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Van Zandt M, Flanagan D, Pittenger C. Sex differences in the distribution and density of regulatory interneurons in the striatum. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 18:1415015. [PMID: 39045533 PMCID: PMC11264243 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1415015] [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: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Dysfunction of the cortico-basal circuitry - including its primary input nucleus, the striatum - contributes to neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism and Tourette Syndrome (TS). These conditions show marked sex differences, occurring more often in males than in females. Regulatory interneurons, such as cholinergic interneurons (CINs) and parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic fast spiking interneurons (FSIs), are implicated in human neuropsychiatric disorders such as TS, and ablation of these interneurons produces relevant behavioral pathology in male mice, but not in females. Here we investigate sex differences in the density and distribution of striatal interneurons. Methods We use stereological quantification of CINs, FSIs, and somatostatin-expressing (SOM) GABAergic interneurons in the dorsal striatum (caudate-putamen) and the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens) in male and female mice. Results Males have a higher density of CINs than females, especially in the dorsal striatum; females have equal distribution between dorsal and ventral striatum. FSIs showed similar distributions, with a greater dorsal-ventral density gradient in males than in females. SOM interneurons were denser in the ventral than in the dorsal striatum, with no sex differences. Discussion These sex differences in the density and distribution of FSIs and CINs may contribute to sex differences in basal ganglia function, particularly in the context of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan Van Zandt
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Deirdre Flanagan
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Christopher Pittenger
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Psychology, Yale School of Arts and Sciences, New Haven, CT, United States
- Center for Brain and Mind Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Wu-Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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de Miera CS, Bellefontaine N, Allen SJ, Myers MG, Elias CF. Glutamate neurotransmission from leptin receptor cells is required for typical puberty and reproductive function in female mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.21.558865. [PMID: 37790549 PMCID: PMC10542178 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.21.558865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
The hypothalamic ventral premammillary nucleus (PMv) is a glutamatergic nucleus essential for the metabolic control of reproduction. However, conditional deletion of leptin receptor (LepRb) in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) expressing neurons results in virtually no reproductive deficits. In this study, we determine the role of glutamatergic signaling from leptin responsive PMv neurons on puberty and fertility. We first assessed if stimulation of PMv neurons induces LH release in fed adult females. We used the stimulatory form of designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) in LepRb-Cre mice. We collected blood sequentially before and for 1h after iv. clozapine-N-oxide injection. LH level increased in animals correctly targeted to the PMv, and LH level was correlated to the number of cFos immunoreactive neurons in the PMv. Next, females with deletion of Vglut2 in LepRb neurons (LepR∆VGlut2) showed delayed age of puberty, disrupted estrous cycles, increased GnRH concentration in the axon terminals and disrupted LH responses, suggesting impaired GnRH release. To assess if glutamate is required for PMv actions in pubertal development, we generated a Cre-induced reexpression of endogenous LepRb (LepRloxTB) with concomitant deletion of Vglut2 (Vglut2-floxed) mice. Rescue of Lepr and deletion of Vglut2 in the PMv was obtained by stereotaxic injection of an adeno-associated virus vector expressing Cre recombinase. Control LepRloxTB mice with PMv LepRb rescue showed vaginal opening, follicle maturation and became pregnant, while LepRloxTB;Vglut2flox mice showed no pubertal development. Our results indicate that glutamatergic signaling from leptin sensitive neurons regulates the reproductive axis, and that leptin action on pubertal development via PMv neurons requires Vglut2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Sáenz de Miera
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
| | - Nicole Bellefontaine
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
| | - Susan J. Allen
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
| | - Martin G. Myers
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
- Elizabeth W. Caswell Diabetes Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
| | - Carol F. Elias
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
- Elizabeth W. Caswell Diabetes Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5622, USA
