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Mohd Sahini SN, Mohd Nor Hazalin NA, Srikumar BN, Jayasingh Chellammal HS, Surindar Singh GK. Environmental enrichment improves cognitive function, learning, memory and anxiety-related behaviours in rodent models of dementia: Implications for future study. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 208:107880. [PMID: 38103676 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) is a process of brain stimulation by modifying the surroundings, for example, by changing the sensory, social, or physical conditions. Rodents have been used in such experimental strategies through exposure to diverse physical, social, and exploration conditions. The present study conducted an extensive analysis of the existing literature surrounding the impact of EE on dementia rodent models. The review emphasised the two principal aspects that are very closely related to dementia: cognitive function (learning and memory) as well as psychological factors (anxiety-related behaviours such as phobias and unrealistic worries). Also highlighted were the mechanisms involved in the rodent models of dementia showing EE effects. Two search engines, PubMed and Science Direct, were used for data collection using the following keywords: environmental enrichment, dementia, rodent model, cognitive performance, and anxiety-related behaviour. Fifty-five articles were chosen depending on the criteria for inclusion and exclusion. The rodent models with dementia demonstrated improved learning and memory in the form of hampered inflammatory responses, enhanced neuronal plasticity, and sustained neuronal activity. EE housing also prevented memory impairment through the prevention of amyloid beta (Aβ) seeding formation, an early stage of Aβ plaque formation. The rodents subjected to EE were observed to present increased exploratory activity and exert less anxiety-related behaviour, compared to those in standard housing. However, some studies have proposed that EE intervention through exercise would be too mild to counteract the anxiety-related behaviour and risk assessment behaviour deficits in the Alzheimer's disease rodent model. Future studies should be conducted on old-aged rodents and the duration of EE exposure that would elicit the greatest benefits since the existing studies have been conducted on a range of ages and EE durations. In summary, EE had a considerable effect on dementia rodent models, with the most evident being improved cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siti Norhafizah Mohd Sahini
- Department of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Outpatient Pharmacy Department, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, 30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Nurul Aqmar Mohd Nor Hazalin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Integrative Pharmacogenomics Institute (iPROMiSE), Level 7, FF3, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Bettadapura N Srikumar
- Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bengaluru - 560029, India
| | - Hanish Singh Jayasingh Chellammal
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Brain Degeneration and Therapeutics Group, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Gurmeet Kaur Surindar Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Brain Degeneration and Therapeutics Group, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
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Clark ML, Abimanyi-Ochom J, Le H, Long B, Orr C, Khanh-Dao Le L. A systematic review and meta-analysis of depression and apathy frequency in adult-onset Huntington's disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105166. [PMID: 37054804 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Depression and apathy are associated with decreased functional capacity in Huntington's disease (HD) but frequency of depression and apathy in HD is largely unknown. Systematic literature searching was conducted across 21 databases until 30 June 2021. Inclusion criteria was limited to clinician-rated assessments of depression and apathy and adult-onset HD. Inverse-variance heterogeneity meta-analyses were conducted exploring depression and apathy frequency within individuals from families affected by HD, and within individuals with confirmed HD gene-positive status. Screening identified 289 articles for full-text review; nine remained for meta-analysis. Depression frequency in the lifetime in adults affected by or at-risk for HD was 38%, I2 = 99%. Apathy frequency in the lifetime in adults affected by or at-risk for HD was 40%, I2 = 96%. The robustness of the findings improved when limiting the analysis to gene-positive individuals only where apathy was found to be slightly more common than depression, 48% and 43% respectively. Future studies may consider reporting results from juvenile-onset HD and adult-onset HD cohorts separately to further explore phenotypic profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie L Clark
- Deakin University, Deakin Health Economics, School of Health and Social Development, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia; Neurosciences Unit, North Metropolitan Health Services Mental Health Public Health Dental Services, Perth, Western Australia; Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Perth, Western Australia.
| | - Julie Abimanyi-Ochom
- Deakin University, Deakin Health Economics, School of Health and Social Development, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia; Deakin University, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia
| | - Ha Le
- Deakin University, Deakin Health Economics, School of Health and Social Development, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia; Deakin University, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia
| | - Brian Long
- Neurosciences Unit, North Metropolitan Health Services Mental Health Public Health Dental Services, Perth, Western Australia
| | - Carolyn Orr
- Neurosciences Unit, North Metropolitan Health Services Mental Health Public Health Dental Services, Perth, Western Australia; Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Perth, Western Australia
| | - Long Khanh-Dao Le
- Health Economics Division, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Nieves-Vázquez CI, Detrés-Marquéz AC, Torres-Reverón A, Appleyard CB, Llorens-De Jesús AP, Resto IN, López-Rodríguez V, Ramos-Echevarría PM, Castro EM, Flores I. Feasibility and acceptability of an adapted environmental enrichment intervention for endometriosis: A pilot study. Front Glob Womens Health 2023; 3:1058559. [PMID: 36683601 PMCID: PMC9846621 DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.1058559] [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: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction We have previously shown that Environmental Enrichment (EE)-consisting of social support, novelty, and open spaces-decreased disease progression and anxiety in a rat model of endometriosis. We developed a novel EE intervention to be tested in a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) in patients with endometriosis, a painful, stressful disease. Objective To translate and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an adapted EE intervention as an adjuvant to standard-of-care for endometriosis patients. Methods Feasibility was assessed through recruitment, enrollment, and adherence rates. Acceptability was evaluated through a post-intervention survey and focus group discussion 3-months after the end of the intervention. Results Of the 103 subjects recruited, 64 were randomized to the intervention group and 39 to the control group. At the start of the intervention, the study groups consisted of 29 (intervention) and 27 (control) subjects. Enrollment rates were 45.3% and 69.2%, and adherence rates were 41.4% and 100% for the intervention and control groups, respectively. Delays resulting from natural events (earthquakes, the COVID-19 pandemic) impacted enrollment and adherence rates. The most common reasons for missing an intervention were period pain (39.1%) and work-study (34.8%). There was high acceptability (>80%) of the intervention's logistics. The majority (82.4%) of subjects would continue participating in support groups regularly, and 95.7% would recommend the intervention to other patients. Conclusions We showed that EE could be translated into an acceptable integrative multi-modal therapy perceived as valuable among participants who completed the intervention. High attrition/low adherence indicates that additional refinements would be needed to improve feasibility. Acceptability data indicate that EE has the potential to be integrated into the clinical management of patients with endometriosis and other inflammatory, painful disorders. Studies are ongoing to assess the efficacy of EE in improving pain symptoms, mental health, and quality of life (QoL).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Annelyn Torres-Reverón
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
| | - Caroline B. Appleyard
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
| | | | - Ivana N. Resto
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | | | | | - Eida M. Castro
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - Idhaliz Flores
- School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Science University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, McAllen, TX, United States
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
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Temporal Characterization of Behavioral and Hippocampal Dysfunction in the YAC128 Mouse Model of Huntington’s Disease. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10061433. [PMID: 35740454 PMCID: PMC9219853 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10061433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Emerging evidence suggests that emotional and cognitive deficits seen in HD may be related to hippocampal dysfunction. We used the YAC128 HD mouse model to perform a temporal characterization of the behavioral and hippocampal dysfunctions. Early and late symptomatic YAC128 mice exhibited depressive-like behavior, as demonstrated by increased immobility times in the Tail Suspension Test. In addition, YAC128 mice exhibited cognitive deficits in the Swimming T-maze Test during the late symptomatic stage. Except for a reduction in basal mitochondrial respiration, no significant deficits in the mitochondrial respiratory rates were observed in the hippocampus of late symptomatic YAC128 mice. In agreement, YAC128 animals did not present robust alterations in mitochondrial ultrastructural morphology. However, light and electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of dark neurons characterized by the intense staining of granule cell bodies and shrunken nuclei and cytoplasm in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of late symptomatic YAC128 mice. Furthermore, structural alterations in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus were detected in the hippocampal DG of YAC128 mice by electron microscopy. These results clearly show a degenerative process in the hippocampal DG in late symptomatic YAC128 animals.
