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Zhao Q, Maci M, Miller MR, Zhou H, Zhang F, Algamal M, Lee YF, Hou SS, Perle SJ, Le H, Russ AN, Lo EH, Gerashchenko D, Gomperts SN, Bacskai BJ, Kastanenka KV. Sleep restoration by optogenetic targeting of GABAergic neurons reprograms microglia and ameliorates pathological phenotypes in an Alzheimer's disease model. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:93. [PMID: 38041158 PMCID: PMC10693059 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00682-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients exhibit memory disruptions and profound sleep disturbances, including disruption of deep non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Slow-wave activity (SWA) is a major restorative feature of NREM sleep and is important for memory consolidation. METHODS We generated a mouse model where GABAergic interneurons could be targeted in the presence of APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP) amyloidosis, APP-GAD-Cre mice. An electroencephalography (EEG) / electromyography (EMG) telemetry system was used to monitor sleep disruptions in these animals. Optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic interneurons in the anterior cortex targeted with channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) allowed us to examine the role GABAergic interneurons play in sleep deficits. We also examined the effect of optogenetic stimulation on amyloid plaques, neuronal calcium as well as sleep-dependent memory consolidation. In addition, microglial morphological features and functions were assessed using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Finally, we performed sleep deprivation during optogenetic stimulation to investigate whether sleep restoration was necessary to slow AD progression. RESULTS APP-GAD-Cre mice exhibited impairments in sleep architecture including decreased time spent in NREM sleep, decreased delta power, and increased sleep fragmentation compared to nontransgenic (NTG) NTG-GAD-Cre mice. Optogenetic stimulation of cortical GABAergic interneurons increased SWA and rescued sleep impairments in APP-GAD-Cre animals. Furthermore, it slowed AD progression by reducing amyloid deposition, normalizing neuronal calcium homeostasis, and improving memory function. These changes were accompanied by increased numbers and a morphological transformation of microglia, elevated phagocytic marker expression, and enhanced amyloid β (Aβ) phagocytic activity of microglia. Sleep was necessary for amelioration of pathophysiological phenotypes in APP-GAD-Cre mice. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our study shows that optogenetic targeting of GABAergic interneurons rescues sleep, which then ameliorates neuropathological as well as behavioral deficits by increasing clearance of Aβ by microglia in an AD mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuchen Zhao
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Megi Maci
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Morgan R Miller
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Heng Zhou
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Fang Zhang
- Departments of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Moustafa Algamal
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Yee Fun Lee
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Steven S Hou
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Stephen J Perle
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Hoang Le
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Alyssa N Russ
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Eng H Lo
- Departments of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Dmitry Gerashchenko
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, USA
| | - Stephen N Gomperts
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Brian J Bacskai
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Ksenia V Kastanenka
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
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Ahn SJ, Anfray A, Anrather J, Iadecola C. Calcium transients in nNOS neurons underlie distinct phases of the neurovascular response to barrel cortex activation in awake mice. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2023; 43:1633-1647. [PMID: 37149758 PMCID: PMC10581240 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x231173175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (nNOS), a Ca2+ dependent enzyme, is expressed by distinct populations of neocortical neurons. Although neuronal NO is well known to contribute to the blood flow increase evoked by neural activity, the relationships between nNOS neurons activity and vascular responses in the awake state remain unclear. We imaged the barrel cortex in awake, head-fixed mice through a chronically implanted cranial window. The Ca2+ indicator GCaMP7f was expressed selectively in nNOS neurons using adenoviral gene transfer in nNOScre mice. Air-puffs directed at the contralateral whiskers or spontaneous motion induced Ca2+ transients in 30.2 ± 2.2% or 51.6 ± 3.3% of nNOS neurons, respectively, and evoked local arteriolar dilation. The greatest dilatation (14.8 ± 1.1%) occurred when whisking and motion occurred simultaneously. Ca2+ transients in individual nNOS neurons and local arteriolar dilation showed various degrees of correlation, which was strongest when the activity of whole nNOS neuron ensemble was examined. We also found that some nNOS neurons became active immediately prior to arteriolar dilation, while others were activated gradually after arteriolar dilatation. Discrete nNOS neuron subsets may contribute either to the initiation or to the maintenance of the vascular response, suggesting a previously unappreciated temporal specificity to the role of NO in neurovascular coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Ji Ahn
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Antoine Anfray
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Josef Anrather
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Costantino Iadecola
