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Eachus H, Ryu S. Glucocorticoid effects on the brain: from adaptive developmental plasticity to allostatic overload. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246128. [PMID: 38449327 PMCID: PMC10949071 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246128] [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] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to stress during early life may alter the developmental trajectory of an animal by a mechanism known as adaptive plasticity. For example, to enhance reproductive success in an adverse environment, it is known that animals accelerate their growth during development. However, these short-term fitness benefits are often associated with reduced longevity, a phenomenon known as the growth rate-lifespan trade-off. In humans, early life stress exposure compromises health later in life and increases disease susceptibility. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are major stress hormones implicated in these processes. This Review discusses the evidence for GC-mediated adaptive plasticity in development, leading to allostatic overload in later life. We focus on GC-induced effects on brain structure and function, including neurogenesis; highlight the need for longitudinal studies; and discuss approaches to identify molecular mechanisms mediating GC-induced alteration of the brain developmental trajectory leading to adult dysfunctions. Further understanding of how stress and GC exposure can alter developmental trajectories at the molecular and cellular level is of critical importance to reduce the burden of mental and physical ill health across the life course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Eachus
- Living Systems Institute & Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Soojin Ryu
- Living Systems Institute & Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
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2
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Otridge J, Meyer JS, Dettmer AM. Amniotic fluid cortisol predicts neonatal and infant development in non-stressed rhesus monkeys: Implications for prenatal stress. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2023; 100:107308. [PMID: 37890675 PMCID: PMC10872548 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2023.107308] [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: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal stress adversely affects offspring development, with fetal cortisol (CORT) exposure being a primary hypothesized mechanism for stress-induced developmental deficits. Fetal CORT exposure can be assessed via measurements in amniotic fluid. However, in humans, amniocentesis is typically only performed for clinical reasons such as karyotyping; thus, amniotic fluid CORT cannot be obtained from a random sample. To test the hypothesis that fetal CORT exposure predicts neonatal and infant development in healthy primates, we measured amniotic fluid CORT in N = 18 healthy rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) dams (50:50 female:male infants) between 80 and 124 days gestation (mean ± SEM = 98.3 ± 2.9 days out of 165 days gestational length; i.e., second trimester). Maternal hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) were assessed throughout pregnancy and lactation. Offspring were assessed for physical growth, neurological development, cognitive development, and HCCs across postnatal days 30-180. Controlling for gestational age at amniocentesis, higher amniotic fluid CORT significantly predicted slower infant growth rate (g/day) in the first 30 days (β = -0.19; R2 = 0.71, p = .008), poorer sensorimotor scores on the day 30 neonatal assessment (β = -0.28; R2 = 0.76, p = .015), and longer time to complete training (β = 0.48; R2 = 0.54, p = .026), but better performance (β = 0.91; R2 = 0.60, p = .011) on a discrimination cognitive task at 120-180 days. Amniotic fluid CORT was not associated with maternal or infant HCCs. Although these results are correlative, they raise the intriguing possibility that fetal CORT exposure in non-stress-exposed primates, as measured by amniotic fluid CORT, programs multiple aspects of neonatal and infant development. On the other hand, amniotic fluid CORT may not relate to chronic CORT levels in either mothers or infants when assessed by hair sampling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jerrold S Meyer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Amanda M Dettmer
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Kim B, Sasaki A, Murphy K, Matthews SG. DNA methylation signatures in human neonatal blood following maternal antenatal corticosteroid treatment. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:132. [PMID: 35354798 PMCID: PMC8967826 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01902-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) are used to treat women at risk of preterm birth to improve neonatal survival. Though affected children may be at long-term risk of neurobehavioural disorders, the driving mechanisms remain unknown. Animal studies have shown that ACS exposure can lead to overlapping changes in DNA methylation between the blood and the brain, identifying gene pathways for neurodevelopment, which highlights the potential to examine peripheral blood as a surrogate for inaccessible human brain tissue. We hypothesized that differential methylation will be identified in blood of term-born neonates following ACS. Mother-infant dyads that received ACS were retrospectively identified through the Ontario Birth Study at Sinai Health Complex and matched to untreated controls for maternal age, BMI, parity and foetal sex (n = 14/group). Genome-wide methylation differences were examined at single-nucleotide resolution in DNA extracted from dried bloodspot cards using reduced representative bisulfite sequencing approaches. 505 differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs) were identified, wherein 231 were hypermethylated and 274 were hypomethylated. These sites were annotated to 219 genes, of which USP48, SH3PXD2A, NTM, CAMK2N2, MAP6D1 were five of the top ten genes with known neurological function. Collectively, the set of hypermethylated genes were enriched for pathways of transcription regulation, while pathways of proteasome activity were enriched among the set of hypomethylated genes. This study is the first to identify DNA methylation changes in human neonatal blood following ACS. Understanding the epigenetic changes that occur in response to ACS will support future investigations to delineate the effects of prenatal glucocorticoid exposure on human development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bona Kim
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. .,Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Aya Sasaki
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.250674.20000 0004 0626 6184Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Kellie Murphy
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Stephen G. Matthews
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.250674.20000 0004 0626 6184Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
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Kim B, Shah S, Park HS, Hong YC, Ha M, Kim Y, Kim BN, Kim Y, Ha EH. Adverse effects of prenatal mercury exposure on neurodevelopment during the first 3 years of life modified by early growth velocity and prenatal maternal folate level. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 191:109909. [PMID: 32871452 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Previous studies have suggested that mercury exposure and folate levels during pregnancy may influence early childhood neurodevelopment. Rapid catch-up growth in children is associated with an increased risk of pathological nervous system development. We evaluated whether the association between prenatal folate and mercury-related neuropsychological dysfunction was modified by growth velocity during childhood. METHODS The Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) birth cohort study began in 2006 and by 2010, 1751 women had been enrolled before the second trimester of their pregnancy along with their partners. Participants visited the research center at birth and 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. We measured mercury levels in maternal and cord blood and folate in maternal serum. Questionnaires to evaluate the environment and health of their child were administered and anthropometric factors including body weight and height were measured. Certified investigators used the Bayley test to measure neurobehavioral outcomes. We calculated postnatal growth change as the change in infant weight for-age z-score between birth and 3 years. Multiple linear regression and mixed models were used to examine the association between mercury exposure and children's neurodevelopment as well as the modifying effects of folate and growth velocity. RESULTS A total of 30.6% of children experienced rapid growth during the first 3 years of life. Median values of mercury in the low folate group were significantly higher in rapid growers (3.41 μg/L in maternal blood and 5.63 μg/L in cord blood) than in average/slow growers (3.05 μg/L in maternal blood and 5.19 μg/L in cord blood). Rapid growers were also significantly associated with decreased psychomotor development scores during the first 3 years of life and with having mothers who had low prenatal folate levels, even after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSION Prenatal mercury exposure adversely affects infant neurodevelopment and is associated with rapid growth during the first 3 years of life. This effect was limited to children whose mothers had low prenatal folate levels, suggesting a protective effect of folate against developmental neurotoxicity due to mercury exposure and rapid catch-up growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byungmi Kim
