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Kucukdereli H, Amsalem O, Pottala T, Lim M, Potgieter L, Hasbrouck A, Lutas A, Andermann ML. Repeated stress triggers seeking of a starvation-like state in anxiety-prone female mice. Neuron 2024; 112:2130-2141.e7. [PMID: 38642553 PMCID: PMC11287784 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.027] [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: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024]
Abstract
Elevated anxiety often precedes anorexia nervosa and persists after weight restoration. Patients with anorexia nervosa often describe self-starvation as pleasant, potentially because food restriction can be anxiolytic. Here, we tested whether repeated stress can cause animals to prefer a starvation-like state. We developed a virtual reality place preference paradigm in which head-fixed mice can voluntarily seek a starvation-like state induced by optogenetic stimulation of hypothalamic agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons. Prior to stress exposure, males but not females showed a mild aversion to AgRP stimulation. Strikingly, following multiple days of stress, a subset of females developed a strong preference for AgRP stimulation that was predicted by high baseline anxiety. Such stress-induced changes in preference were reflected in changes in facial expressions during AgRP stimulation. Our study suggests that stress may cause females predisposed to anxiety to seek a starvation state and provides a powerful experimental framework for investigating the underlying neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hakan Kucukdereli
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Oren Amsalem
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Trent Pottala
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Michelle Lim
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Leilani Potgieter
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Amanda Hasbrouck
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Andrew Lutas
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Mark L Andermann
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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2
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Foldi CJ. Taking better advantage of the activity-based anorexia model. Trends Mol Med 2024; 30:330-338. [PMID: 38103992 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2023.11.011] [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] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The lack of specific treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) is partly driven by an inadequate understanding of the neurobiological drivers of the condition. The activity-based anorexia (ABA) model recapitulates key characteristics of AN in rats and mice, and can be used to understand factors that predispose, maintain, and rescue anorectic behaviour. With the rapidly evolving suite of technologies to manipulate and record neural activity during the development of ABA, we are better placed than ever before to take advantage of this unique biobehavioural model in order to develop and refine novel treatments for AN. This will require a collective effort to bridge research disciplines in order to capitalise on knowledge gains from genetics, neurobiology, metabolism, and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire J Foldi
- Monash University, Department of Physiology, 26 Innovation Walk, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, 23 Innovation Walk, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
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Aston SA, Caffo BS, Bhasin H, Moran TH, Tamashiro KL. Timing matters: The contribution of running during different periods of the light/dark cycle to susceptibility to activity-based anorexia in rats. Physiol Behav 2023; 271:114349. [PMID: 37709000 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) exhibit dangerous weight loss due to restricted eating and hyperactivity. Those with AN are predominantly women and most cases have an age of onset during adolescence. Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is a rodent behavioral paradigm that recapitulates many of the features of AN including restricted food intake and hyperactivity, resulting in precipitous weight loss. In addition, there is enhanced sensitivity to the paradigm during adolescence. In ABA, animals are given time-restricted access to food and unlimited access to a running wheel. Under these conditions, most animals increase their running and decrease their food intake resulting in precipitous weight loss until they either die or researchers discontinue the paradigm. Some animals learn to balance their food intake and energy expenditure and are able to stabilize and eventually reverse their weight loss. For these studies, adolescent (postnatal day 33-42), female Sprague Dawley (n = 68) rats were placed under ABA conditions (unlimited access to a running wheel and 1.5 hrs access to food) until they either reached 25% body weight loss or for 7 days. 70.6% of subjects reached 25% body weight loss before 7 days and were designated susceptible to ABA while 29.4% animals were resistant to the paradigm and did not achieve the weight loss criterion. We used discrete time survival analysis to investigate the contribution of food intake and running behavior during distinct time periods both prior to and during ABA to the likelihood of reaching the weight loss criterion and dropping out of ABA. Our analyses revealed risk factors, including total running and dark cycle running, that increased the likelihood of dropping out of the paradigm, as well as protective factors, including age at the start of ABA, the percent of total running exhibited as food anticipatory activity (FAA), and food intake, that reduced the likelihood of dropping out. These measures had predictive value whether taken before or during exposure to ABA conditions. Our findings suggest that certain running and food intake behaviors may be indicative of a phenotype that predisposes animals to susceptibility to ABA. They also provide evidence that running during distinct time periods may reflect functioning of distinct neural circuitry and differentially influence susceptibility and resistance to the paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Andrew Aston
