Maternal P7C3-A20 Treatment Protects Offspring from Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of Prenatal Stress

Higher concentration of P7C3 than required for neuroprotection suppresses renal cell carcinoma growth and metastasis

Background: P7C3 is a novel compound that has been widely applied in neurodegenerative diseases and nerve injury repair. Here, we show that higher concentrations of P7C3 than are required for in vivo neuroprotection have the novel function of suppressing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) proliferation and metastasis. Methods: Colony formation, CCK-8 and EdU assay were applied to evaluate RCC cell proliferation. Wound healing and transwell assay were used to measure RCC cell migration and invasion. Flow cytometry assay was employed to detect RCC cell apoptosis and cell cycle. qRT-PCR assay was carried out to measure ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 (RRM2) mRNA expression level, while western blot assay was utilized to detect the expression level of target proteins. RCC cell growth in vivo was determined by xenografts in mice. Results: We observed that high concentrations of P7C3 could restrain the proliferation and metastasis of RCC cells and promote cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, this new effect of higher dose of P7C3 was associated with reduced expression of RRM2, and the beneficial efficacy of P7C3 in RCC was blocked when suppression of RRM2 was prevented. When RRM2 suppression was permitted, the cGAS-STING pathway was activated by virtue of RRM2/Bcl-2/Bax signaling. Lastly, intraperitoneal injection of this high level of P7C3 in mice potently inhibited tumor growth. Conclusion: In conclusion, we show here that P7C3 that exerts an anti-cancer effect in RCC. Our study indicated that P7C3 might act as a novel drug for RCC in the future. The regulatory signal pathway RRM2/Bcl-2/BAX/cGAS-STING might present novel insight to the potential mechanism of RCC development.

Application of P7C3 Compounds to Investigating and Treating Acute and Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading worldwide cause of disability, and there are currently no medicines that prevent, reduce, or reverse acute or chronic neurodegeneration in TBI patients. Here, we review the target-agnostic discovery of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)/NADH-stabilizing P7C3 compounds through a phenotypic screen in mice and describe how P7C3 compounds have been applied to advance understanding of the pathophysiology and potential treatment of TBI. We summarize how P7C3 compounds have been shown across multiple laboratories to mitigate disease progression safely and effectively in a broad range of preclinical models of disease related to impaired NAD+/NADH metabolism, including acute and chronic TBI, and note the reported safety and neuroprotective efficacy of P7C3 compounds in nonhuman primates. We also describe how P7C3 compounds facilitated the recent first demonstration that chronic neurodegeneration 1 year after TBI in mice, the equivalent of many decades in people, can be reversed to restore normal neuropsychiatric function. We additionally review how P7C3 compounds have facilitated discovery of new pathophysiologic mechanisms of neurodegeneration after TBI. This includes the role of rapid TBI-induced tau acetylation that drives axonal degeneration, and the discovery of brain-derived acetylated tau as the first blood-based biomarker of neurodegeneration after TBI that directly correlates with the abundance of a therapeutic target in the brain. We additionally review the identification of TBI-induced tau acetylation as a potential mechanistic link between TBI and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Lastly, we summarize historical accounts of other successful phenotypic-based drug discoveries that advanced medical care without prior recognition of the specific molecular target needed to achieve the desired therapeutic effect.

Anti-inflammatory Therapy Protects Spiral Ganglion Neurons After Aminoglycoside Antibiotic-Induced Hair Cell Loss

Destruction of cochlear hair cells by aminoglycoside antibiotics leads to gradual death of the spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) that relay auditory information to the brain, potentially limiting the efficacy of cochlear implants. Because the reasons for this cochlear neurodegeneration are unknown, there are no neuroprotective strategies for patients. To investigate this problem, we assessed transcriptomic changes in the rat spiral ganglion following aminoglycoside antibiotic (kanamycin)-induced hair cell destruction. We observed selectively increased expression of immune and inflammatory response genes and increased abundance of activated macrophages in spiral ganglia by postnatal day 32 in kanamycin-deafened rats, preceding significant SGN degeneration. Treatment with the anti-inflammatory medications dexamethasone and ibuprofen diminished long-term SGN degeneration. Ibuprofen and dexamethasone also diminished macrophage activation. Efficacy of ibuprofen treatment was augmented by co-administration of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-stabilizing agent P7C3-A20. Our results support a critical role of neuroinflammation in SGN degeneration after aminoglycoside antibiotic-mediated cochlear hair cell loss, as well as a neuroprotective strategy that could improve cochlear implant efficacy.

The sex-dependent response to psychosocial stress and ischaemic heart disease

Stress is an important risk factor for modern chronic diseases, with distinct influences in males and females. The sex specificity of the mammalian stress response contributes to the sex-dependent development and impacts of coronary artery disease (CAD). Compared to men, women appear to have greater susceptibility to chronic forms of psychosocial stress, extending beyond an increased incidence of mood disorders to include a 2- to 4-fold higher risk of stress-dependent myocardial infarction in women, and up to 10-fold higher risk of Takotsubo syndrome-a stress-dependent coronary-myocardial disorder most prevalent in post-menopausal women. Sex differences arise at all levels of the stress response: from initial perception of stress to behavioural, cognitive, and affective responses and longer-term disease outcomes. These fundamental differences involve interactions between chromosomal and gonadal determinants, (mal)adaptive epigenetic modulation across the lifespan (particularly in early life), and the extrinsic influences of socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Pre-clinical investigations of biological mechanisms support distinct early life programming and a heightened corticolimbic-noradrenaline-neuroinflammatory reactivity in females vs. males, among implicated determinants of the chronic stress response. Unravelling the intrinsic molecular, cellular and systems biological basis of these differences, and their interactions with external lifestyle/socio-cultural determinants, can guide preventative and therapeutic strategies to better target coronary heart disease in a tailored sex-specific manner.

