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Vasilkovska T, Salajeghe S, Vanreusel V, Van Audekerke J, Verschuuren M, Hirschler L, Warnking J, Pintelon I, Pustina D, Cachope R, Mrzljak L, Muñoz-Sanjuan I, Barbier EL, De Vos WH, Van der Linden A, Verhoye M. Longitudinal alterations in brain perfusion and vascular reactivity in the zQ175DN mouse model of Huntington's disease. J Biomed Sci 2024; 31:37. [PMID: 38627751 PMCID: PMC11022401 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-024-01028-3] [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: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington's disease (HD) is marked by a CAG-repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene that causes neuronal dysfunction and loss, affecting mainly the striatum and the cortex. Alterations in the neurovascular coupling system have been shown to lead to dysregulated energy supply to brain regions in several neurological diseases, including HD, which could potentially trigger the process of neurodegeneration. In particular, it has been observed in cross-sectional human HD studies that vascular alterations are associated to impaired cerebral blood flow (CBF). To assess whether whole-brain changes in CBF are present and follow a pattern of progression, we investigated both resting-state brain perfusion and vascular reactivity longitudinally in the zQ175DN mouse model of HD. METHODS Using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) MRI in the zQ175DN model of HD and age-matched wild-type (WT) mice, we assessed whole-brain, resting-state perfusion at 3, 6 and 9 and 13 months of age, and assessed hypercapnia-induced cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), at 4.5, 6, 9 and 15 months of age. RESULTS We found increased perfusion in cortical regions of zQ175DN HET mice at 3 months of age, and a reduction of this anomaly at 6 and 9 months, ages at which behavioural deficits have been reported. On the other hand, under hypercapnia, CBF was reduced in zQ175DN HET mice as compared to the WT: for multiple brain regions at 6 months of age, for only somatosensory and retrosplenial cortices at 9 months of age, and brain-wide by 15 months. CVR impairments in cortical regions, the thalamus and globus pallidus were observed in zQ175DN HET mice at 9 months, with whole brain reactivity diminished at 15 months of age. Interestingly, blood vessel density was increased in the motor cortex at 3 months, while average vessel length was reduced in the lateral portion of the caudate putamen at 6 months of age. CONCLUSION Our findings reveal early cortical resting-state hyperperfusion and impaired CVR at ages that present motor anomalies in this HD model, suggesting that further characterization of brain perfusion alterations in animal models is warranted as a potential therapeutic target in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Vasilkovska
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Somaie Salajeghe
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Verdi Vanreusel
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Johan Van Audekerke
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marlies Verschuuren
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Lydiane Hirschler
- C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Warnking
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France
| | - Isabel Pintelon
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Dorian Pustina
- CHDI Management, Inc., the company that manages the scientific activities of CHDI Foundation, Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Roger Cachope
- CHDI Management, Inc., the company that manages the scientific activities of CHDI Foundation, Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Ladislav Mrzljak
- CHDI Management, Inc., the company that manages the scientific activities of CHDI Foundation, Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Present Address: Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuan
- CHDI Management, Inc., the company that manages the scientific activities of CHDI Foundation, Inc, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Present Address: Cajal Neuroscience Inc, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Emmanuel L Barbier
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, Grenoble, France
| | - Winnok H De Vos
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Annemie Van der Linden
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marleen Verhoye
- Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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Maroofi A, Moro T, Agrimi J, Safari F. Cognitive decline in heart failure: Biomolecular mechanisms and benefits of exercise. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2022; 1868:166511. [PMID: 35932891 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2022.166511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
By definition, heart failure (HF) is a human pathological condition affecting the structure and function of all organs in the body, and the brain is not an exception to that. Failure of the heart to pump enough blood centrally and peripherally is at the foundation of HF patients' inability to attend even the most ordinary daily activities and progressive deterioration of their cognitive capacity. What is more, between heart and brain exists a bidirectional relationship that goes well beyond hemodynamics and concerns bioelectric and endocrine signaling. This increasingly consolidated evidence makes the scenario even more complex. Studies have mainly chased how HF impairs cognition without focusing much on preventive measures, notably cardio-cerebral health proxies. Here, we aim to provide a brief account of known and hypothetical factors that may explain how exercise can help obviate cognitive dysfunction associated with HF in its different forms. As we shall see, there is a stringent need for a deeper grasp of such mechanisms. Indeed, gaining this new knowledge will automatically shed new light on the inner workings of HF itself, thus resulting in more effective prevention and treatment of this escalating syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulbaset Maroofi
- Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
| | - Tatiana Moro
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Jacopo Agrimi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy.
| | - Fatemeh Safari
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
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Ouellette J, Lacoste B. From Neurodevelopmental to Neurodegenerative Disorders: The Vascular Continuum. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:749026. [PMID: 34744690 PMCID: PMC8570842 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.749026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Structural and functional integrity of the cerebral vasculature ensures proper brain development and function, as well as healthy aging. The inability of the brain to store energy makes it exceptionally dependent on an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients from the blood stream for matching colossal demands of neural and glial cells. Key vascular features including a dense vasculature, a tightly controlled environment, and the regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) all take part in brain health throughout life. As such, healthy brain development and aging are both ensured by the anatomical and functional interaction between the vascular and nervous systems that are established during brain development and maintained throughout the lifespan. During critical periods of brain development, vascular networks remodel until they can actively respond to increases in neural activity through neurovascular coupling, which makes the brain particularly vulnerable to neurovascular alterations. The brain vasculature has been strongly associated with the onset and/or progression of conditions associated with aging, and more recently with neurodevelopmental disorders. Our understanding of cerebrovascular contributions to neurological disorders is rapidly evolving, and increasing evidence shows that deficits in angiogenesis, CBF and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are causally linked to cognitive impairment. Moreover, it is of utmost curiosity that although neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders express different clinical features at different stages of life, they share similar vascular abnormalities. In this review, we present an overview of vascular dysfunctions associated with neurodevelopmental (autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, Down Syndrome) and neurodegenerative (multiple sclerosis, Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases) disorders, with a focus on impairments in angiogenesis, CBF and the BBB. Finally, we discuss the impact of early vascular impairments on the expression of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Ouellette
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Neuroscience Program, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Baptiste Lacoste
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Neuroscience Program, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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