- National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of Korea
| | - Surabhi Shah
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye-Sook Park
- Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yun-Chul Hong
- Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Mina Ha
- Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan, Republic of Korea
| | - Yangho Kim
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Boong-Nnyun Kim
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeni Kim
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Hee Ha
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Alghadir AH, Gabr SA, Al-Momani M, Al-Momani F. Moderate aerobic training modulates cytokines and cortisol profiles in older adults with cognitive abilities. Cytokine 2020; 138:155373. [PMID: 33248912 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Excessive expression of cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines exerts a negative affect on cognitive functioning and hippocampal structure in older adults. Although the interrelation between cortisol and cytokines was fully elucidated previously, few studies considered how their association with exercise can affect brain structures or play an anti-inflammatory role in preserving cognitive function among older adults. To evaluate both the neuro-protective and anti-inflammatory activities of moderate aerobic exercise in improving cognitive performance among healthy older adults, the serum levels of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and cortisol and their correlation with cognitive performance were estimated in all participants. A total of 60 healthy older adults aged 50-85 years were included in this study. The Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) test, colorimetric testing, and ELISA immunoassays were used to measure cognitive abilities; blood sugar; and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), cortisol, IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP, respectively, in older adults before and after 12-week exercise interventions. Exactly 50% of the participants showed moderate cognitive impairment (MCI) (LOTCA scores: 84.8 ± 8.2), and the remaining 50% of the participants (n = 30) were diagnosed as normal healthy subjects (LOTCA scores: 98.7 ± 8.1). There was a significant association between cognitive decline in LOTCA scores of motor praxis, vasomotor organization, thinking operations, and attention and concentration and higher levels of cortisol, CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6, as well as adiposity markers BMI and WHR, in the MCI group compared to control subjects. However, significant improvements in the same LOTCA score domains in MCI subjects were recorded along with decrements in the levels of cortisol and cytokine CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6, as well as improved adiposity markers, following a 12-week moderate exercise program. Cognitive performance correlated positively with cortisol levels and negatively with physical activity, adiposity markers, and cytokine levels. Also, in participants with normal and abnormal cortisol profiles, there was a positive interrelation between cytokine levels and cortisol. Moderate aerobic exercise for 12 weeks showed beneficial effects on cognitive performance in older adults. Our results suggest that 12 weeks of aerobic exercise improves cognitive disorders in older adults via modulating stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines. This may have been due to significant changes in the levels of cortisol, IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP, and physical activity may thus be used as non-drug strategy for treating cognitive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad H Alghadir
- Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sami A Gabr
- Rehabilitation Research Chair, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt.
| | - Murad Al-Momani
- ORL-HNS Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fidaa Al-Momani
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
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van der Merwe JL, Sacco A, Toelen J, Deprest J. Long-term neuropathological and/or neurobehavioral effects of antenatal corticosteroid therapy in animal models: a systematic review. Pediatr Res 2020; 87:1157-1170. [PMID: 31822018 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-019-0712-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antenatal corticosteroids (ACSs) are recommended to all women at risk for preterm delivery; currently, there is controversy about the subsequent long-term neurocognitive sequelae. This systematic review summarizes the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes after ACS therapy in animal models. METHODS An electronic search strategy incorporating MeSH and keywords was performed using all known literature databases and in accordance with PRISMA guidance (PROSPERO CRD42019119663). RESULTS Of the 669 studies identified, eventually 64 were included. The majority of studies utilized dexamethasone at relative high dosages and primarily involved rodents. There was a high risk of bias, mostly due to lack of randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding. The main outcomes reported on was neuropathological, particularly glucocorticoid receptor expression and neuron densities, and neurobehavior. Overall there was an upregulation of glucocorticoid receptors with lower neuron densities and a dysregulation of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. This coincided with various adverse neurobehavioral outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In animal models, ACSs consistently lead to deleterious long-term neurocognitive effects. This may be due to the specific agents, i.e., dexamethasone, or the repetitive/higher total dosing used. ACS administration varied significantly between studies and there was a high risk of bias. Future research should be standardized in well-characterized models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes L van der Merwe
- Department of Development and Regeneration, Cluster Woman and Child, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. .,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fetal Medicine Unit, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Adalina Sacco
- Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jaan Toelen
- Department of Development and Regeneration, Cluster Woman and Child, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Pediatrics, Division Woman and Child, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Deprest
- Department of Development and Regeneration, Cluster Woman and Child, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fetal Medicine Unit, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK
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Constantinof A, Boureau L, Moisiadis VG, Kostaki A, Szyf M, Matthews SG. Prenatal Glucocorticoid Exposure Results in Changes in Gene Transcription and DNA Methylation in the Female Juvenile Guinea Pig Hippocampus Across Three Generations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18211. [PMID: 31796763 PMCID: PMC6890750 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54456-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) are administered to women at risk for pre-term delivery, to mature the fetal lung and decrease neonatal morbidity. sGC also profoundly affect the fetal brain. The hippocampus expresses high levels of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), and its development is affected by elevated fetal glucocorticoid levels. Antenatal sGC results in neuroendocrine and behavioral changes that persist in three generations of female guinea pig offspring of the paternal lineage. We hypothesized that antenatal sGC results in transgenerational changes in gene expression that correlate with changes in DNA methylation. We used RNASeq and capture probe bisulfite sequencing to investigate the transcriptomic and epigenomic effects of antenatal sGC exposure in the hippocampus of three generations of juvenile female offspring from the paternal lineage. Antenatal sGC exposure (F0 pregnancy) resulted in generation-specific changes in hippocampal gene transcription and DNA methylation. Significant changes in individual CpG methylation occurred in RNApol II binding regions of small non-coding RNA (snRNA) genes, which implicates alternative splicing as a mechanism involved in transgenerational transmission of the effects of antenatal sGC. This study provides novel perspectives on the mechanisms involved in transgenerational transmission and highlights the importance of human studies to determine the longer-term effects of antenatal sGC on hippocampal-related function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Constantinof
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S1A8, Canada
| | - Lisa Boureau
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Sackler Program for Epigenetics & Psychobiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G1Y6, Canada
| | - Vasilis G Moisiadis
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S1A8, Canada
| | - Alisa Kostaki
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S1A8, Canada
| | - Moshe Szyf
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Sackler Program for Epigenetics & Psychobiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3G1Y6, Canada
| | - Stephen G Matthews
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S1A8, Canada. .,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Toronto, Canada. .,Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S1A8, Canada. .,Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, M5G1X5, Canada.