The Impact of Maternal Antioxidants on Prenatal Stress Effects on Offspring Neurobiology and Behavior

Prenatal stress is a neuropsychiatric risk factor, and effects may be mediated by prenatal oxidative stress. Cell types in the brain sensitive to oxidative stress-cortical microglia and cortical and hippocampal interneurons-may be altered by oxidative stress generated during prenatal stress and may be neurobiological substrates for altered behavior. Our objective was to determine the critical nature of oxidative stress in prenatal stress effects by manipulating prenatal antioxidants. CD1 mouse dams underwent restraint embryonic day 12 to 18 three times daily or no stress and received intraperitoneal injections before each stress period of vehicle, N-acetylcysteine (200 mg/kg daily), or astaxanthin (30 mg/kg before first daily stress, 10 mg/kg before second/third stresses). Adult male and female offspring behavior, microglia, and interneurons were assessed. Results supported the hypothesis that prenatal stress-induced oxidative stress affects microglia; microglia ramification increased after prenatal stress, and both antioxidants prevented these effects. In addition, N-acetylcysteine or astaxanthin was effective in preventing distinct male and female interneuron changes; decreased female medial frontal cortical parvalbumin interneurons was prevented by either antioxidant; increased male medial frontal cortical parvalbumin interneurons was prevented by N-acetylcysteine and decreased male hippocampal GAD67GFP+ cells prevented by astaxanthin. Prenatal stress-induced increased anxiety-like behavior and decreased sociability were not prevented by prenatal antioxidants. Sensorimotor gating deficits in males was partially prevented by prenatal astaxanthin. This study demonstrates the importance of oxidative stress for persistent impacts on offspring cortical microglia and interneurons, but did not link these changes with anxiety-like, social, and sensorimotor gating behaviors.

Maternal treatment with P7C3-A20 protects from impaired maternal care after chronic gestational stress

Chronic stress during pregnancy harms both the mother and developing child, and there is an urgent unmet need to understand this process in order to develop protective treatments. Here, we report that chronic gestational stress (CGS) causes aberrant maternal care behavior in the form of increased licking and grooming, decreased nursing, and increased time spent nest building. Treatment of CGS-exposed dams with the NAD⁺-stabilizing agent P7C3-A20 during pregnancy and postpartum, however, preserved normal maternal care behavior. CGS also caused abnormally low weight gain during gestation and postpartum, which was partially ameliorated by maternal treatment with P7C3-A20. Dams also displayed hyperactive locomotion after CGS, which was not affected by P7C3-A20. Although dams did not display a classic depressive-like phenotype after CGS, some changes in anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors were observed. Our results highlight the need for further characterization of the effects of chronic gestational stress on maternal care behavior and provide clues to possible protective mechanisms.

Trends in Research of Prenatal Stress From 2011 to 2021: A Bibliometric Study

BACKGROUND

Maternal stress during pregnancy can raise the risk of mental disorders in offspring. The continuous emergence of clinical concepts and the introduction of new technologies are great challenges. In this study, through bibliometric analysis, the research trends and hotspots on prenatal stress (PS) were explored to comprehend clinical treatments and recommend future scientific research directions.

METHODS

Studies on PS published on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database between 2011 and 2021 were reviewed. Bibliometric analysis was conducted according to the number of publications, keywords, journals, citations, affiliations, and countries. With the data collected from the WoSCC, visualization of geographic distribution; clustering analysis of keywords, affiliations, and authors; and descriptive analysis and review of PS were carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 7,087 articles published in 2011-2021 were retrieved. During this period, the number of publications increased. Psychoneuroendocrinology is the leading journal on PS. The largest contributor was the United States. The University of California system was leading among institutions conducting relevant research. Wang H, King S, and Tain YL were scholars with significant contributions. Hotspots were classified into four clusters, namely, pregnancy, prenatal stress, oxidative stress, and growth.

CONCLUSION

The number of studies on PS increased. Journals, countries, institutions, researchers with the most contributions, and most cited articles worldwide were extracted. Studies have mostly concentrated on treating diseases, the application of new technologies, and the analysis of epidemiological characteristics. Multidisciplinary integration is becoming the focus of current development. Epigenetics is increasingly used in studies on PS. Thus, it constitutes a solid foundation for future clinical medical and scientific research.

Early Life Stress and Metabolic Plasticity of Brain Cells: Impact on Neurogenesis and Angiogenesis

Early life stress (ELS) causes long-lasting changes in brain plasticity induced by the exposure to stress factors acting prenatally or in the early postnatal ontogenesis due to hyperactivation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system, development of neuroinflammation, aberrant neurogenesis and angiogenesis, and significant alterations in brain metabolism that lead to neurological deficits and higher susceptibility to development of brain disorders later in the life. As a key component of complex pathogenesis, ELS-mediated changes in brain metabolism associate with development of mitochondrial dysfunction, loss of appropriate mitochondria quality control and mitochondrial dynamics, deregulation of metabolic reprogramming. These mechanisms are particularly critical for maintaining the pool and development of brain cells within neurogenic and angiogenic niches. In this review, we focus on brain mitochondria and energy metabolism related to tightly coupled neurogenic and angiogenic events in healthy and ELS-affected brain, and new opportunities to develop efficient therapeutic strategies aimed to restore brain metabolism and reduce ELS-induced impairments of brain plasticity.