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Petrella LI, Castelhano JM, Ribeiro M, Sereno JV, Gonçalves SI, Laço MN, Hayden MR, Rego AC, Castelo-Branco M. A whole brain longitudinal study in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington's disease shows distinct trajectories of neurochemical, structural connectivity and volumetric changes. Hum Mol Genet 2019; 27:2125-2137. [PMID: 29668904 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddy119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder causing cognitive and motor impairments, evolving to death within 15-20 years after symptom onset. We previously established a mouse model with the entire human HD gene containing 128 CAG repeats (YAC128) which accurately recapitulates the natural history of the human disease. Defined time points in this natural history enable the understanding of longitudinal trajectories from the neurochemical and structural points of view using non-invasive high-resolution multi-modal imaging. Accordingly, we designed a longitudinal structural imaging (MRI and DTI) and spectroscopy (1H-MRS) study in YAC128, at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age, at 9.4 T. Structural analysis (MRI/DTI), confirmed that the striatum is the earliest affected brain region, but other regions were also identified through connectivity analysis (pre-frontal cortex, hippocampus, globus pallidus and thalamus), suggesting a striking homology with the human disease. Importantly, we found for the first time, a negative correlation between striatal and hippocampal changes only in YAC128. In fact, the striatum showed accelerated volumetric decay in HD, as opposed to the hippocampus. Neurochemical analysis of the HD striatum suggested early neurometabolic alterations in neurotransmission and metabolism, with a significant increase in striatal GABA levels, and specifically anticorrelated levels of N-acetyl aspartate and taurine, suggesting that the later is homeostatically adjusted for neuroprotection, as neural loss, indicated by the former, is progressing. These results provide novel insights into the natural history of HD and prove a valuable role for longitudinal multi-modal panels of structural and metabolite/neurotransmission in the YAC128 model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena I Petrella
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João M Castelhano
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Mario Ribeiro
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - José V Sereno
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Sónia I Gonçalves
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Neuroplasticity and Neural Activity Laboratory, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Mário N Laço
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Michael R Hayden
- Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - A Cristina Rego
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Institute of Nuclear Science Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Life Science (CNC.IBILI), University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal
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