hannan AJ. Short-term memory acquisition in female Huntington's disease mice is vulnerable to acute stress. Behav Brain Res 2013; 253:318-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.07.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Revised: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Pang TY, Du X, Catchlove WA, Renoir T, Lawrence AJ, Hannan AJ. Positive environmental modification of depressive phenotype and abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in female C57BL/6J mice during abstinence from chronic ethanol consumption. Front Pharmacol 2013; 4:93. [PMID: 23898297 PMCID: PMC3722512 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2013.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Accepted: 07/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression is a commonly reported co-morbidity during rehabilitation from alcohol use disorders and its presence is associated with an increased likelihood of relapse. Interventions which impede the development of depression could be of potential benefit if incorporated into treatment programs. We previously demonstrated an ameliorative effect of physical exercise on depressive behaviors in a mouse model of alcohol abstinence. Here, we show that environmental enrichment (cognitive and social stimulation) has a similar beneficial effect. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a key physiological system regulating stress responses and its dysregulation has been separably implicated in the pathophysiology of depression and addiction disorders. We performed a series of dexamethasone challenges and found that mice undergoing 2 weeks of alcohol abstinence had significantly greater corticosterone and ACTH levels following a DEX-CRH challenge compared to water controls. Environmental enrichment during alcohol abstinence corrected the abnormal DEX-CRH corticosterone response despite a further elevation of ACTH levels. Examination of gene expression revealed abstinence-associated alterations in glucocorticoid receptor (Gr), corticotrophin releasing hormone (Crh) and pro-opiomelanocortin (Pomc1) mRNA levels which were differentially modulated by environmental enrichment. Overall, our study demonstrates a benefit of environmental enrichment on alcohol abstinence-associated depressive behaviors and HPA axis dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terence Y Pang
- Behavioural Neurosciences Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Du X, Pang TYC, Hannan AJ. A Tale of Two Maladies? Pathogenesis of Depression with and without the Huntington's Disease Gene Mutation. Front Neurol 2013; 4:81. [PMID: 23847583 PMCID: PMC3705171 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2013.00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by a tandem repeat expansion encoding an expanded tract of glutamines in the huntingtin protein. HD is progressive and manifests as psychiatric symptoms (including depression), cognitive deficits (culminating in dementia), and motor abnormalities (including chorea). Having reached the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the “genetic stutter” which causes HD, we still lack sophisticated insight into why so many HD patients exhibit affective disorders such as depression at very early stages, prior to overt appearance of motor deficits. In this review, we will focus on depression as the major psychiatric manifestation of HD, discuss potential mechanisms of pathogenesis identified from animal models, and compare depression in HD patients with that of the wider gene-negative population. The discovery of depressive-like behaviors as well as cellular and molecular correlates of depression in transgenic HD mice has added strong support to the hypothesis that the HD mutation adds significantly to the genetic load for depression. A key question is whether HD-associated depression differs from that in the general population. Whilst preclinical studies, clinical data, and treatment responses suggest striking similarities, there are also some apparent differences. We discuss various molecular and cellular mechanisms which may contribute to depression in HD, and whether they may generalize to other depressive disorders. The autosomal dominant nature of HD and the existence of models with excellent construct validity provide a unique opportunity to understand the pathogenesis of depression and associated gene-environment interactions. Thus, understanding the pathogenesis of depression in HD may not only facilitate tailored therapeutic approaches for HD sufferers, but may also translate to the clinical depression which devastates the lives of so many people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Du
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia
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46
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Hult Lundh S, Nilsson N, Soylu R, Kirik D, Petersén Å. Hypothalamic expression of mutant huntingtin contributes to the development of depressive-like behavior in the BAC transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2013; 22:3485-97. [PMID: 23697793 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddt203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are important clinical features of Huntington's disease (HD). However, the underlying neurobiological substrate for the psychiatric features is not fully understood. In order to explore the biological origin of depression and anxiety in HD, we used a mouse model that expresses the human full-length mutant huntingtin, the BACHD mouse. We found that the BACHD mice displayed depressive- and anxiety-like features as early as at 2 months of age as assessed using the Porsolt forced swim test (FST), the sucrose preference test and the elevated plus maze (EPM). BACHD mice subjected to chronic treatment with the anti-depressant sertraline were not different to vehicle-treated BACHD mice in the FST and EPM. The behavioral manifestations occurred in the absence of reduced hippocampal cell proliferation/neurogenesis or upregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, alterations in anxiety- and depression-regulating genes were present in the hypothalamus of BACHD mice including reduced mRNA expression of neuropeptide Y, tachykinin receptor 3 and vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 as well as increased expression of cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript. Interestingly, the orexin neuronal population in the hypothalamus was increased and showed cellular atrophy in old BACHD mice. Furthermore, inactivation of mutant huntingtin in a subset of the hypothalamic neurons prevented the development of the depressive features. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the BACHD mouse recapitulates clinical HD with early psychiatric aspects and point to the role of hypothalamic dysfunction in the development of depression and anxiety in the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Hult Lundh
- Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund SE-22184, Sweden
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47
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Ransome MI, Hannan AJ. Impaired basal and running-induced hippocampal neurogenesis coincides with reduced Akt signaling in adult R6/1 HD mice. Mol Cell Neurosci 2013; 54:93-107. [PMID: 23384443 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2013.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2012] [Revised: 01/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/25/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting a range of cellular and molecular functions in the brain. Deficits in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) have been documented in the R6/1 mouse model of HD. Here we examined basal and running-induced neuronal precursor proliferation in adult female and male R6/1 HD mice. We further tested whether sequential delivery of voluntary running followed by environmental enrichment could synergistically enhance functional AHN in female R6/1 HD mice. R6/1 HD mice engaged in significantly reduced levels of voluntary running, with males showing a more severe deficit. Basal neural precursor proliferation in the hippocampal sub-granular zone remained unchanged between female and male R6/1 HD mice and neither sex significantly responded to running-induced proliferation. While discrete provision of running wheels and enriched environments doubled AHN in adult female R6/1 HD mice it did not reflect the significant 3-fold increase in female wildtypes. Nevertheless, triple-label c-Fos/BrdU/NeuN immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy provided evidence that the doubling of AHN in female R6/1 HD mice was functional. Intrinsic cellular dysfunction mediated by protein aggregates containing mutant huntingtin (mHtt) did not appear to coincide with AHN deficits. In the hippocampus of female R6/1 HD mice, proliferating precursors and 6 week old adult-generated neurons were devoid of mHtt immuno-reactive aggregates, as were endothelial, microglial and astroglial cells populating the neurogenic niche. Serum transforming growth factor-β concentrations remained unaltered in female R6/1 HD mice as did the hippocampal levels of proliferating microglia and glial fibrillarly acidic protein expression. Examining the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor 1 (GH/IGF-1) axis showed no change in base-line serum GH between genotypes. However, despite a reduced distance, acute running increases serum GH in both female wildtype and R6/1 HD mice. Serum IGF-1 levels were increased in female R6/1 HD mice compared to wildtypes during daytime inactive period, while hippocampal levels of the IGF-1 receptor remained unchanged. Running induced Akt phosphorylation in the hippocampus of female wildtype mice, which was not reflected in R6/1 HD mice. Total Akt levels were decreased in the hippocampus of both control and running R6/1 HD mice. Our results show adult-generated hippocampal neurons in female R6/1 HD mice express c-Fos and that running and Akt signaling deficits may mediate reduced basal and running-induced AHN levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark I Ransome
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
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48
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Fares RP, Belmeguenai A, Sanchez PE, Kouchi HY, Bodennec J, Morales A, Georges B, Bonnet C, Bouvard S, Sloviter RS, Bezin L. Standardized environmental enrichment supports enhanced brain plasticity in healthy rats and prevents cognitive impairment in epileptic rats. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53888. [PMID: 23342033 PMCID: PMC3544705 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore, we engineered an enriched cage (the Marlau™ cage), which offers: (1) minimally stressful social interactions; (2) increased voluntary exercise; (3) multiple entertaining activities; (4) cognitive stimulation (maze exploration), and (5) novelty (maze configuration changed three times a week). The maze, which separates food pellet and water bottle compartments, guarantees cognitive stimulation for all animals. Compared to rats raised in groups in conventional cages, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited increased cortical thickness, hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal levels of transcripts encoding various genes involved in tissue plasticity and remodeling. In addition, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited better performances in learning and memory, decreased anxiety-associated behaviors, and better recovery of basal plasma corticosterone level after acute restraint stress. Marlau™ cages also insure inter-experiment reproducibility in spatial learning and brain gene expression assays. Finally, housing rats in Marlau™ cages after severe status epilepticus at weaning prevents the cognitive impairment observed in rats subjected to the same insult and then housed in conventional cages. By providing a standardized enriched environment for rodents during housing, the Marlau™ cage should facilitate the uniformity of environmental enrichment across laboratories.