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Environmental stimulation in Huntington disease patients and animal models. Neurobiol Dis 2022; 171:105725. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
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Dubois C, Kong G, Tran H, Li S, Pang TY, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Small Non-coding RNAs Are Dysregulated in Huntington's Disease Transgenic Mice Independently of the Therapeutic Effects of an Environmental Intervention. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:3308-3318. [PMID: 33675499 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02342-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. Transcriptomic dysregulations are well-documented in HD and alterations in small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), could underpin that phenomenon. Additionally, environmental enrichment (EE), which is used to model a stimulating lifestyle in pre-clinical research, has been shown to ameliorate HD-related symptoms. However, the mechanisms mediating the therapeutic effects of EE remain largely unknown. This study assessed the effect of EE on sncRNA expression in the striatum of female R6/1 transgenic HD mice at 12 weeks (prior to over motor deficits) and 20 weeks (fully symptomatic) of age. When comparing wild-type and R6/1 mice in the standard housing condition, we found 6 and 64 miRNAs that were differentially expressed at 12 and 20 weeks of age, respectively. The 6 miRNAs (miR-132, miR-212, miR-222, miR-1a, miR-467a, and miR-669c) were commonly dysregulated at both time points. Additionally, genotype had minor effects on the levels of other sncRNAs, in particular, 1 piRNA was dysregulated at 12 weeks of age, and at 20 weeks of age 11 piRNAs, 1 tRNA- and 2 snoRNA-derived fragments were altered in HD mice. No difference in the abundance of other sncRNA subtypes, including rRNA- and snRNA- derived fragments, were observed. While EE improved locomotor symptoms in HD, we found no effect of the housing condition on any of the sncRNA populations examined. Our findings show that HD mainly affects miRNAs and has a minor effect on other sncRNA populations. Furthermore, the therapeutic effects of EE are not associated with the rescue of these dysregulated sncRNAs and may therefore exert these experience-dependent effects via other molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine Dubois
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Geraldine Kong
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Harvey Tran
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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Appleyard CB, Flores I, Torres-Reverón A. The Link Between Stress and Endometriosis: from Animal Models to the Clinical Scenario. Reprod Sci 2020; 27:1675-1686. [PMID: 32542543 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-020-00205-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
There is strong evidence from humans and animal models showing that abnormal functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and/or the inflammatory response system disrupts feedback regulation of both neuroendocrine and immune systems, contributing to disease. Stress is known to affect the physiology of pelvic organs and to disturb the HPA axis leading to chronic, painful, inflammatory disorders. A link between stress and disease has already been documented for many chronic conditions. Endometriosis is a complex chronic gynecological disease associated with severe pelvic pain and infertility that affects 10% of reproductive-aged women. Patients report the negative impact of endometriosis symptoms on quality of life, work/study productivity, and personal relationships, which in turn cause high levels of psychological and emotional distress. The relationship between stress and endometriosis is not clear. Still, we have recently demonstrated that stress increases the size and severity of the lesions as well as inflammatory parameters in an animal model. Furthermore, the "controllability" of stress influences the pathophysiology in this model, offering the possibility of using stress management techniques in patients. The crosstalk between stress-inflammation-pain through HPA axis activity indicates that stress relief should alleviate inflammation and, in turn, decrease painful responses. This opens up the opportunity of altering brain-body-brain pathways as potential new therapeutic option for endometriosis. The goal of this review is to gather the research evidence regarding the interaction between stress (psychological and physiological) and the development and progression of endometriosis on the exacerbation of its symptoms with the purpose of proposing new lines of emerging research and possible treatment modalities for this still incurable disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline B Appleyard
- Department of Basic Sciences, Women's Health Division, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, USA. .,Department of Internal Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, USA. .,Department of Basic Sciences, Physiology Division, Medical School and Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, 395 Zona Ind Reparada 2, Ponce, PR, 00716-2347, USA.