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Morrison JL, Botting KJ, Darby JRT, David AL, Dyson RM, Gatford KL, Gray C, Herrera EA, Hirst JJ, Kim B, Kind KL, Krause BJ, Matthews SG, Palliser HK, Regnault TRH, Richardson BS, Sasaki A, Thompson LP, Berry MJ. Guinea pig models for translation of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis into the clinic. J Physiol 2018; 596:5535-5569. [PMID: 29633280 PMCID: PMC6265540 DOI: 10.1113/jp274948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Over 30 years ago Professor David Barker first proposed the theory that events in early life could explain an individual's risk of non-communicable disease in later life: the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. During the 1990s the validity of the DOHaD hypothesis was extensively tested in a number of human populations and the mechanisms underpinning it characterised in a range of experimental animal models. Over the past decade, researchers have sought to use this mechanistic understanding of DOHaD to develop therapeutic interventions during pregnancy and early life to improve adult health. A variety of animal models have been used to develop and evaluate interventions, each with strengths and limitations. It is becoming apparent that effective translational research requires that the animal paradigm selected mirrors the tempo of human fetal growth and development as closely as possible so that the effect of a perinatal insult and/or therapeutic intervention can be fully assessed. The guinea pig is one such animal model that over the past two decades has demonstrated itself to be a very useful platform for these important reproductive studies. This review highlights similarities in the in utero development between humans and guinea pigs, the strengths and limitations of the guinea pig as an experimental model of DOHaD and the guinea pig's potential to enhance clinical therapeutic innovation to improve human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna L. Morrison
- Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health ResearchUniversity of South AustraliaAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Kimberley J. Botting
- Department of Physiology, Development and NeuroscienceUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Jack R. T. Darby
- Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health ResearchUniversity of South AustraliaAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Anna L. David
- Research Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Institute for Women's HealthUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Rebecca M. Dyson
- Department of Paediatrics & Child Health and Centre for Translational PhysiologyUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Kathryn L. Gatford
- Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical SchoolUniversity of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Clint Gray
- Department of Paediatrics & Child Health and Centre for Translational PhysiologyUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Emilio A. Herrera
- Pathophysiology Program, Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICBM), Faculty of MedicineUniversity of ChileSantiagoChile
| | - Jonathan J. Hirst
- Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences and PharmacyUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Bona Kim
- Department of PhysiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Karen L. Kind
- School of Animal and Veterinary SciencesUniversity of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Bernardo J. Krause
- Division of Paediatrics, Faculty of MedicinePontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiagoChile
| | | | - Hannah K. Palliser
- Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences and PharmacyUniversity of NewcastleCallaghanNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Timothy R. H. Regnault
- Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Physiology and PharmacologyWestern University, and Children's Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research InstituteLondonOntarioCanada
| | - Bryan S. Richardson
- Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Physiology and PharmacologyWestern University, and Children's Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research InstituteLondonOntarioCanada
| | - Aya Sasaki
- Department of PhysiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Loren P. Thompson
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive SciencesUniversity of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - Mary J. Berry
- Department of Paediatrics & Child Health and Centre for Translational PhysiologyUniversity of OtagoWellingtonNew Zealand
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D'Arcangelo G, Triossi T, Buglione A, Melchiorri G, Tancredi V. Modulation of synaptic plasticity by short-term aerobic exercise in adult mice. Behav Brain Res 2017; 332:59-63. [PMID: 28559180 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.05.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Physiological effects of different types, of continuous and interval aerobic training, have been largely described and studied in the adult man. It was previously indicated that interval training plays an important role in maximizing both peripheral muscle and central cardiorespiratory adaptations, permitting significant functional improvement even in healthy sedentary subjects. Since the outcome of different aerobic training trials on cognitive processes had never been evaluated, we compared, on an experimental mouse model, the effects of four training exercise protocols, named respectively C100, I100, C50 and I50 depending on the volume and on the type of training proposed, continuous or interval method. Therefore, to asses quantitative and qualitative functional changes, we analyzed several physical parameters before and after 6 weeks training in all four groups with respect to the control sedentary animals and we studied synaptic plasticity, by extracellular in vitro recordings, in hippocampal mouse slices, a region involved in learning and memory processes. We found that all four protocols of exercise applied in this study exerted positive effects on both physical and training parameters inducing weight augmentation, strength endurance and aerobic endurance increase, and potentiation of motor coordination. However, the improvement observed failed to induce an enhancement in synaptic plasticity in three out of four exercise protocols and only in the slices from mice trained with the interval 50% volume exercise the long term potentiation (LTP) increased with respect to the sedentary group. These findings suggest that motor activity exerts positive effects on cognitive processes provided that certain principles are respected, such as the training load and the elements of which it is composed, in order to plan the right quantitative and qualitative parameters and the appropriate recovery periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D'Arcangelo
- Department of Medical Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
| | - T Triossi
- Department of Medical Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - A Buglione
- Department of Medical Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - G Melchiorri
- Department of Medical Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - V Tancredi
- Department of Medical Systems, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
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10
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Bock J, Wainstock T, Braun K, Segal M. Stress In Utero: Prenatal Programming of Brain Plasticity and Cognition. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 78:315-26. [PMID: 25863359 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.02.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Revised: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Animal studies confirm earlier anecdotal observations in humans to indicate that early life experience has a profound impact on adult behavior, years after the original experience has vanished. These studies also highlight the role of early life adversaries in the shaping of a disordered brain. Evidence is accumulating to indicate that the epigenome, through which the environment regulates gene expression, is responsible for long-lasting effects of stress during pregnancy on brain and behavior. A possible differential effect of the environment on the epigenome may underlie the observation that only a small fraction of a population with similar genetic background deteriorates into mental disorders. Considerable progress has been made in the untangling of the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate emotional brain development. The present review focuses on the lasting effects of prenatal stress on brain plasticity and cognitive functions in human and rodent models. Although human studies stress the significance of early life experience in functional maturation, they lack the rigor inherent in controlled animal experiments. Furthermore, the analysis of molecular and cellular mechanisms affected by prenatal stress is possible only in experimental animals. The present review attempts to link human and animal studies while proposing molecular mechanisms that interfere with functional brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joerg Bock
- Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (JB, KB), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Tamar Wainstock
- Rollins School of Public Health (TW), Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Katharina Braun
- Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (JB, KB), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Menahem Segal
- Department of Neurobiology (MS) Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel.