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Brinks AS, Carrica LK, Tagler DJ, Gulley JM, Juraska JM. Timing of methamphetamine exposure during adolescence differentially influences parvalbumin and perineuronal net immunoreactivity in the medial prefrontal cortex of female, but not male, rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.25.554911. [PMID: 38464016 PMCID: PMC10925164 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.25.554911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Adolescence involves significant reorganization within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), including modifications to inhibitory neurotransmission mediated through parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and their surrounding perineuronal nets (PNNs). These developmental changes, which result in increased PV neuron activity in adulthood, may be disrupted by drug use resulting in lasting changes in mPFC function and behavior. Methamphetamine (METH), which is a readily available drug used by some adolescents, increases PV neuron activity and could influence the activity-dependent maturational process of these neurons. In the present study, we used male and female Sprague Dawley rats to test the hypothesis that METH exposure influences PV and PNN expression in a sex- and age-specific manner. Rats were injected daily with saline or 3.0 mg/kg METH from early adolescence (EA; 30-38 days old), late adolescence (LA; 40-48 days old), or young adulthood (60-68 days old). One day following exposure, effects of METH on PV cell and PNN expression were assessed using immunofluorescent labeling within the mPFC. METH exposure did not alter male PV neurons or PNNs. Females exposed in early adolescence or adulthood had more PV expressing neurons while those exposed in later adolescence had fewer, suggesting distinct windows of vulnerability to changes induced by METH exposure. In addition, females exposed to METH had more PNNs and more intense PV neuron staining, further suggesting that METH exposure in adolescence uniquely influences development of inhibitory circuits in the female mPFC. This study indicates that the timing of METH exposure, even within adolescence, influences its neural effects in females.
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Juraska JM. The last stage of development: The restructuring and plasticity of the cortex during adolescence especially at puberty. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22468. [PMID: 38351459 PMCID: PMC10868901 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
There is considerable evidence of reorganization in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence in humans, as well as in rodents, where the cellular basis can be explored. Studies from my laboratory in the rat medial prefrontal cortex are reviewed here. In general, growth predominates before puberty. Pruning mainly occurs at puberty and after with decreases in the number of synapses, dendrites, and neurons. Perineuronal nets, extracellular structures that control plasticity, are pruned peripubertally only in female rats, which may further open the adolescent prefrontal cortex to environmental influences. This is supported by our recent evidence that exposure to mild stress early, but not late, in adolescence decreases prepulse inhibition. Additionally, exposure to methamphetamine in females early in adolescence increases the number of a major class of inhibitory interneurons, parvalbumin neurons, while the opposite occurs late in adolescence. In females, even estrogen receptor beta mRNA decreases at puberty in the prefrontal cortex. Interestingly, rats of both sexes perform better after puberty on a test of cognitive flexibility in the water maze. Thus, evidence is accruing that adolescence is not a single entity but rather an ongoing set of processes, and environmental effects will differ depending on timing and sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice M. Juraska
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Firth W, Robb JL, Stewart D, Pye KR, Bamford R, Oguro-Ando A, Beall C, Ellacott KLJ. Regulation of astrocyte metabolism by mitochondrial translocator protein 18kDa. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.29.560159. [PMID: 37873215 PMCID: PMC10592862 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.29.560159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The mitochondrial translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO) has been linked to a variety of functions from steroidogenesis to regulation of cellular metabolism and is an attractive therapeutic target for chronic CNS inflammation. Studies in the periphery using Leydig cells and hepatocytes, as well as work in microglia, indicate that the function of TSPO may vary between cells depending on their specialised roles. Astrocytes are critical for providing trophic and metabolic support in the brain as part of their role in maintaining brain homeostasis. Recent work has highlighted that TSPO expression increases in astrocytes under inflamed conditions and may drive astrocyte reactivity. However, relatively little is known about the role TSPO plays in regulating astrocyte metabolism and whether this protein is involved in immunometabolic processes in these cells. Using TSPO-deficient (TSPO-/-) mouse primary astrocytes in vitro (MPAs) and a human astrocytoma cell line (U373 cells), we performed metabolic flux analyses. We found that loss of TSPO reduced basal astrocyte respiration and increased the bioenergetic response to glucose reintroduction following glucopenia, while increasing fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Lactate production was significantly reduced in TSPO-/- astrocytes. Co-immunoprecipitation studies in U373 cells revealed that TSPO forms a complex with carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a, which presents a mechanism wherein TSPO may regulate FAO in astrocytes. Compared to TSPO+/+ cells, inflammation induced by 3h lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation of TSPO-/- MPAs revealed attenuated tumour necrosis factor release, which was enhanced in TSPO-/- MPAs at 24h LPS stimulation. Together these data suggest that while TSPO acts as a regulator of metabolic flexibility in astrocytes, loss of TSPO does not appear to modulate the metabolic response of astrocytes to inflammation, at least in response to the stimulus/time course used in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyn Firth