| | - Idhaliz Flores
- Department of Basic Sciences, Women's Health Division, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, PR, USA
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Gubert C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Why Woody got the blues: The neurobiology of depression in Huntington's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 142:104958. [PMID: 32526274 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an extraordinary disorder that usually strikes when individuals are in the prime of their lives, as was the case for the influential 20th century musician Woody Guthrie. HD demonstrates the exceptionally fine line between life and death in such 'genetic diseases', as the only difference between those who suffer horribly and die slowly of this disease is often just a handful of extra tandem repeats (beyond the normal polymorphic range) in a genome that constitutes over 3 billion paired nucleotides of DNA. Furthermore, HD presents as a complex and heterogenous combination of psychiatric, cognitive and motor symptoms, so can appear as an unholy trinity of 'three disorders in one'. The autosomal dominant nature of the disorder is also extremely challenging for affected families, as a 'flip of a coin' dictates which children inherit the mutation from their affected parent, and the gene-negative family members bear the burden of caring for the other half of the family that is affected. In this review, we will focus on one of the earliest, and most devastating, symptoms associated with HD, depression, which has been reported to affect approximately half of gene-positive HD family members. We will discuss the pathogenesis of HD, and depressive symptoms in particular, including molecular and cellular mechanisms, and potential genetic and environmental modifiers. This expanding understanding of HD pathogenesis may not only lead to novel therapeutic options for HD families, but may also provide insights into depression in the wider population, which has the greatest burden of disease of any disorder and an enormous unmet need for new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Gubert
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
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Wilson C, Li S, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Antidepressant-like effects of ketamine in a mouse model of serotonergic dysfunction. Neuropharmacology 2020; 168:107998. [PMID: 32061666 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.107998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Traditional monoaminergic treatments of depression frequently exhibit suboptimal tolerability and effectiveness. The 'short' (s) allele variant of 5-HTTLPR is known to compromise transcriptional efficacy of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and can reduce treatment response to traditional antidepressants (e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs). This study sought to establish the 5-HTT knock-out (KO) line as a mouse model of SSRI-resistant depression and assess its response to a novel glutamatergic antidepressant, ketamine, a non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist. Following acute antidepressant treatment, 5-HTT KO mice and wild-type (WT) controls were subjected to the forced-swim test (FST), one of the most widely used techniques to detect acute antidepressant response. As hypothesised, when assessed 30 min after administration in the FST, the SSRI sertraline (20 mg/kg, i.p.) produced antidepressant-like effects in WT control but not in 5-HTT KO mice. In contrast, ketamine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) induced antidepressant-like effects in both genotypes. 5-HTT KO mice also exhibited a reduced locomotor response to both MK-801 (another NMDAR antagonist) and ketamine, and reduced GluN2A protein levels in the hippocampus, suggesting glutamatergic dysfunction in this model. These results highlight the utility of 5-HTT KO mice as a relevant model of SSRI-resistant depression and demonstrate that ketamine can produce acute antidepressant-like effects in conditions of 5-HTT deficiency. These findings extend existing literature that indicates ketamine is effective in ameliorating symptoms of treatment-resistant depression and may have implications for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of ketamine. This article is part of the special issue entitled 'Serotonin Research: Crossing Scales and Boundaries'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carey Wilson
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Melbourne School of Psychological Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Facssulty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
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Galts CP, Bettio LE, Jewett DC, Yang CC, Brocardo PS, Rodrigues ALS, Thacker JS, Gil-Mohapel J. Depression in neurodegenerative diseases: Common mechanisms and current treatment options. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:56-84. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Zajac MS, Renoir T, Perreau VM, Li S, Adams W, van den Buuse M, Hannan AJ. Short-Term Environmental Stimulation Spatiotemporally Modulates Specific Serotonin Receptor Gene Expression and Behavioral Pharmacology in a Sexually Dimorphic Manner in Huntington's Disease Transgenic Mice. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11:433. [PMID: 30618600 PMCID: PMC6295568 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a tandem repeat mutation encoding an expanded polyglutamine tract in the huntingtin protein, which leads to cognitive, psychiatric and motor dysfunction. Exposure to environmental enrichment (EE), which enhances levels of cognitive stimulation and physical activity, has therapeutic effects on cognitive, affective and motor function of transgenic HD mice. The present study investigated gene expression changes and behavioral pharmacology in male and female R6/1 transgenic HD mice at an early time-point in HD progression associated with onset of cognitive and affective abnormalities, following EE and exercise (wheel running) interventions. We have demonstrated changes in expression levels of the serotonin (5-HT) receptor Htr1a, Htr1b, Htr2a and Htr2c genes (encoding the 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, respectively) in HD brains at 8 weeks of age, using quantitative real-time PCR. In contrast, expression of the serotonin transporter (SerT, also known as 5-HTT or Slc6a4) was not altered in these brains. Furthermore, we identified region-specific, sex-specific and environmentally regulated (comparing EE, exercise and standard housing conditions) impacts on gene expression of particular 5-HT receptors, as well as SerT. For example, SerT gene expression was upregulated by exercise (wheel running from 6 to 8 weeks of age) in the hippocampus. Interestingly, when EE was introduced from 6 to 8 weeks of age, Htr2a gene expression was upregulated in the cortex, striatum and hippocampus of male mice. EE also rescued the functional activity of 5-HT2 receptors as observed in the head-twitch test, reflecting sexually dimorphic effects of environmental stimulation. These findings demonstrate that disruption of the serotonergic system occurs early in HD pathogenesis and, together with previous findings, show that the timing and duration of environmental interventions are critical in terms of their ability to modify gene expression. This study is the first to show that EE is able to selectively enhance both gene expression of a neurotransmitter receptor and the functional consequences on behavioral pharmacology, and links this molecular modulation to the therapeutic effects of environmental stimulation in this neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle S Zajac
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Victoria M Perreau
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Shanshan Li
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Wendy Adams
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Maarten van den Buuse
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Antidepressant Effects of Probucol on Early-Symptomatic YAC128 Transgenic Mice for Huntington's Disease. Neural Plast 2018; 2018:4056383. [PMID: 30186318 PMCID: PMC6112232 DOI: 10.1155/2018/4056383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide expansion in the HD gene, resulting in an extended polyglutamine tract in the protein huntingtin. HD is traditionally viewed as a movement disorder, but cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms also contribute to the clinical presentation. Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disturbances in HD, present even before manifestation of motor symptoms. Diagnosis and treatment of depression in HD-affected individuals are essential aspects of clinical management in this population, especially owing to the high risk of suicide. This study investigated whether chronic administration of the antioxidant probucol improved motor and affective symptoms as well as hippocampal neurogenic function in the YAC128 transgenic mouse model of HD during the early- to mild-symptomatic stages of disease progression. The motor performance and affective symptoms were monitored using well-validated behavioral tests in YAC128 mice and age-matched wild-type littermates at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, after 1, 3, or 5 months of treatment with probucol (30 mg/kg/day via water supplementation, starting on postnatal day 30). Endogenous markers were used to assess the effect of probucol on cell proliferation (Ki-67 and proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)) and neuronal differentiation (doublecortin (DCX)) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). Chronic treatment with probucol reduced the occurrence of depressive-like behaviors in early- and mild-symptomatic YAC128 mice. Functional improvements were not accompanied by increased progenitor cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Our findings provide evidence that administration of probucol may be of clinical benefit in the management of early- to mild-symptomatic HD.