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11
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Huang H, Wang L, Cao M, Marshall C, Gao J, Xiao N, Hu G, Xiao M. Isolation Housing Exacerbates Alzheimer's Disease-Like Pathophysiology in Aged APP/PS1 Mice. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2015; 18:pyu116. [PMID: 25568286 PMCID: PMC4540096 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyu116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2014] [Revised: 12/03/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by gradual declines in social, cognitive, and emotional functions, leading to a loss of expected social behavior. Social isolation has been shown to have adverse effects on individual development and growth as well as health and aging. Previous experiments have shown that social isolation causes an early onset of Alzheimer's disease-like phenotypes in young APP695/PS1-dE9 transgenic mice. However, the interactions between social isolation and Alzheimer's disease still remain unknown. METHODS Seventeen-month-old male APP695/PS1-dE9 transgenic mice were either singly housed or continued group housing for 3 months. Then, Alzheimer's disease-like pathophysiological changes were evaluated by using behavioral, biochemical, and pathological analyses. RESULTS Isolation housing further promoted cognitive dysfunction and Aβ plaque accumulation in the hippocampus of aged APP695/PS1-dE9 transgenic mice, associated with increased γ-secretase and decreased neprilysin expression. Furthermore, exacerbated hippocampal atrophy, synapse and myelin associated protein loss, and glial neuroinflammatory reactions were observed in the hippocampus of isolated aged APP695/PS1-dE9 transgenic mice. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that social isolation exacerbates Alzheimer's disease-like pathophysiology in aged APP695/PS1-dE9 transgenic mice, highlighting the potential role of group life for delaying or counteracting the Alzheimer's disease process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huang Huang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Linmei Wang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Min Cao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Charles Marshall
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Junying Gao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Na Xiao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Gang Hu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD)
| | - Ming Xiao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Drs Huang MD, Wang MD, Cao Ms, Gao Ms, N. Xiao Ms, Hu MD, PhD, and M. Xiao MD, PhD); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Hazard, KY (Dr Marshall PhD).
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Abstract
Fetal development is a critical period for shaping the lifelong health of an individual. However, the fetus is susceptible to internal and external stimuli that can lead to adverse long-term health consequences. Glucocorticoids are an important developmental switch, driving changes in gene regulation that are necessary for normal growth and maturation. The fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is particularly susceptible to long-term programming by glucocorticoids; these effects can persist throughout the life of an organism. Dysfunction of the HPA axis as a result of fetal programming has been associated with impaired brain growth, altered behaviour and increased susceptibility to chronic disease (such as metabolic and cardiovascular disease). Moreover, the effects of glucocorticoid-mediated programming are evident in subsequent generations, and transmission of these changes can occur through both maternal and paternal lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasilis G Moisiadis
- Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Stephen G Matthews
- Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Physiology, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
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13
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Phillips C, Baktir MA, Srivatsan M, Salehi A. Neuroprotective effects of physical activity on the brain: a closer look at trophic factor signaling. Front Cell Neurosci 2014; 8:170. [PMID: 24999318 PMCID: PMC4064707 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Accepted: 06/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
While the relationship between increased physical activity and cognitive ability has been conjectured for centuries, only recently have the mechanisms underlying this relationship began to emerge. Convergent evidence suggests that physical activity offers an affordable and effective method to improve cognitive function in all ages, particularly the elderly who are most vulnerable to neurodegenerative disorders. In addition to improving cardiac and immune function, physical activity alters trophic factor signaling and, in turn, neuronal function and structure in areas critical for cognition. Sustained exercise plays a role in modulating anti-inflammatory effects and may play a role in preserving cognitive function in aging and neuropathological conditions. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that myokines released by exercising muscles affect the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor synthesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, a finding that could lead to the identification of new and therapeutically important mediating factors. Given the growing number of individuals with cognitive impairments worldwide, a better understanding of how these factors contribute to cognition is imperative, and constitutes an important first step toward developing non-pharmacological therapeutic strategies to improve cognition in vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristy Phillips
- Department of Physical Therapy, Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR, USA
| | - Mehmet Akif Baktir
- Department of Physiology, Erciyes University Kayseri, Turkey; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Malathi Srivatsan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR, USA
| | - Ahmad Salehi
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System Palo Alto, CA, USA
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14
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Braun T, Challis JR, Newnham JP, Sloboda DM. Early-life glucocorticoid exposure: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, placental function, and long-term disease risk. Endocr Rev 2013; 34:885-916. [PMID: 23970762 DOI: 10.1210/er.2013-1012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
An adverse early-life environment is associated with long-term disease consequences. Adversity early in life is hypothesized to elicit developmental adaptations that serve to improve fetal and postnatal survival and prepare the organism for a particular range of postnatal environments. These processes, although adaptive in their nature, may later prove to be maladaptive or disadvantageous if the prenatal and postnatal environments are widely discrepant. The exposure of the fetus to elevated levels of either endogenous or synthetic glucocorticoids is one model of early-life adversity that contributes substantially to the propensity of developing disease. Moreover, early-life glucocorticoid exposure has direct clinical relevance because synthetic glucocorticoids are routinely used in the management of women at risk of early preterm birth. In this regard, reports of adverse events in human newborns have raised concerns about the safety of glucocorticoid treatment; synthetic glucocorticoids have detrimental effects on fetal growth and development, childhood cognition, and long-term behavioral outcomes. Experimental evidence supports a link between prenatal exposure to synthetic glucocorticoids and alterations in fetal development and changes in placental function, and many of these alterations appear to be permanent. Because the placenta is the conduit between the maternal and fetal environments, it is likely that placental function plays a key role in mediating effects of fetal glucocorticoid exposure on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis development and long-term disease risk. Here we review recent insights into how the placenta responds to changes in the intrauterine glucocorticoid environment and discuss possible mechanisms by which the placenta mediates fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal development, metabolism, cardiovascular function, and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten Braun
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, 1280 Main Street West, HSC 4H30A, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1.