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Josephine L Robb
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Daisy Stewart
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Katherine R Pye
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Rosemary Bamford
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Asami Oguro-Ando
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Craig Beall
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Kate LJ Ellacott
- University of Exeter Medical School, Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Kövesdi E, Udvarácz I, Kecskés A, Szőcs S, Farkas S, Faludi P, Jánosi TZ, Ábrahám IM, Kovács G. 17β-estradiol does not have a direct effect on the function of striatal cholinergic interneurons in adult mice in vitro. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 13:993552. [PMID: 36686456 PMCID: PMC9848397 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.993552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The striatum is an essential component of the basal ganglia that is involved in motor control, action selection and motor learning. The pathophysiological changes of the striatum are present in several neurological and psychiatric disorder including Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. The striatal cholinergic neurons are the main regulators of striatal microcircuitry. It has been demonstrated that estrogen exerts various effects on neuronal functions in dopaminergic and medium spiny neurons (MSN), however little is known about how the activity of cholinergic interneurons are influenced by estrogens. In this study we examined the acute effect of 17β-estradiol on the function of striatal cholinergic neurons in adult mice in vitro. We also tested the effect of estrus cycle and sex on the spontaneous activity of cholinergic interneurons in the striatum. Our RNAscope experiments showed that ERα, ERβ, and GPER1 receptor mRNAs are expressed in some striatal cholinergic neurons at a very low level. In cell-attached patch clamp experiments, we found that a high dose of 17β-estradiol (100 nM) affected the spontaneous firing rate of these neurons only in old males. Our findings did not demonstrate any acute effect of a low concentration of 17β-estradiol (100 pM) or show any association of estrus cycle or sex with the activity of striatal cholinergic neurons. Although estrogen did not induce changes in the intrinsic properties of neurons, indirect effects via modulation of the synaptic inputs of striatal cholinergic interneurons cannot be excluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erzsébet Kövesdi
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Udvarácz
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Angéla Kecskés
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Szilárd Szőcs
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Szidónia Farkas
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Péter Faludi
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Tibor Z. Jánosi
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - István M. Ábrahám
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Gergely Kovács
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- Centre for Neuroscience, Szentágothai Research Centre, Pécs, Hungary
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Juraska JM. Changes in sex differences in neuroanatomical structure and cognitive behavior across the life span. Learn Mem 2022; 29:340-348. [PMID: 36206396 PMCID: PMC9488018 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053499.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences occur in the structure and function of the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which can change from the juvenile period through old age. Although the evidence is incomplete, it appears that in at least some portions of the cortex these differences develop due to the rise of ovarian hormones at puberty and are potentially not dependent on the perinatal rise in testosterone, which is essential for sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus and sexual behavior. During aging of female rats, the presence of continued ovarian hormone secretion after cessation of the estrous cycle also influences sex differences in neuroanatomical structure and cognitive behavior, resulting in nullification or reversal of sex differences seen in younger adults. Sex differences can be altered by experience in a stimulating environment during the juvenile/adolescent period, and sex differences in performance even can be affected by the parameters of a task. Thus, broad generalizations about differences such as "spatial ability" are to be avoided. It is clear that to understand how the brain produces behavior, sex and hormones have to be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice M Juraska
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
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