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Environmental enrichment alleviates cognitive and behavioral impairments in EL mice. Epilepsy Behav 2018; 85:227-233. [PMID: 30032812 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2018.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Epilepsy in children is occasionally associated with comorbidities, such as cognitive impairment, behavioral disturbances, and social deficits. These neurobehavioral comorbidities are closely related to environmental factors and the severity of the seizures. Previous studies show that environmental enrichment has a beneficial effect in animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy following systemic chemoconvulsant administration. However, the effect of environmental enrichment on behavioral impairments in the EL mouse, a genetic model of human idiopathic epilepsy, remains unknown. In the present study, we examined the effect of environmental enrichment on cognitive and behavioral impairments in this murine model. The EL mice, under standard laboratory conditions, exhibited impairments in spatial memory in the Morris water maze test, hyperactivity and impaired habituation in the open-field test, and a deficit in social novelty preference in the three-chamber social approach test, compared with control DDY mice, a genetically related nonepileptic strain. These impairments in EL mice were ameliorated by exposure to an enriched environment. These findings suggest that environmental enrichment effectively ameliorates cognitive and behavioral deficits in EL mice.
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Novati A, Hentrich T, Wassouf Z, Weber JJ, Yu-Taeger L, Déglon N, Nguyen HP, Schulze-Hentrich JM. Environment-dependent striatal gene expression in the BACHD rat model for Huntington disease. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5803. [PMID: 29643462 PMCID: PMC5895842 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24243-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the huntingtin (HTT) gene which results in progressive neurodegeneration in the striatum, cortex, and eventually most brain areas. Despite being a monogenic disorder, environmental factors influence HD characteristics. Both human and mouse studies suggest that mutant HTT (mHTT) leads to gene expression changes that harbor potential to be modulated by the environment. Yet, the underlying mechanisms integrating environmental cues into the gene regulatory program have remained largely unclear. To better understand gene-environment interactions in the context of mHTT, we employed RNA-seq to examine effects of maternal separation (MS) and environmental enrichment (EE) on striatal gene expression during development of BACHD rats. We integrated our results with striatal consensus modules defined on HTT-CAG length and age-dependent co-expression gene networks to relate the environmental factors with disease progression. While mHTT was the main determinant of expression changes, both MS and EE were capable of modulating these disturbances, resulting in distinctive and in several cases opposing effects of MS and EE on consensus modules. This bivalent response to maternal separation and environmental enrichment may aid in explaining their distinct effects observed on disease phenotypes in animal models of HD and related neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Novati
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Hentrich
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Zinah Wassouf
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jonasz J Weber
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Libo Yu-Taeger
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicole Déglon
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DNC), Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Huu Phuc Nguyen
- Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. .,Department of Human Genetics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
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Rawat A, Guo J, Renoir T, Pang TY, Hannan AJ. Hypersensitivity to sertraline in the absence of hippocampal 5-HT 1AR and 5-HTT gene expression changes following paternal corticosterone treatment. ENVIRONMENTAL EPIGENETICS 2018; 4:dvy015. [PMID: 30046455 PMCID: PMC6054191 DOI: 10.1093/eep/dvy015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The male germ line is capable of transmitting a legacy of stress exposure to the next generation of offspring. This transgenerational process manifests by altering offspring affective behaviours, cognition and metabolism. Paternal early life trauma causes hippocampal serotonergic dysregulation in male offspring. We previously showed a transgenerational modification to male offspring anxiety-like behaviours by treatment of adult male breeders with corticosterone (CORT) prior to mating. In the present study, we used offspring from our paternal CORT model and characterised offspring serotonergic function by examining their responses to the 5HT1AR agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, sertraline. We also examined whether post-weaning environmental enrichment, a paradigm well-known to modulate serotonergic signalling in the brain, had the capacity to normalise the anxiety phenotype of male offspring. Finally, we assessed gene expression levels of 5HT1AR and serotonin transporter in the offspring hippocampus to determine whether deficits in gene transcription contributed to the male-only anxiety phenotype. We report that male and female offspring of CORT-treated fathers are hypersensitive to sertraline but have normal hypothermic responses to 8-OH-DPAT. No deficits in htr1a and sert were found in association with paternal CORT treatment, and environmental enrichment did not rescue the anxiety phenotype of male offspring on the elevated-plus maze. These findings indicate that varying forms of paternal stress exert different effects on offspring brain serotonergic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arina Rawat
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Jackey Guo
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Terence Y Pang
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
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Rogers J, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Gene-environment interactions informing therapeutic approaches to cognitive and affective disorders. Neuropharmacology 2017; 145:37-48. [PMID: 29277490 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.12.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Revised: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Gene-environment interactions drive experience-dependent changes in the brain that alter cognition, emotion and behaviour. Positive engagement with the environment, through novel experience and physical activity, can improve brain function, although the mechanisms mediating such experience-dependent plasticity remain to be fully elucidated. In this article, we discuss the therapeutic value of environmental stimuli, exercise and environmental enrichment (EE), for cognitive and affective disorders, with implications for the understanding and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. We demonstrate that environmental manipulations are potential therapeutic strategies for improving outcomes in these psychiatric disorders, including beneficial impacts on cognition. We discuss how EE and exercise are therapeutic environmental interventions impacting both affective and cognitive function. Serotonergic (5-HTergic) signaling is strongly implicated in the manifestation of psychiatric disorders and regulates cognitive and emotional processing that can underpin them. Thus, we focus on evidence implicating the serotonergic system in mediating gene-environment interactions to EE and exercise. Finally, we discuss robust gene-environment interactions associated with EE and exercise interventions, and their impacts on specific brain areas, particularly the hippocampus. We focus on potential mediators of this experience-dependent plasticity, including adult neurogenesis and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Furthermore, we explore molecular and cellular mechanisms of experience-dependent plasticity that potentially underlie the restoration of affective and cognitive phenotypes, thus identifying novel therapeutic targets. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled "Neurobiology of Environmental Enrichment".