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15
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Crudo A, Suderman M, Moisiadis VG, Petropoulos S, Kostaki A, Hallett M, Szyf M, Matthews SG. Glucocorticoid programming of the fetal male hippocampal epigenome. Endocrinology 2013; 154:1168-80. [PMID: 23389956 DOI: 10.1210/en.2012-1980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The late-gestation surge in fetal plasma cortisol is critical for maturation of fetal organ systems. As a result, synthetic glucocorticoids (sGCs) are administered to pregnant women at risk of delivering preterm. However, animal studies have shown that fetal exposure to sGC results in increased risk of behavioral, endocrine, and metabolic abnormalities in offspring. Here, we test the hypothesis that prenatal GC exposure resulting from the fetal cortisol surge or after sGC exposure results in promoter-specific epigenetic changes in the hippocampus. Fetal guinea pig hippocampi were collected before (gestational day [GD52]) and after (GD65) the fetal plasma cortisol surge (Term∼GD67) and 24 hours after (GD52) and 14 days after (GD65) two repeat courses of maternal sGC (betamethasone) treatment (n = 3-4/gp). We identified extensive genome-wide alterations in promoter methylation in late fetal development (coincident with the fetal cortisol surge), whereby the majority of the affected promoters exhibited hypomethylation. Fetuses exposed to sGC in late gestation exhibited substantial differences in DNA methylation and histone h3 lysine 9 (H3K9) acetylation in specific gene promoters; 24 hours after the sGC treatment, the majority of genes affected were hypomethylated or hyperacetylated. However, 14 days after sGC exposure these differences did not persist, whereas other promoters became hypermethylated or hyperacetylated. These data support the hypothesis that the fetal GC surge is responsible, in part, for significant variations in genome-wide promoter methylation and that prenatal sGC treatment profoundly changes the epigenetic landscape, affecting both DNA methylation and H3K9 acetylation. This is important given the widespread use of sGC in the management of women in preterm labor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariann Crudo
- Department Pharmacology & Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G1Y6
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16
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Walf AA, Frye CA. Gestational or acute restraint in adulthood reduces levels of 5α-reduced testosterone metabolites in the hippocampus and produces behavioral inhibition of adult male rats. Front Cell Neurosci 2012; 6:40. [PMID: 23264760 PMCID: PMC3524518 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2012.00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2012] [Accepted: 09/12/2012] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Stressors, during early life or adulthood, can alter steroid-sensitive behaviors, such as exploration, anxiety, and/or cognitive processes. We investigated if exposure to acute stressors in adulthood may alter behavioral and neuroendocrine responses of male rats that were exposed to gestational stress or not. We hypothesized that rats exposed to gestational and acute stress may show behavioral inhibition, increased corticosterone, and altered androgen levels in the hippocampus. Subjects were adult, male offspring of rat dams that were restrained daily on gestational days 14–20, or did not experience this manipulation. Immediately before testing, rats were restraint stressed for 20 min or not. During week 1, rats were tested in a battery of tasks, including the open field, elevated plus maze, social interaction, tailflick, pawlick, and defensive burying tasks. During week 2, rats were trained and tested 24 h later in the inhibitory avoidance task. Plasma corticosterone and androgen levels, and hippocampal androgen levels, were measured in all subjects. Gestational and acute restraint stress increased plasma levels of corticosterone, and reduced levels of testosterone's 5α-reduced metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 3α-androstanediol (3α-diol), but not the aromatized metabolite, estradiol (E2), in plasma or the hippocampus. Gestational and acute restraint stress reduced central entries made in the open field, and latencies to enter the shock-associated side of the inhibitory avoidance chamber during testing. Gestational stress reduced time spent interacting with a conspecific. These data suggest that gestational and acute restraint stress can have actions to produce behavioral inhibition coincident with increased corticosterone and decreased 5α-reduced androgens of adult male rats. Thus, gestational stress altered neural circuits involved in the neuroendocrine response to acute stress in early adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia A Walf
- Life Sciences Research, The University at Albany-SUNY Albany, NY, USA
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17
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Crudo A, Petropoulos S, Moisiadis VG, Iqbal M, Kostaki A, Machnes Z, Szyf M, Matthews SG. Prenatal synthetic glucocorticoid treatment changes DNA methylation states in male organ systems: multigenerational effects. Endocrinology 2012; 153:3269-83. [PMID: 22564977 PMCID: PMC3422463 DOI: 10.1210/en.2011-2160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) are administered to pregnant women at risk of delivering preterm, approximately 10% of all pregnancies. Animal studies have demonstrated that offspring exposed to elevated glucocorticoids, either by administration of sGC or as a result of maternal stress, are at increased risk of developing behavioral, endocrine, and metabolic abnormalities. DNA methylation is a covalent modification of DNA that plays a critical role in long-lasting programming of gene expression. Here we tested the hypothesis that prenatal sGC treatment has both acute and long-term effects on DNA methylation states in the fetus and offspring and that these effects extend into a subsequent generation. Pregnant guinea pigs were treated with sGC in late gestation, and methylation analysis by luminometric methylation assay was undertaken in organs from fetuses and offspring across two generations. Expression of genes that modify the epigenetic state were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Results indicate that there are organ-specific developmental trajectories of methylation in the fetus and newborn. Furthermore, these trajectories are substantially modified by intrauterine exposure to sGC. These sGC-induced changes in DNA methylation remain into adulthood and are evident in the next generation. Furthermore, prenatal sGC exposure alters the expression of several genes encoding proteins that modulate the epigenetic state. Several of these changes are long lasting and are also present in the next generation. These data support the hypothesis that prenatal sGC exposure leads to broad changes in critical components of the epigenetic machinery and that these effects can pass to the next generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariann Crudo
- Department Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, Canada H9X 3V9
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18
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Sandman CA, Davis EP. Neurobehavioral risk is associated with gestational exposure to stress hormones. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab 2012; 7:445-459. [PMID: 23144647 PMCID: PMC3493169 DOI: 10.1586/eem.12.33] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The developmental origins of disease or fetal programming model predict that early exposures to threat or adverse conditions have lifelong consequences that result in harmful outcomes for health. The maternal endocrine 'fight or flight' system is a source of programming information for the human fetus to detect threats and adjust their developmental trajectory for survival. Fetal exposures to intrauterine conditions including elevated stress hormones increase the risk for a spectrum of health outcomes depending on the timing of exposure, the timetable of organogenesis and the developmental milestones assessed. Recent prospective studies, reviewed here, have documented the neurodevelopmental consequences of fetal exposures to the trajectory of stress hormones over the course of gestation. These studies have shown that fetal exposures to biological markers of adversity have significant and largely negative consequences for fetal, infant and child emotional and cognitive regulation and reduced volume in specific brain structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curt A Sandman
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Women and Children’s Health and Well-Being Project, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Women and Children’s Health and Well-Being Project, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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19
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Maternal cortisol over the course of pregnancy and subsequent child amygdala and hippocampus volumes and affective problems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109:E1312-9. [PMID: 22529357 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201295109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 407] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress-related variation in the intrauterine milieu may impact brain development and emergent function, with long-term implications in terms of susceptibility for affective disorders. Studies in animals suggest limbic regions in the developing brain are particularly sensitive to exposure to the stress hormone cortisol. However, the nature, magnitude, and time course of these effects have not yet been adequately characterized in humans. A prospective, longitudinal study was conducted in 65 normal, healthy mother-child dyads to examine the association of maternal cortisol in early, mid-, and late gestation with subsequent measures at approximately 7 y age of child amygdala and hippocampus volume and affective problems. After accounting for the effects of potential confounding pre- and postnatal factors, higher maternal cortisol levels in earlier but not later gestation was associated with a larger right amygdala volume in girls (a 1 SD increase in cortisol was associated with a 6.4% increase in right amygdala volume), but not in boys. Moreover, higher maternal cortisol levels in early gestation was associated with more affective problems in girls, and this association was mediated, in part, by amygdala volume. No association between maternal cortisol in pregnancy and child hippocampus volume was observed in either sex. The current findings represent, to the best of our knowledge, the first report linking maternal stress hormone levels in human pregnancy with subsequent child amygdala volume and affect. The results underscore the importance of the intrauterine environment and suggest the origins of neuropsychiatric disorders may have their foundations early in life.
