Comment on "Oxytocin-mediated GABA inhibition during delivery attenuates autism pathogenesis in rodent offspring"

Nanoformulated Bumetanide Ameliorates Social Deficiency in BTBR Mice Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder with few medication options. Bumetanide, an FDA-approved diuretic, has been proposed as a viable candidate to treat core symptoms of ASD, however, neither the brain region related to its effect nor the cell-specific mechanism(s) is clear. The availability of nanoparticles provides a viable way to identify pharmacological mechanisms for use in ASD. Here, we found that treatment with bumetanide, in a systemic and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) region-specific way, attenuated social deficits in BTBR mice. Furthermore, using poly (ethylene glycol)-poly(l-lactide) (PEG-PLA) nanoparticles [NP(bumetanide)], we showed that the administration of NP(bumetanide) in a mPFC region-specific way also alleviated the social deficits of BTBR mice. Mechanistically, the behavioral effect of NP(bumetanide) was dependent on selective microglia-specific targeting in the mPFC. Pharmacological depletion of microglia significantly reduced the effect of nanoencapsulation and depletion of microglia alone did not improve the social deficits in BTBR mice. These findings suggest the potential therapeutic capabilities of nanotechnology for ASD, as well as the relevant link between bumetanide and immune cells.

Internal loop sustains cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes: Evidence from organic nitrogen and ammonium regeneration

Algal bloom species can live upon internal regenerated ammonium (NH₄⁺) for growth during the nitrogen-limited period. However, the linkages between NH₄⁺ regeneration and phytoplankton biomass and community composition dynamics remain largely unknown. To unravel the interactions between NH₄⁺ regeneration and phytoplankton community, we measured water column NH₄⁺ regeneration rates (REGs) during a continuous phytoplankton growing period and a contrast summer/winter turnover in eutrophic Lake Taihu. Measured REGs were higher in summer than in winter and significantly correlated to total phytoplankton biomass, Cyanophyta biomass and its biomass proportions, and the concentrations of particulate nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon as well as the relative abundance of labile components (proteins and lipids). Random forest regression analyses displayed that variation of REGs were mainly controlled by water temperature and algal-related parameters (including chlorophyll a, total phytoplankton biomass, and Cyanophyta biomass). Partial least squares path model further revealed that algal-related parameters were the direct and significant factors regulating REGs, and contributed to the largest effect of the variance in REGs. Of the algal community, Cyanophyta was the dominant phylum to accelerate REGs. Correspondingly, rapid internal NH₄⁺ turnover may strongly support the persistence of cyanobacterial blooms, thus forming a positive feedback between cyanobacterial blooms and REGs during the nitrogen-limited summer months. We therefore deduced that the internal loop between cyanobacterial blooms and REGs during summer may be a key self-maintenance mechanism of continuous cyanobacterial blooms.

Enhancing cognition through pharmacological and environmental interventions: Examples from preclinical models of neurodevelopmental disorders

In this review we discuss the role of environmental and pharmacological treatments to enhance cognition with special regards to neurodevelopmental related disorders and aging. How the environment influences brain structure and function, and the interactions between rearing conditions and gene expression, are fundamental questions that are still poorly understood. We propose a model that can explain some of the discrepancies in findings for effects of environmental enrichment on outcome measures. Evidence of a direct causal correlation of nootropics and treatments that enhanced cognition also will be presented, and possible molecular mechanisms that include neurotrophin signaling and downstream pathways underlying these processes are discussed. Finally we review recent findings achieved with a wide set of behavioral and cognitive tasks that have translational validity to humans, and should be useful for future work on devising appropriate therapies. As will be discussed, the collective findings suggest that a combinational therapeutic approach of environmental enrichment and nootropics could be particularly successful for improving learning and memory in both developmental disorders and normal aging.

Off-Label Use of Bumetanide for Brain Disorders: An Overview

Bumetanide (BTN or BUM) is a FDA-approved potent loop diuretic (LD) that acts by antagonizing sodium-potassium-chloride (Na-K-Cl) cotransporters, NKCC1 (SLc12a2) and NKCC2. While NKCC1 is expressed both in the CNS and in systemic organs, NKCC2 is kidney-specific. The off-label use of BTN to modulate neuronal transmembrane Cl⁻ gradients by blocking NKCC1 in the CNS has now been tested as an anti-seizure agent and as an intervention for neurological disorders in pre-clinical studies with varying results. BTN safety and efficacy for its off-label use has also been tested in several clinical trials for neonates, children, adolescents, and adults. It failed to meet efficacy criteria for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) neonatal seizures. In contrast, positive outcomes in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), autism, and schizophrenia trials have been attributed to BTN in studies evaluating its off-label use. NKCC1 is an electroneutral neuronal Cl⁻ importer and the dominance of NKCC1 function has been proposed as the common pathology for HIE seizures, TLE, autism, and schizophrenia. Therefore, the use of BTN to antagonize neuronal NKCC1 with the goal to lower internal Cl⁻ levels and promote GABAergic mediated hyperpolarization has been proposed. In this review, we summarize the data and results for pre-clinical and clinical studies that have tested off-label BTN interventions and report variable outcomes. We also compare the data underlying the developmental expression profile of NKCC1 and KCC2, highlight the limitations of BTN’s brain-availability and consider its actions on non-neuronal cells.

The Impact of Neuroimmune Alterations in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves a complex interplay of both genetic and environmental risk factors, with immune alterations and synaptic connection deficiency in early life. In the past decade, studies of ASD have substantially increased, in both humans and animal models. Immunological imbalance (including autoimmunity) has been proposed as a major etiological component in ASD, taking into account increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines observed in postmortem brain from patients, as well as autoantibody production. Also, epidemiological studies have established a correlation of ASD with family history of autoimmune diseases; associations with major histocompatibility complex haplotypes and abnormal levels of immunological markers in the blood. Moreover, the use of animal models to study ASD is providing increasing information on the relationship between the immune system and the pathophysiology of ASD. Herein, we will discuss the accumulating literature for ASD, giving special attention to the relevant aspects of factors that may be related to the neuroimmune interface in the development of ASD, including changes in neuroplasticity.

Response to Comment on "Oxytocin-mediated GABA inhibition during delivery attenuates autism pathogenesis in rodent offspring"

Bambini-Junior et al. questioned whether our treatment in two rodent models of autism has a long-lasting effect into adulthood. In response, we show that bumetanide treatment around delivery attenuates autistic behavioral features in adult offspring. Therefore, the polarity of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) actions during delivery exerts long-lasting priming actions after birth.