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Rogers
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
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Kringlen G, Kinsley L, Aufox S, Rouleau G, Bega D. The Impact of Family History on the Clinical Features of Huntington’s Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2017; 6:327-335. [DOI: 10.3233/jhd-170256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabe Kringlen
- Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Medical Genetics, Sanford Health, Fargo, ND, USA
| | - Lisa Kinsley
- Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sharon Aufox
- Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Gerald Rouleau
- Biostatistics Collaboration Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Danny Bega
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
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Torres-Reverón A, Rivera LL, Flores I, Appleyard CB. Environmental Manipulations as an Effective Alternative Treatment to Reduce Endometriosis Progression. Reprod Sci 2017; 25:1336-1348. [PMID: 29137551 DOI: 10.1177/1933719117741374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Treatments for endometriosis include pharmacological or surgical procedures that produce significant side effects. We aimed to determine how environmental enrichment (EE) could impact the progression of endometriosis using the autotransplantation rat model. Female rats were exposed to EE (endo-EE: toys and nesting materials, 4 rats per cage, larger area enclosure) or no enrichment (endo-NE: 2 rats per cage) starting on postnatal day 21. After 8 weeks, sham surgery or surgical endometriosis was induced by suturing uterine horn tissue next to the intestinal mesentery, then allowed to progress for 60 days during which EE or NE continued. At the time of killing, we measured anxiety behaviors, collected endometriotic vesicles and uterus, and processed for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), urocortin-1, CRH receptors type 1 and type 2, and glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Endometriosis did not affect anxiety-like behaviors, yet rats in enriched conditions showed lower basal anxiety behaviors than the nonenriched group. Importantly, the endo-EE group showed a 28% reduction in the number of endometriosis vesicles and the vesicles were significantly smaller compared to the endo-NE group. Endometriosis increased CRH and GR only in the vesicles of endo-NE, and this increase was dampened in the endo-EE. However, urocortin 1 was increased in the vesicles of the endo-EE group, suggesting different pathways of activation of CRH receptors in this group. Our results suggest that the use of multimodal complementary therapies that reduce stress in endometriosis could be an effective and safe treatment alternative, with minimal side effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelyn Torres-Reverón
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA.,3 Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA
| | - Leslie L Rivera
- 2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA.,3 Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA
| | - Idhaliz Flores
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
| | - Caroline B Appleyard
- 1 Division of Basic Sciences, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.,5 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico
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Rogers J, Li S, Lanfumey L, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Environmental enrichment reduces innate anxiety with no effect on depression-like behaviour in mice lacking the serotonin transporter. Behav Brain Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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Stefanko DP, Shah VD, Yamasaki WK, Petzinger GM, Jakowec MW. Treadmill exercise delays the onset of non-motor behaviors and striatal pathology in the CAG 140 knock-in mouse model of Huntington's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2017; 105:15-32. [PMID: 28502806 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2017.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression, cognitive impairments, and other neuropsychiatric disturbances are common during the prodromal phase of Huntington's disease (HD) well before the onset of classical motor symptoms of this degenerative disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of physical activity in the form of exercise on a motorized treadmill on non-motor behavioral features including depression-like behavior and cognition in the CAG140 knock-in (KI) mouse model of HD. The CAG140 KI mouse model has a long lifespan compared to other HD rodent models with HD motor deficits emerging after 12months of age and thus provides the opportunity to investigate early life interventions such as exercise on disease progression. Motorized treadmill running was initiated at 4weeks of age (1h per session, 3 times per week) and continued for 6months. Non-motor behaviors were assessed up to 6months of age and included analysis of depression-like behavior (using the tail-suspension and forced-swim tests) and cognition (using the T-maze and object recognition tests). At both 4 and 6months of age, CAG140 KI mice displayed significant depression-like behavior in the forced swim and tail suspension tests and cognitive impairment by deficits in reversal relearning in the T-maze test. These deficits were not evident in mice engaged in treadmill running. In addition, exercise restored striatal dopamine D2 receptor expression and dopamine neurotransmitter levels both reduced in sedentary HD mice. Finally, we examined the pattern of striatal expression of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein and showed that the number and intensity of immunohistochemical staining patterns of intranuclear aggregates were significantly reduced with exercise. Altogether these findings begin to address the potential impact of lifestyle and early intervention such as exercise on modifying HD progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- D P Stefanko
- Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States
| | - V D Shah
- Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States
| | - W K Yamasaki
- Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States
| | - G M Petzinger
- Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States
| | - M W Jakowec
- Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 91007, United States.
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Tartaglione AM, Popoli P, Calamandrei G. Regenerative medicine in Huntington's disease: Strengths and weaknesses of preclinical studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 77:32-47. [PMID: 28223129 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by impairment in motor, cognitive and psychiatric domains. Currently, there is no specific therapy to act on the onset or progression of HD. The marked neuronal death observed in HD is a main argument in favour of stem cells (SCs) transplantation as a promising therapeutic perspective to replace the population of lost neurons and restore the functionality of the damaged circuitry. The availability of rodent models of HD encourages the investigation of the restorative potential of SCs transplantation longitudinally. However, the results of preclinical studies on SCs therapy in HD are so far largely inconsistent; this hampers the individuation of the more appropriate model and precludes the comparative analysis of transplant efficacy on behavioural end points. Thus, this review will describe the state of the art of in vivo research on SCs therapy in HD, analysing in a translational perspective the strengths and weaknesses of animal studies investigating the therapeutic potential of cell transplantation on HD progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Tartaglione
- Centre for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - P Popoli
- National Centre for Medicines Research and Preclinical/Clinical Evaluation, Rome, Italy
| | - G Calamandrei
- Centre for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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Bartlett DM, Cruickshank TM, Hannan AJ, Eastwood PR, Lazar AS, Ziman MR. Neuroendocrine and neurotrophic signaling in Huntington’s disease: Implications for pathogenic mechanisms and treatment strategies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:444-454. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Revised: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Sansevero G, Begenisic T, Mainardi M, Sale A. Experience-dependent reduction of soluble β-amyloid oligomers and rescue of cognitive abilities in middle-age Ts65Dn mice, a model of Down syndrome. Exp Neurol 2016; 283:49-56. [PMID: 27288239 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most diffused genetic cause of intellectual disability and, after the age of forty, is invariantly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the last years, the prolongation of life expectancy in people with DS renders the need for intervention paradigms aimed at improving mental disability and counteracting AD pathology particularly urgent. At present, however, there are no effective therapeutic strategies for DS and concomitant AD in mid-life people. The most intensively studied mouse model of DS is the Ts65Dn line, which summarizes the main hallmarks of the DS phenotype, included severe learning and memory deficits and age-dependent AD-like pathology. Here we report for the first time that middle-age Ts65Dn mice display a marked increase in soluble Aβ oligomer levels in their hippocampus. Moreover, we found that long-term exposure to environmental enrichment (EE), a widely used paradigm that increases sensory-motor stimulation, reduces Aβ oligomers and rescues spatial memory abilities in trisomic mice. Our findings underscore the potential of EE procedures as a non-invasive paradigm for counteracting brain aging processes in DS subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Sansevero
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy; NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Tatjana Begenisic
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Mainardi
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessandro Sale
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy.