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20
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Antenatal corticosteroids: a risk factor for the development of chronic disease. J Nutr Metab 2012; 2012:930591. [PMID: 22523677 PMCID: PMC3317130 DOI: 10.1155/2012/930591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2011] [Revised: 12/30/2011] [Accepted: 12/31/2011] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth remains a major health issue worldwide. Since the 1990s, women at risk for preterm birth received a single course of exogenous antenatal corticosteroids (ACSs) to facilitate fetal lung maturity. More recently, repeated or multiple courses of ACS have been supported to provide continued fetal maturity support for women with continued risk of preterm birth. However, exogenous ACS reduces birth weight which, in turn, is associated with adverse adult outcomes such as coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. The long-term effects of ACS exposure on HPA axis activity and neurological function are well documented in animal studies, and it appears that ACS, regardless of dose exposure, is capable of affecting fetal HPA axis development causing permanent changes in the HPA axis that persists through life and is manifested by chronic illness and behavioral changes. The challenge in human studies is to demonstrate whether an intervention such as ACS administration in pregnancy contributes to developmental programming and how this is manifested in later life.
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Paris JJ, Brunton PJ, Russell JA, Frye CA. Immune stress in late pregnant rats decreases length of gestation and fecundity, and alters later cognitive and affective behaviour of surviving pre-adolescent offspring. Stress 2011; 14:652-64. [PMID: 21995525 PMCID: PMC3376536 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2011.628719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Immune challenge during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth and poor perinatal development. The mechanisms of these effects are not known. 5α-Pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP), the neuroactive metabolite of progesterone, is critical for neurodevelopment and stress responses, and can influence cognition and affective behaviours. To develop an immune challenge model of preterm birth, pregnant Long-Evans rat dams were administered lipopolysaccharide [LPS; 30 μg/kg/ml, intraperitoneal (IP)], interleukin-1β (IL-1β; 1 μg/rat, IP) or vehicle (0.9% saline, IP) daily on gestational days 17-21. Compared to control treatment, prenatal LPS or IL-1β reduced gestational length and the number of viable pups born. At 28-30 days of age, male and female offspring of mothers exposed to prenatal IL-1β had reduced cognitive performance in the object recognition task compared to controls. In females, but not males, prenatal IL-1β reduced anxiety-like behaviour, indicated by entries to the centre of an open field. In the hippocampus, progesterone turnover to its 5α-reduced metabolites was lower in prenatally exposed IL-1β female, but not in male offspring. IL-1β-exposed males and females had reduced oestradiol content in hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex and diencephalon compared to controls. Thus, immune stress during late pregnancy reduced gestational length and negatively impacted birth outcomes, hippocampal function and central neurosteroid formation in the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J Paris
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY 12222, USA
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22
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Wynne O, Horvat J, Smith R, Hansbro P, Clifton V, Hodgson D. Effect of neonatal respiratory infection on adult BALB/c hippocampal glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors. Dev Psychobiol 2011; 54:568-75. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.20615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2011] [Accepted: 09/16/2011] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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23
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Wynne O, Horvat JC, Kim RY, Ong LK, Smith R, Hansbro PM, Clifton VL, Hodgson DM. Neonatal respiratory infection and adult re-infection: effect on glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus in BALB/c mice. Brain Behav Immun 2011; 25:1214-22. [PMID: 21440617 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2011.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2010] [Revised: 03/21/2011] [Accepted: 03/21/2011] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Stressful events during the perinatal period in both humans and animals have long-term consequences for the development and function of physiological systems and susceptibility to disease in adulthood. One form of stress commonly experienced in the neonatal period is exposure to bacterial and viral infections. The current study investigated the effects of live Chlamydia muridarum bacterial infection at birth followed by re-infection in adulthood on hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and stress response outcomes. Within 24 h of birth, neonatal mice were infected intranasally with C. muridarum (400 inclusion-forming units [ifu]) or vehicle. At 42 days, mice were re-infected (100 ifu) and euthanized 10 days later. In males, infection in adulthood alone had the most impact on the parameters measured with significant increases in GR protein compared to adult infection alone; and significant increases MR protein and circulating corticosterone compared to other treatment groups. Neonatal infection alone induced the largest alterations in the females with results showing reciprocal patterns for GR protein and TH protein. Perinatal infection resulted in a blunted response following adult infection for both males and females across all parameters. The present study demonstrates for the first time that males and females respond differently to infection based on the timing of the initial insult and that there is considerable sex differences in the hippocampal phenotypes that emerge in adulthood after neonatal infection.