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Saebipour MR, Joghataei MT, Yoonessi A, Sadeghniiat-Haghighi K, Khalighinejad N, Khademi S. Slow oscillating transcranial direct current stimulation during sleep has a sleep-stabilizing effect in chronic insomnia: a pilot study. J Sleep Res 2015; 24:518-25. [PMID: 26014344 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 03/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that lack of slow-wave activity may play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of insomnia. Pharmacological approaches and brain stimulation techniques have recently offered solutions for increasing slow-wave activity during sleep. We used slow (0.75 Hz) oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation during stage 2 of non-rapid eye movement sleeping insomnia patients for resonating their brain waves to the frequency of sleep slow-wave. Six patients diagnosed with either sleep maintenance or non-restorative sleep insomnia entered the study. After 1 night of adaptation and 1 night of baseline polysomnography, patients randomly received sham or real stimulation on the third and fourth night of the experiment. Our preliminary results show that after termination of stimulations (sham or real), slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation increased the duration of stage 3 of non-rapid eye movement sleep by 33 ± 26 min (P = 0.026), and decreased stage 1 of non-rapid eye movement sleep duration by 22 ± 17.7 min (P = 0.028), compared with sham. Slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation decreased stage 1 of non-rapid eye movement sleep and wake time after sleep-onset durations, together, by 55.4 ± 51 min (P = 0.045). Slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation also increased sleep efficiency by 9 ± 7% (P = 0.026), and probability of transition from stage 2 to stage 3 of non-rapid eye movement sleep by 20 ± 17.8% (P = 0.04). Meanwhile, slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation decreased transitions from stage 2 of non-rapid eye movement sleep to wake by 12 ± 6.7% (P = 0.007). Our preliminary results suggest a sleep-stabilizing role for the intervention, which may mimic the effect of sleep slow-wave-enhancing drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad R Saebipour
- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad T Joghataei
- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Cellular and Molecular Medical Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Yoonessi
- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,National Brain Mapping Centre, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Nima Khalighinejad
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Soroush Khademi
- School of Physics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
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Zielinski MR, Kim Y, Karpova SA, Winston S, McCarley RW, Strecker RE, Gerashchenko D. Sleep active cortical neurons expressing neuronal nitric oxide synthase are active after both acute sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction. Neuroscience 2013; 247:35-42. [PMID: 23685166 PMCID: PMC3801181 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2013] [Revised: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep electroencephalographic (EEG) delta power (~0.5-4 Hz), also known as slow wave activity (SWA), is typically enhanced after acute sleep deprivation (SD) but not after chronic sleep restriction (CSR). Recently, sleep-active cortical neurons expressing neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) were identified and associated with enhanced SWA after short acute bouts of SD (i.e., 6h). However, the relationship between cortical nNOS neuronal activity and SWA during CSR is unknown. We compared the activity of cortical neurons expressing nNOS (via c-Fos and nNOS immuno-reactivity, respectively) and sleep in rats in three conditions: (1) after 18-h of acute SD; (2) after five consecutive days of sleep restriction (SR) (18-h SD per day with 6h ad libitum sleep opportunity per day); (3) and time-of-day matched ad libitum sleep controls. Cortical nNOS neuronal activity was enhanced during sleep after both 18-h SD and 5 days of SR treatments compared to control treatments. SWA and NREM sleep delta energy (the product of NREM sleep duration and SWA) were positively correlated with enhanced cortical nNOS neuronal activity after 18-h SD but not 5days of SR. That neurons expressing nNOS were active after longer amounts of acute SD (18h vs. 6h reported in the literature) and were correlated with SWA further suggest that these cells might regulate SWA. However, since these neurons were active after CSR when SWA was not enhanced, these findings suggest that mechanisms downstream of their activation are altered during CSR.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Zielinski
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA 02132, USA.
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A novel telemetric system to measure polysomnographic biopotentials in freely moving animals. J Neurosci Methods 2013; 216:79-86. [PMID: 23563323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2013.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2012] [Revised: 01/17/2013] [Accepted: 03/26/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Mice are by far the most widely used species for scientific research and have been used in many studies involving biopotentials, such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) signals monitored for sleep analysis. Unfortunately, current methods for the analysis of these signals involve either tethered systems that are restrictive and heavy for the animal or wireless systems that use transponders that are large relative to the animal and require invasive surgery for implantation; as a result, natural behavior/activity is altered. Here, we propose a novel and inexpensive system for measuring electroencephalographic signals and other biopotentials in mice that allows for natural movement. We also evaluate the new system for the analysis of sleep architecture and EEG power during both spontaneous sleep and the sleep that follows sleep deprivation in mice. Using our new system, vigilance states including non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS), rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), and wakefulness, as well as EEG power and NREMS EEG delta power in the 0.5-4 Hz range (an indicator of sleep intensity) showed the diurnal rhythms typically found in mice. These values were also similar to values obtained in mice using telemetry transponders. Mice that used the new system also demonstrated enhanced NREMS EEG delta power responses that are typical following sleep deprivation and few signal artifacts. Moreover, similar movement activity counts were found when using the new system compared to a wireless system. This novel system for measuring biopotentials can be used for polysomnography, infusion, microdialysis, and optogenetic studies, reduces artifacts, and allows for a more natural moving environment and a more accurate investigation of biological systems and pharmaceutical development.
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