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Dissociating the therapeutic effects of environmental enrichment and exercise in a mouse model of anxiety with cognitive impairment. Transl Psychiatry 2016; 6:e794. [PMID: 27115125 PMCID: PMC4872410 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2016.52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical evidence indicates that serotonin-1A receptor (5-HT1AR) gene polymorphisms are associated with anxiety disorders and deficits in cognition. In animal models, exercise (Ex) and environmental enrichment (EE) can change emotionality-related behaviours, as well as enhance some aspects of cognition and hippocampal neurogenesis. We investigated the effects of Ex and EE (which does not include running wheels) on cognition and anxiety-like behaviours in wild-type (WT) and 5-HT1AR knock-out (KO) mice. Using an algorithm-based classification of search strategies in the Morris water maze, we report for we believe the first time that Ex increased the odds for mice to select more hippocampal-dependent strategies. In the retention probe test, Ex (but not EE) corrected long-term spatial memory deficits displayed by KO mice. In agreement with these findings, only Ex increased hippocampal cell survival and BDNF protein levels. However, only EE (but not Ex) modified anxiety-like behaviours, demonstrating dissociation between improvements in cognition and innate anxiety. EE enhanced hippocampal cell proliferation in WT mice only, suggesting a crucial role for intact serotonergic signalling in mediating this effect. Together, these results demonstrate differential effects of Ex vs EE in a mouse model of anxiety with cognitive impairment. Overall, the 5-HT1AR does not seem to be critical for those behavioural effects to occur. These findings will have implications for our understanding of how Ex and EE enhance experience-dependent plasticity, as well as their differential impacts on anxiety and cognition.
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. What's wrong with my mouse cage? Methodological considerations for modeling lifestyle factors and gene-environment interactions in mice. J Neurosci Methods 2015; 265:99-108. [PMID: 26279343 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The mechanistic understanding of lifestyle contributions to disease has been largely driven by work in laboratory rodent models using environmental interventions. These interventions show an array of methodologies and sometimes unclear collective conclusions, hampering clinical interpretations. Here we discuss environmental enrichment, exercise and stress interventions to illustrate how different protocols can affect the interpretations of environmental factors in disease. We use Huntington's disease (HD) as an example because its mouse models exhibit excellent validity and HD was the first genetic animal model in which environmental stimulation was found to be beneficial. We make a number of observations and recommendations. Firstly, environmental enrichment and voluntary exercise generally show benefits across laboratories and mouse models. However, the extent to which these environmental interventions have beneficial effects depends on parameters such as the structural complexity of the cage in the case of enrichment, the timing of the intervention and the nature of the control conditions. In particular, clinical interpretations should consider deprived control living conditions and the ethological relevance of the enrichment. Secondly, stress can have negative effects on the phenotype in mouse models of HD and other brain disorders. When modeling stress, the effects of more than one type of experimental stressor should be investigated due to the heterogeneity and complexity of stress responses. With stress in particular, but ideally in all studies, both sexes should be used and the randomized group sizes need to be sufficiently powered to detect any sex effects. Opportunities for clinical translation will be guided by the 'environmental construct validity' of the preclinical data, including the culmination of complementary protocols across multiple animal models. Environmental interventions in mouse models of HD provide illustrative examples of how valid preclinical studies can lead to conclusions relevant to clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Thibault Renoir
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
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Mo C, Hannan AJ, Renoir T. Environmental factors as modulators of neurodegeneration: Insights from gene–environment interactions in Huntington's disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2015; 52:178-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2014] [Revised: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Jiang L, O'Leary C, Kim HA, Parish CL, Massalas J, Waddington JL, Ehrlich ME, Schütz G, Gantois I, Lawrence AJ, Drago J. Motor and behavioral phenotype in conditional mutants with targeted ablation of cortical D1 dopamine receptor-expressing cells. Neurobiol Dis 2015; 76:137-158. [PMID: 25684539 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2015.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 01/14/2015] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Abstract
D1-dopamine receptors (Drd1a) are highly expressed in the deep layers of the cerebral cortex and the striatum. A number of human diseases such as Huntington disease and schizophrenia are known to have cortical pathology involving dopamine receptor expressing neurons. To illuminate their functional role, we exploited a Cre/Lox molecular paradigm to generate Emx-1(tox) MUT mice, a transgenic line in which cortical Drd1a-expressing pyramidal neurons were selectively ablated. Emx-1(tox) MUT mice displayed prominent forelimb dystonia, hyperkinesia, ataxia on rotarod testing, heightened anxiety-like behavior, and age-dependent abnormalities in a test of social interaction. The latter occurred in the context of normal working memory on testing in the Y-maze and for novel object recognition. Some motor and behavioral abnormalities in Emx-1(tox) MUT mice overlapped with those in CamKIIα(tox) MUT transgenic mice, a line in which both striatal and cortical Drd1a-expressing cells were ablated. Although Emx-1(tox) MUT mice had normal striatal anatomy, both Emx-1(tox) MUT and CamKIIα(tox) MUT mice displayed selective neuronal loss in cortical layers V and VI. This study shows that loss of cortical Drd1a-expressing cells is sufficient to produce deficits in multiple motor and behavioral domains, independent of striatal mechanisms. Primary cortical changes in the D1 dopamine receptor compartment are therefore likely to model a number of core clinical features in disorders such as Huntington disease and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luning Jiang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Claire O'Leary
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Hyun Ah Kim
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Clare L Parish
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jim Massalas
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - John L Waddington
- Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Michelle E Ehrlich
- Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Günter Schütz
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ilse Gantois
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Andrew J Lawrence
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - John Drago
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Abstract
In this review, we explore the similarities and differences in the behavioural neurobiology found in the mouse models of Huntington's disease (HD) and the human disease state. The review is organised with a comparative focus on the functional domains of motor control, cognition and behavioural disturbance (akin to psychiatric disturbance in people) and how our knowledge of the underlying physiological changes that are manifest in the HD mouse lines correspond to those seen in the HD clinical population. The review is framed in terms of functional circuitry and neurotransmitter systems and how abnormalities in these systems impact on the behavioural readouts across the mouse lines and how these may correspond to the deficits observed in people. In addition, interpretational issues associated with the data from animal studies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon P Brooks