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MESH Headings
- Adaptation, Psychological/physiology
- Animals
- Anxiety/complications
- Body Weight
- Brain/cytology
- Brain/pathology
- Brain/physiology
- Brain/physiopathology
- CA1 Region, Hippocampal/cytology
- CA1 Region, Hippocampal/pathology
- CA1 Region, Hippocampal/physiology
- CA1 Region, Hippocampal/physiopathology
- Cognition
- Eating
- Exploratory Behavior/physiology
- Health
- Housing, Animal/standards
- Lipid Metabolism
- Male
- Neurogenesis/genetics
- Neuronal Plasticity
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- Rats
- Reference Standards
- Reproducibility of Results
- Restraint, Physical/psychology
- Status Epilepticus/pathology
- Status Epilepticus/physiopathology
- Status Epilepticus/psychology
- Stress, Psychological/complications
- Stress, Psychological/pathology
- Stress, Psychological/physiopathology
- Synapses/pathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Raafat P. Fares
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
- IRBA, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France
| | - Amor Belmeguenai
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Pascal E. Sanchez
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Hayet Y. Kouchi
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Jacques Bodennec
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Anne Morales
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Béatrice Georges
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Chantal Bonnet
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Sandrine Bouvard
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
| | - Robert S. Sloviter
- Department of Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Laurent Bezin
- Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
- Inserm, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- CNRS, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Tiger Team, Lyon, France
- IDÉE, Institut Des ÉpilepsiEs, Lyon, France
- * E-mail:
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Renoir T, Pang TYC, Mo C, Chan G, Chevarin C, Lanfumey L, Hannan AJ. Differential effects of early environmental enrichment on emotionality related behaviours in Huntington's disease transgenic mice. J Physiol 2012; 591:41-55. [PMID: 23045340 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.239798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety are reported in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). Recent studies suggest beneficial effects of environmental enrichment (EE) on HD progression possibly through the serotonergic system. We investigated the potential effectiveness of EE in correcting the affective-like phenotype of female R6/1 HD mice. In addition to a behavioural battery of tests assessing depression and anxiety-related endophenotypes, we recorded physiological measures, including body temperature regulation and defecation rate as indices of stress reactivity. Finally, following identification of changes in serotonin (5-HT) receptor gene expression we measured the function of 5-HT(1A) auto- and hetero-receptors. We found that 8-week-old female HD mice exhibited higher immobility time in the forced swimming test and a decreased preference for saccharin solution. EE did not correct those depressive-like behaviours but reduced anxiety-related measures in unconditioned approach/avoidance conflict situations. Defecation rate in a large open field and change in temperature during exposure to the tail suspension test were both enhanced in HD compared to wild-type animals. Despite the enhanced hypothermic response to the 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT exhibited by HD mice, we found a reduction in 5-HT(1A) receptor-mediated stimulation of [(35)S]GTP-γ-S binding in the dorsal raphe nucleus and the hippocampus of HD animals. EE did not change 5-HT(1A) receptor function. Our data suggest that early EE has beneficial effects on the anxiety-like, but not on depression-like, behaviours in HD. This is the first evidence that these affective endophenotypes can be dissociated via this form of environmental stimulation. As 5-HT(1A) receptor dysfunction was not affected by EE, this receptor is unlikely to underlie the anxiety-related phenotype of HD. However, the specific regulatory role of the 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor in mediating depressive-like behaviour in HD remains to be elucidated. Interestingly, by comparing in vivo and in vitro results, our findings suggest that 8-OH-DPAT-induced hypothermia could be mediated by other targets besides the 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor, including hippocampal 5-HT(7) receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Renoir
- Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Melbourne, Australia.
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Pang TYC, Hannan AJ. Enhancement of cognitive function in models of brain disease through environmental enrichment and physical activity. Neuropharmacology 2012; 64:515-28. [PMID: 22766390 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2012] [Revised: 06/06/2012] [Accepted: 06/15/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
This review will provide an overview of the non-drug based approaches that have been demonstrated to enhance cognitive function of the compromised brain, primarily focussed on the two most widely adopted paradigms of environmental enrichment and enhanced physical exercise. Environmental enrichment involves the generation of novelty and complexity in animal housing conditions which facilitates enhanced sensory and cognitive stimulation as well as physical activity. In a wide variety of animal models of brain disorders, environmental enrichment and exercise have been found to have beneficial effects, including cognitive enhancement, delayed disease onset, enhanced cellular plasticity and associated molecular processes. Potential cellular and molecular mechanisms will also be discussed, which have relevance for the future development of 'enviromimetics', drugs which could mimic or enhance the beneficial effects of environmental stimulation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terence Y C Pang
- Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
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