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MESH Headings
- Adrenal Glands/enzymology
- Adrenal Glands/metabolism
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Chlamydia Infections/genetics
- Chlamydia Infections/immunology
- Chlamydia Infections/metabolism
- Chlamydia Infections/physiopathology
- Chlamydia muridarum
- Corticosterone/metabolism
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Hippocampus/metabolism
- Male
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Nerve Tissue Proteins/biosynthesis
- Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics
- Pneumonia, Bacterial/genetics
- Pneumonia, Bacterial/immunology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial/metabolism
- Pneumonia, Bacterial/physiopathology
- Receptors, Glucocorticoid/biosynthesis
- Receptors, Glucocorticoid/genetics
- Receptors, Mineralocorticoid/biosynthesis
- Receptors, Mineralocorticoid/genetics
- Recurrence
- Sex Characteristics
- Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
- Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- O Wynne
- Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
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24
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Ali I, Salzberg MR, French C, Jones NC. Electrophysiological insights into the enduring effects of early life stress on the brain. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 214:155-73. [PMID: 21165736 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2125-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2010] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence links exposure to stress early in life to long-term alterations in brain function, which in turn have been linked to a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders in humans. Electrophysiological approaches to studying these causal pathways have been relatively underexploited. Effects of early life stress on neuronal electrophysiological properties offer a set of potential mechanisms for these susceptibilities, notably in the case of epilepsy. Thus, we review experimental evidence for altered cellular and circuit electrophysiology resulting from exposure to early life stress. Much of this work focuses on limbic long-term potentiation, but other studies address alterations in electrophysiological properties of ion channels, neurotransmitter systems, and the autonomic nervous system. We discuss mechanisms which may mediate these effects, including influences of early life stress on key components of brain synaptic transmission, particularly glutamate, GABA and 5-HT receptors, and influences on neuroplasticity (primarily neurogenesis and synaptic density) and on neuronal network activity. The existing literature, although small, provides strong evidence that early life stress induces enduring, often robust effects on a range of electrophysiological properties, suggesting further study of enduring effects of early life stress employing electrophysiological methods and concepts will be productive in illuminating disease pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idrish Ali
- Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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25
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Davis EP, Glynn LM, Waffarn F, Sandman CA. Prenatal maternal stress programs infant stress regulation. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2011; 52:119-29. [PMID: 20854366 PMCID: PMC3010449 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02314.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 311] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Prenatal exposure to inappropriate levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) and maternal stress are putative mechanisms for the fetal programming of later health outcomes. The current investigation examined the influence of prenatal maternal cortisol and maternal psychosocial stress on infant physiological and behavioral responses to stress. METHODS The study sample comprised 116 women and their full term infants. Maternal plasma cortisol and report of stress, anxiety and depression were assessed at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 36 + weeks' gestational age. Infant cortisol and behavioral responses to the painful stress of a heel-stick blood draw were evaluated at 24 hours after birth. The association between prenatal maternal measures and infant cortisol and behavioral stress responses was examined using hierarchical linear growth curve modeling. RESULTS A larger infant cortisol response to the heel-stick procedure was associated with exposure to elevated concentrations of maternal cortisol during the late second and third trimesters. Additionally, a slower rate of behavioral recovery from the painful stress of a heel-stick blood draw was predicted by elevated levels of maternal cortisol early in pregnancy as well as prenatal maternal psychosocial stress throughout gestation. These associations could not be explained by mode of delivery, prenatal medical history, socioeconomic status or child race, sex or birth order. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that exposure to maternal cortisol and psychosocial stress exerts programming influences on the developing fetus with consequences for infant stress regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA 92868, USA.
| | - Laura M. Glynn
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA
| | - Feizal Waffarn
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA
| | - Curt A. Sandman
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA
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Paris JJ, Frye CA. Juvenile offspring of rats exposed to restraint stress in late gestation have impaired cognitive performance and dysregulated progestogen formation. Stress 2011; 14:23-32. [PMID: 21034292 PMCID: PMC3103059 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2010.512375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Gestational stress may have lasting effects on the physical and neurocognitive development of offspring. The mechanisms that may underlie these effects are of interest. Progesterone and its 5α-reduced metabolites, dihydroprogesterone and 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP), maintain pregnancy, have neurotrophic effects, and can enhance cognitive performance. We hypothesized that some of the deleterious effects of gestational stress on the cognitive performance of offspring may be related to progestogen formation. Pregnant rat dams were exposed to restraint under a bright light (thrice daily for 45 min) on gestational days 17-21 or were minimally handled controls. Dams that were exposed to restraint had lower circulating levels of 3α,5α-THP and significantly greater concentrations of corticosterone at the time of birth than did control dams. Male and female offspring, that were gestationally stressed or not, were cross-fostered to non-manipulated dams. Between postnatal days 28-30, offspring were assessed for object recognition, a prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent cognitive task. Restraint-exposed offspring performed more poorly in the object recognition task than did control offspring, irrespective of sex. As well, progesterone turnover to its 5α-reduced metabolites in the medial PFC (but not the diencephalon) was significantly reduced among restraint-exposed, compared to control, offspring. Progesterone turnover, and levels of 3α,5α-THP, positively correlated with performance in the object recognition task. Thus, restraint stress in late pregnancy impaired cognitive development and dysregulated progestogen formation in brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J Paris
- Department of Psychology, The University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, NY 12222, USA
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Du J, Machado-Vieira R, Khairova R. Synaptic plasticity in the pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar disorder. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2011; 5:167-185. [PMID: 25236555 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2010_65] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that synaptic plasticity is intimately involved in the pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar disorder (BPD). Under certain conditions, over-strengthened and/or weakened synapses at different circuits in the brain could disturb brain functions in parallel, causing manic-like or depressive-like behaviors in animal models. In this chapter, we summarize the regulation of synaptic plasticity by medications, psychological conditions, hormones, and neurotrophic factors, and their correlation with mood-associated animal behaviors. We conclude that increased serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), acute corticosterone, and antidepressant treatments lead to enhanced synaptic strength in the hippocampus and also correlate with antidepressant-like behaviors. In contrast, inhibiting monoaminergic signaling, long-term stress, and pathophysiological concentrations of cytokines weakens glutamatergic synaptic strength in the hippocampus and is associated with depressive-like symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Du
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathophysiology, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 35, 1BC909, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA,