- Brain Repair Group, Division of Neuroscience, Cardiff University School of Bioscience, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, Wales, UK,
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Ethological endophenotypes are altered by elevated stress hormone levels in both Huntington's disease and wildtype mice. Behav Brain Res 2014; 274:118-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Baldo B, Cheong RY, Petersén Å. Effects of deletion of mutant huntingtin in steroidogenic factor 1 neurons on the psychiatric and metabolic phenotype in the BACHD mouse model of Huntington disease. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107691. [PMID: 25271967 PMCID: PMC4182678 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric and metabolic features appear several years before motor disturbances in the neurodegenerative Huntington’s disease (HD), caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Although the mechanisms leading to these aspects are unknown, dysfunction in the hypothalamus, a brain region controlling emotion and metabolism, has been suggested. A direct link between the expression of the disease causing protein, huntingtin (HTT), in the hypothalamus and the development of metabolic and psychiatric-like features have been shown in the BACHD mouse model of HD. However, precisely which circuitry in the hypothalamus is critical for these features is not known. We hypothesized that expression of mutant HTT in the ventromedial hypothalamus, an area involved in the regulation of metabolism and emotion would be important for the development of these non-motor aspects. Therefore, we inactivated mutant HTT in a specific neuronal population of the ventromedial hypothalamus expressing the transcription factor steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) in the BACHD mouse using cross-breeding based on a Cre-loxP system. Effects on anxiety-like behavior were assessed using the elevated plus maze and novelty-induced suppressed feeding test. Depressive-like behavior was assessed using the Porsolt forced swim test. Effects on the metabolic phenotype were analyzed using measurements of body weight and body fat, as well as serum insulin and leptin levels. Interestingly, the inactivation of mutant HTT in SF1-expressing neurons exerted a partial positive effect on the depressive-like behavior in female BACHD mice at 4 months of age. In this cohort of mice, no anxiety-like behavior was detected. The deletion of mutant HTT in SF1 neurons did not have any effect on the development of metabolic features in BACHD mice. Taken together, our results indicate that mutant HTT regulates metabolic networks by affecting hypothalamic circuitries that do not involve the SF1 neurons of the ventromedial hypothalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Baldo
- Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Rachel Y. Cheong
- Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Åsa Petersén
- Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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31
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Skillings EA, Wood NI, Morton AJ. Beneficial effects of environmental enrichment and food entrainment in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease. Brain Behav 2014; 4:675-86. [PMID: 25328844 PMCID: PMC4107380 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 03/06/2014] [Accepted: 04/14/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In addition to their cognitive and motor deficits, R6/2 mice show a progressive disintegration in circadian rhythms that mirrors the problems associated with sleep-wake disturbances experienced by patients with Huntington's disease (HD). It has been shown previously that motor and cognitive performance, as well as survival, can be improved in transgenic mouse models of HD through the provision of environmental enrichment. METHODS We compared the effect of two different overnight entrainment paradigms presented either separately or in combination. The first was environmental enrichment, the second was temporal food-entrainment. Environmental enrichment was provided in the dark period (the natural active period for mice) in the form of access to a Perspex playground containing running wheels, tunnels, climbing frame, ropes and chew blocks. Food entrainment was imposed by allowing access to food only during the dark period. We assessed a number of different aspects of function in the mice, measuring general health (by SHIRPA testing, body temperature and body weight measurements), cognitive performance in the touchscreen and locomotor behavior in the open field. RESULTS There were no significant differences in cognitive performance between groups on different schedules. Environmental enrichment delayed the onset of general health deterioration, while food entrainment slowed the loss of body weight, aided the maintenance of body temperature and improved locomotor behavior. Effects were limited however, and in combination had deleterious effects on survival. CONCLUSIONS Our results support previous studies showing that environmental enrichment can be beneficial and might be used to enhance the quality of life of HD patients. However, improvements are selective and 'enrichment' per se is likely to only be useful as an adjunct to a more direct therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Skillings
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
| | - Nigel I Wood
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
| | - A Jennifer Morton
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK
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Hannan AJ. Environmental enrichment and brain repair: harnessing the therapeutic effects of cognitive stimulation and physical activity to enhance experience-dependent plasticity. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:13-25. [PMID: 24354721 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity, inducing enhanced sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation. In wild-type rodents, EE has been found to have a range of effects, such as enhancing experience-dependent cellular plasticity and cognitive performance, relative to standard-housed controls. Whilst environmental enrichment is of course a relative term, dependent on the nature of control environmental conditions, epidemiological studies suggest that EE has direct clinical relevance to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. EE has been demonstrated to induce beneficial effects in animal models of a wide variety of brain disorders. The first evidence of beneficial effects of EE in a genetically targeted animal model was generated using Huntington's disease transgenic mice. Subsequent studies found that EE was also therapeutic in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, consistent with epidemiological studies of relevant environmental modifiers. EE has also been found to ameliorate behavioural, cellular and molecular deficits in animal models of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. This review will focus on the effects of EE observed in animal models of neurodegenerative brain diseases, at molecular, cellular and behavioural levels. The proposal that EE may act synergistically with other approaches, such as drug and cell therapies, to facilitate brain repair will be discussed. I will also discuss the therapeutic potential of 'enviromimetics', drugs which mimic or enhance the therapeutic effects of cognitive activity and physical exercise, for both neuroprotection and brain repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Effects of chronic stress on the onset and progression of Huntington's disease in transgenic mice. Neurobiol Dis 2014; 71:81-94. [PMID: 25088714 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a tandem repeat mutation encoding an expanded polyglutamine tract. Our previous work showed that memory deficits in HD transgenic mice could be accelerated by increased levels of stress hormone, while memory in WT mice remained unaffected. HD patients experience higher levels of stress compared to the general population and symptoms of HD also include motor, cognitive, psychiatric, sexual and olfactory abnormalities, and an associated decline in activities of daily living. Therefore we investigated the impact of a robust stressor (i.e. restraint) on the onset and progression of a range of behavioral phenotypes in R6/1 transgenic HD