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
| | - Brian S Caffo
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Harshit Bhasin
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America; Currently: Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Timothy H Moran
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Kellie L Tamashiro
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
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Feng B, Harms J, Chen E, Gao P, Xu P, He Y. Current Discoveries and Future Implications of Eating Disorders. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6325. [PMID: 37510558 PMCID: PMC10379623 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20146325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behaviors and can sometimes be fatal. Eating disorders are also associated with distressing thoughts and emotions. They can be severe conditions affecting physical, psychological, and social functions. Preoccupation with food, body weight, and shape may also play an important role in the regulation of eating disorders. Common eating disorders have three major types: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). In some cases, EDs can have serious consequences for an individual's physical and mental health. These disorders often develop during adolescence or early adulthood and affect both males and females, although they are more commonly diagnosed in young adult females. Treatment for EDs typically involves a combination of therapy, nutrition counseling, and medical care. In this narrative review, the authors summarized what is known of EDs and discussed the future directions that may be worth exploring in this emerging area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Feng
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
| | - Jerney Harms
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
- Biology Department, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA 71104, USA
| | - Emily Chen
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
| | - Peiyu Gao
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
| | - Pingwen Xu
- The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Yanlin He
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA
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Kucukdereli H, Amsalem O, Pottala T, Lim M, Potgieter L, Hasbrouck A, Lutas A, Andermann ML. Chronic stress triggers seeking of a starvation-like state in anxiety-prone female mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.16.541013. [PMID: 37292650 PMCID: PMC10245771 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.16.541013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Elevated anxiety often precedes anorexia nervosa and persists after weight restoration. Patients with anorexia nervosa often describe hunger as pleasant, potentially because food restriction can be anxiolytic. Here, we tested whether chronic stress can cause animals to prefer a starvation-like state. We developed a virtual reality place preference paradigm in which head-fixed mice can voluntarily seek a starvation-like state induced by optogenetic stimulation of hypothalamic agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons. Prior to stress induction, male but not female mice showed mild aversion to AgRP stimulation. Strikingly, following chronic stress, a subset of females developed a strong preference for AgRP stimulation that was predicted by high baseline anxiety. Such stress-induced changes in preference were reflected in changes in facial expressions during AgRP stimulation. Our study suggests that stress may cause females predisposed to anxiety to seek a starvation state, and provides a powerful experimental framework for investigating the underlying neural mechanisms.
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Trinh S, Keller L, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Seitz J. The role of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in anorexia nervosa. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 151:106069. [PMID: 36878115 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a growth factor belonging to the neurotrophin family which plays a pivotal role in the differentiation, survival, and plasticity of neurons in the central nervous system. Evidence suggests that BDNF is an important signal molecule in the regulation of energy balance and thus implicated in body weight control. The discovery of BDNF-expressing neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus which is important in the regulation of energy intake, physical activity, and thermogenesis gives more evidence to the suggested participation of BDNF in eating behavior. Until now it remains questionable whether BDNF can be used as a reliable biomarker for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) as available findings on BDNF levels in patients with AN are ambiguous. AN is an eating disorder characterized by a pathological low body weight in combination with a body image disturbance typically developing during adolescence. A severe drive for thinness leads to restrictive eating behavior often accompanied by physical hyperactivity. During therapeutic weight restoration an increase of BDNF expression levels seems desirable as it might improve neuronal plasticity and survival which is essential for learning processes and thereby essential for the success of the psychotherapeutic treatment of patients. On the contrary, the well-known anorexigenic effect of BDNF might favor relapse in patients as soon as the BDNF levels significantly increase during weight rehabilitation. The present review summarizes the association between BDNF and general eating behavior and especially focuses on the eating disorder AN. In this regard findings from preclinical AN studies (activity-based anorexia model) are outlined as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Trinh
- Institute for Neuroanatomy, University Hospital, RWTH University Aachen, Wendlingweg 2, Aachen D-52074, Germany.