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Stevens A, Begum G, Cook A, Connor K, Rumball C, Oliver M, Challis J, Bloomfield F, White A. Epigenetic changes in the hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin and glucocorticoid receptor genes in the ovine fetus after periconceptional undernutrition. Endocrinology 2010; 151:3652-64. [PMID: 20573728 DOI: 10.1210/en.2010-0094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Maternal food restriction is associated with the development of obesity in offspring. This study examined how maternal undernutrition in sheep affects the fetal hypothalamic glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the appetite-regulating neuropeptides, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and neuropeptide Y, which it regulates. In fetuses from ewes undernourished from -60 to +30 d around conception, there was increased histone H3K9 acetylation (1.63-fold) and marked hypomethylation (62% decrease) of the POMC gene promoter but no change in POMC expression. In the same group, acetylation of histone H3K9 associated with the hypothalamic GR gene was increased 1.60-fold and the GR promoter region was hypomethylated (53% decrease). In addition, there was a 4.7-fold increase in hypothalamic GR expression but no change in methylation of GR gene expression in the anterior pituitary or hippocampus. Interestingly, hypomethylation of both POMC and GR promoter markers in fetal hypothalami was also identified after maternal undernutrition from -60 to 0 d and -2 to +30 d. In comparison, the Oct4 gene, was hypermethylated in both control and underfed groups. Periconceptional undernutrition is therefore associated with marked epigenetic changes in hypothalamic genes. Increase in GR expression in the undernourished group may contribute to fetal programming of a predisposition to obesity, via altered GR regulation of POMC and neuropeptide Y. These epigenetic changes in GR and POMC in the hypothalamus may also predispose the offspring to altered regulation of food intake, energy expenditure, and glucose homeostasis later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Stevens
- Faculties of Life Sciences and Medical and Human Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
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Bergman K, Sarkar P, Glover V, O'Connor TG. Maternal prenatal cortisol and infant cognitive development: moderation by infant-mother attachment. Biol Psychiatry 2010; 67:1026-32. [PMID: 20188350 PMCID: PMC2872196 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 232] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2009] [Revised: 11/09/2009] [Accepted: 01/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Experimental animal studies suggest that early glucocorticoid exposure may have lasting effects on the neurodevelopment of the offspring; animal studies also suggest that this effect may be eliminated by positive postnatal rearing. The relevance of these findings to humans is not known. METHODS We prospectively followed 125 mothers and their normally developing children from pregnancy through 17 months postnatal. Amniotic fluid was obtained at, on average, 17.2 weeks gestation; infants were assessed at an average age of 17 months with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and ratings of infant-mother attachment classification were made from the standard Ainsworth Strange Situation assessment. RESULTS Prenatal cortisol exposure, indexed by amniotic fluid levels, negatively predicted cognitive ability in the infant, independent of prenatal, obstetric, and socioeconomic factors. This association was moderated by child-mother attachment: in children with an insecure attachment, the correlation was [r(54) = -.47, p < .001]; in contrast, the association was nonexistent in children who had a secure attachment [r(70) = -.05, ns]. CONCLUSIONS These findings mimic experimental animal findings and provide the first direct human evidence that increased cortisol in utero is associated with impaired cognitive development, and that its impact is dependent on the quality of the mother-infant relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Bergman
- Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology Imperial College London Hammersmith Campus Du Cane Road London W12 0NN UK
| | - Pampa Sarkar
- Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology Imperial College London Hammersmith Campus Du Cane Road London W12 0NN UK
| | - Vivette Glover
- Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology Imperial College London Hammersmith Campus Du Cane Road London W12 0NN UK
| | - Thomas G O'Connor
- Wynne Center for Family Research Department of Psychiatry University of Rochester Medical Center 300 Crittenden Blvd, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
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Stephan KE, Friston KJ, Frith CD. Dysconnection in schizophrenia: from abnormal synaptic plasticity to failures of self-monitoring. Schizophr Bull 2009; 35:509-27. [PMID: 19155345 PMCID: PMC2669579 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbn176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 814] [Impact Index Per Article: 54.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 2 decades, a large number of neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies of patients with schizophrenia have furnished in vivo evidence for dysconnectivity, ie, abnormal functional integration of brain processes. While the evidence for dysconnectivity in schizophrenia is strong, its etiology, pathophysiological mechanisms, and significance for clinical symptoms are unclear. First, dysconnectivity could result from aberrant wiring of connections during development, from aberrant synaptic plasticity, or from both. Second, it is not clear how schizophrenic symptoms can be understood mechanistically as a consequence of dysconnectivity. Third, if dysconnectivity is the primary pathophysiology, and not just an epiphenomenon, then it should provide a mechanistic explanation for known empirical facts about schizophrenia. This article addresses these 3 issues in the framework of the dysconnection hypothesis. This theory postulates that the core pathology in schizophrenia resides in aberrant N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic plasticity due to abnormal regulation of NMDARs by neuromodulatory transmitters like dopamine, serotonin, or acetylcholine. We argue that this neurobiological mechanism can explain failures of self-monitoring, leading to a mechanistic explanation for first-rank symptoms as pathognomonic features of schizophrenia, and may provide a basis for future diagnostic classifications with physiologically defined patient subgroups. Finally, we test the explanatory power of our theory against a list of empirical facts about schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaas E. Stephan
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +44-207-8337472, fax: +44-207-8131420, e-mail:
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Chris D. Frith
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK,Centre of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Aarhus University Hospital, 8000-Aarhus, Denmark
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Pylipow M, Spector LG, Puumala SE, Boys C, Cohen J, Georgieff MK. Early postnatal weight gain, intellectual performance, and body mass index at 7 years of age in term infants with intrauterine growth restriction. J Pediatr 2009; 154:201-6. [PMID: 18823908 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2008] [Revised: 07/15/2008] [Accepted: 08/07/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether the postnatal growth rate of infants with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with later cognitive function and body mass index (BMI). STUDY DESIGN Infants with IUGR (<2211 g at > or =37 weeks' gestation) were identified in data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project, excluding those with diagnoses affecting cognition or growth. Wechsler Scale of Children's Intelligence (WISC) scores at age 7 years and data on postnatal growth at 16 weeks were available for 463 infants with IUGR. Linear regression relating postnatal growth and WISC score, adjusting for potential confounders, was performed for these infants. BMI at 7 years also was examined. RESULTS Weight gain at 16 postnatal weeks ranged from 1059 to 5119 g in the infants with IUGR, with lower achieved cognitive testing scores apparent at both extremes (ie, an inverted J-shape; P < .001). Infants gaining 1200 and 5000 g scored 15.5 and 2.4 fewer points, respectively, on the full scale compared with infants with score-maximizing growth. In contrast, BMI at 7 years was linearly related to postnatal weight gain (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Growth in the first 4 postnatal months is an independent risk factor for cognitive outcome at age 7 years, with both extremes associated with negative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Pylipow
- Division of Neonatology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Kapoor A, Petropoulos S, Matthews SG. Fetal programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and behavior by synthetic glucocorticoids. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007; 57:586-95. [PMID: 17716742 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresrev.2007.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2007] [Revised: 06/15/2007] [Accepted: 06/16/2007] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Reduced fetal growth has been closely associated with an increased risk for the development of chronic disease in later life. Accumulating evidence indicates that fetal exposure to excess glucocorticoids represents a critical mechanism underlying this association. Approximately 7% of pregnant women are at risk of preterm delivery and these women are routinely treated with synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) between 24 and 34 of weeks gestation to improve neonatal outcome. Animal studies have demonstrated that maternally administered sGC crosses the placenta, affecting fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) development, resulting in changes in HPA axis function that persist throughout life. These changes appear to be modulated at the level of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) in the brain and pituitary. As the HPA axis interacts with many other physiological pathways, the changes in endocrine function are also sex-specific and age-dependent. Alterations in behavior, particularly locomotion, in animals exposed to sGC in utero have also been demonstrated. Consistent with the finding in animal models, emerging human data are indicating attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like symptoms in children exposed to repeated courses of sGC in utero. This behavioral phenotype is likely linked to alterations in dopamine (DA) signaling, suggesting that sGC are able to permanently modify or 'program' this system. Finally, it is emerging that changes in HPA axis function and behavior following antenatal exposure to sGC are transgenerational and likely involve epigenetic mechanisms. A comprehensive understanding of the acute and long-term impact of sGC exposure in utero is necessary to begin to develop recommendations and treatment options for pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amita Kapoor
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A8
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