mice. Restraint was administered for 1h daily from 6weeks of age and continued until R6/1 mice were clearly motor symptomatic at 14weeks of age. Serum corticosterone levels in both R6/1 and WT littermates were elevated immediately after the last restraint session and weight gain was suppressed in restrained animals throughout the treatment period. Motor coordination and locomotor activity were enhanced by chronic restraint in males, regardless of genotype. However, there was no effect of restraint on motor performances in female animals. At 8weeks of age, olfactory sensitivity was impaired by restraint in R6/1 HD female mice, but not in WT mice. In male R6/1 mice, the olfactory deficit was exacerbated by restraint and olfaction was also impaired in male WT mice. The development of deficits in saccharin preference, Y-maze memory, nest-building and sexually-motivated vocalizations was unaffected by chronic restraint in R6/1 and had little impact on such behavioral performances in WT animals. We provide evidence that chronic stress can negatively modulate specific endophenotypes in HD mice, while the same functions were affected to a lesser extent in WT mice. This vulnerability in HD animals seems to be sex-specific depending on the stress paradigm used. It is hoped that our work will stimulate clinical investigations into the effects of stress on both pre-symptomatic and symptomatic gene-positive members of HD families, and inform the development of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Novel ethological endophenotypes in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Behav Brain Res 2014; 276:17-27. [PMID: 24747660 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2014] [Revised: 03/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative disorder with a characteristic triad of cognitive, affective and motor symptoms. Transgenic HD mice show excellent construct and face validity for many of these symptoms, however the decline in some facets of every day activity in humans is difficult to model. One approach is the assessment of species-relevant behaviors. Here we described three ethologically appropriate tests in the mouse-olfactory sensitivity, nest-building and sexually-motivated vocalizations. In R6/1 HD mice, olfactory and nest-building tests were sensitive to early dysfunctions induced by the HD mutation. Male vocalization testing revealed a late-stage sexual disinterest in R6/1 HD mice compared to WT littermates. We show that essential, species-relevant functions are disrupted by the HD mutation. The development of integrative behavioral assays which more closely model 'activities of daily living' (ADL) will facilitate the testing of novel therapeutic interventions in animal models as well as their clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia
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Gupta S, Sharma B. Pharmacological benefit of I(1)-imidazoline receptors activation and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) modulation in experimental Huntington's disease. Brain Res Bull 2014; 102:57-68. [PMID: 24582883 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2014.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2013] [Revised: 02/08/2014] [Accepted: 02/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by progressive motor dysfunction, emotional disturbances, dementia, weight loss and anxiety. The tremendous amount of research work is required to identify new pharmacological agents of therapeutic utility to combat this condition. This study investigates the effect of selective modulator of I1-imidazoline receptor (moxonidine) as well as nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) (natrium diethyl dithio carbamate trihydrate-NDDCT) on 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) induced experimental HD condition. 3-NPA was used to induce mitochondrial damage and associated HD symptoms in rats. Anxiety was assessed using Elevated plus maze-EPM and learning-memory was assessed using EPM and Morris water maze-MWM. Different biochemical estimations were used to assess brain striatum oxidative stress (lipid peroxide, superoxide dismutase and catalase), nitric oxide levels (nitrite/nitrate), cholinergic activity (brain striatum acetyl cholinesterase activity), and mitochondrial enzyme complex (I, II and IV) activities. 3-NPA has induced anxiety, impaired learning-memory with a reduction in body weight, locomotor activity, grip strength. It has increased brain striatum acetylcholinesterase-AChE activity, oxidative stress (lipid peroxide, nitrite/nitrate, superoxide dismutase and catalase) and impaired mitochondrial complex enzyme (I, II and IV) activities. Tetrabenazine-TBZ (monoamine storage inhibitor) was used as positive control. Treatment with moxonidine, NDDCT and TBZ significantly attenuated 3-NPA induced reduction in body weight, locomotor activity, grip strength, anxiety as well as impaired learning and memory. Administration of these agents attenuated 3-NPA induced various biochemical impairments. Therefore, modulation of I1-imidazoline receptor as well as NF-κB may be considered as potential pharmacological agents for the management of 3-NPA induced HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surbhi Gupta
- Neuropharmacology Lab., Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Bharat Institute of Technology, Partapur Bypass, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Bhupesh Sharma
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Bharat Institute of Technology, Partapur Bypass, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India; CNS Pharmacology, Conscience Research, Pocket F-233, B, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095, India.
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Du X, Pang TYC, Hannan AJ. A Tale of Two Maladies? Pathogenesis of Depression with and without the Huntington's Disease Gene Mutation. Front Neurol 2013; 4:81. [PMID: 23847583 PMCID: PMC3705171 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2013.00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by a tandem repeat expansion encoding an expanded tract of glutamines in the huntingtin protein. HD is progressive and manifests as psychiatric symptoms (including depression), cognitive deficits (culminating in dementia), and motor abnormalities (including chorea). Having reached the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the “genetic stutter” which causes HD, we still lack sophisticated insight into why so many HD patients exhibit affective disorders such as depression at very early stages, prior to overt appearance of motor deficits. In this review, we will focus on depression as the major psychiatric manifestation of HD, discuss potential mechanisms of pathogenesis identified from animal models, and compare depression in HD patients with that of the wider gene-negative population. The discovery of depressive-like behaviors as well as cellular and molecular correlates of depression in transgenic HD mice has added strong support to the hypothesis that the HD mutation adds significantly to the genetic load for depression. A key question is whether HD-associated depression differs from that in the general population. Whilst preclinical studies, clinical data, and treatment responses suggest striking similarities, there are also some apparent differences. We discuss various molecular and cellular mechanisms which may contribute to depression in HD, and whether they may generalize to other depressive disorders. The autosomal dominant nature of HD and the existence of models with excellent construct validity provide a unique opportunity to understand the pathogenesis of depression and associated gene-environment interactions. Thus, understanding the pathogenesis of depression in HD may not only facilitate tailored therapeutic approaches for HD sufferers, but may also translate to the clinical depression which devastates the lives of so many people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Du
- Behavioural Neuroscience Division, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia
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37
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Donnan GA, Paterson DJ. Howard Florey and neuroscience. J Physiol 2013; 591:33-4. [DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.248963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
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