| | - Lara Keller
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, RWTH University Aachen, Neuenhofer Weg 21, Aachen D-52074, Germany.
| | - Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, RWTH University Aachen, Neuenhofer Weg 21, Aachen D-52074, Germany.
| | - Jochen Seitz
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, RWTH University Aachen, Neuenhofer Weg 21, Aachen D-52074, Germany.
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Mottarlini F, Rizzi B, Targa G, Fumagalli F, Caffino L. Long-lasting BDNF signaling alterations in the amygdala of adolescent female rats exposed to the activity-based anorexia model. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1087075. [PMID: 36570702 PMCID: PMC9772010 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1087075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a pathological fear of gaining weight, excessive physical exercise, and emotional instability. Since the amygdala is a key region for emotion processing and BDNF has been shown to play a critical role in this process, we hypothesized that alteration in the amygdalar BDNF system might underline vulnerability traits typical of AN patients. Methods: To this end, adolescent female rats have been exposed to the Activity-Based Anorexia (ABA) protocol, characterized by the combination of caloric restriction and intense physical exercise. Results: The induction of the anorexic phenotype caused hyperactivity and body weight loss in ABA animals. These changes were paralleled by amygdalar hyperactivation, as measured by the up-regulation of cfos mRNA levels. In the acute phase of the pathology, we observed reduced Bdnf exon IX, exon IV, and exon VI gene expression, while mBDNF protein levels were enhanced, an increase that was, instead, uncoupled from its downstream signaling as the phosphorylation of TrkB, Akt, and S6 in ABA rats were reduced. Despite the body weight recovery observed 7 days later, the BDNF-mediated signaling was still downregulated at this time point. Discussion: Our findings indicate that the BDNF system is downregulated in the amygdala of adolescent female rats under these experimental conditions, which mimic the anorexic phenotype in humans, pointing to such dysregulation as a potential contributor to the altered emotional processing observed in AN patients. In addition, since the modulation of BDNF levels is observed in other psychiatric conditions, the persistent AN-induced changes of the BDNF system in the amygdala might contribute to explaining the onset of comorbid psychiatric disorders that persist in patients even beyond recovery from AN.
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Frintrop L, Trinh S, Seitz J, Kipp M. The Role of Glial Cells in Regulating Feeding Behavior: Potential Relevance to Anorexia Nervosa. J Clin Med 2021; 11:jcm11010186. [PMID: 35011927 PMCID: PMC8745326 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11010186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Eating behavior is controlled by hypothalamic circuits in which agouti-related peptide-expressing neurons when activated in the arcuate nucleus, promote food intake while pro-opiomelanocortin-producing neurons promote satiety. The respective neurotransmitters signal to other parts of the hypothalamus such as the paraventricular nucleus as well as several extra-hypothalamic brain regions to orchestrate eating behavior. This complex process of food intake may be influenced by glia cells, in particular astrocytes and microglia. Recent studies showed that GFAP+ astrocyte cell density is reduced in the central nervous system of an experimental anorexia nervosa model. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that causes, among the well-known somatic symptoms, brain volume loss which was associated with neuropsychological deficits while the underlying pathophysiology is unknown. In this review article, we summarize the findings of glia cells in anorexia nervosa animal models and try to deduce which role glia cells might play in the pathophysiology of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa. A better understanding of glia cell function in the regulation of food intake and eating behavior might lead to the identification of new drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Frintrop
- Institute of Anatomy, Rostock University Medical Center, 18057 Rostock, Germany;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)-381-494-8406
| | - Stefanie Trinh
- Institute of Neuroanatomy, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany;
| | - Jochen Seitz
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany;
| | - Markus Kipp
- Institute of Anatomy, Rostock University Medical Center, 18057 Rostock, Germany;
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