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Sze Y, Brunton PJ. Neurosteroids and early-life programming: An updated perspective. CURRENT OPINION IN ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC RESEARCH 2022; 25:100367. [PMID: 36561280 PMCID: PMC7613978 DOI: 10.1016/j.coemr.2022.100367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Early-life stress can lead to detrimental offspring outcomes, including an increased risk for mood disorders and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation. Neurosteroids bind to ligand-gated neurotransmitter receptors, rapidly modulating neuronal excitability and promoting termination of stress responses. Reduced neurosteroidogenesis underlies some of the aberrant neuroendocrine and behavioural phenotypes observed in adult prenatally stressed rodents. During development, disruptions in neurosteroid generation and action also lead to long-term programming effects on the off-spring's brain and behaviour. Here, we review recent advances in the field, focusing on the interaction between neurosteroids and early-life stress outcomes in adulthood and in the perinatal period. We also discuss the direction of future research, with emphasis on quantification methods, sex differences, and neurosteroids as targets for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Sze
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, Scotland, UK
| | - Paula J Brunton
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, Scotland, UK
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Vacher CM, Lacaille H, O'Reilly JJ, Salzbank J, Bakalar D, Sebaoui S, Liere P, Clarkson-Paredes C, Sasaki T, Sathyanesan A, Kratimenos P, Ellegood J, Lerch JP, Imamura Y, Popratiloff A, Hashimoto-Torii K, Gallo V, Schumacher M, Penn AA. Placental endocrine function shapes cerebellar development and social behavior. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:1392-1401. [PMID: 34400844 PMCID: PMC8481124 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00896-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Compromised placental function or premature loss has been linked to diverse neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we show that placenta allopregnanolone (ALLO), a progesterone-derived GABA-A receptor (GABAAR) modulator, reduction alters neurodevelopment in a sex-linked manner. A new conditional mouse model, in which the gene encoding ALLO's synthetic enzyme (akr1c14) is specifically deleted in trophoblasts, directly demonstrated that placental ALLO insufficiency led to cerebellar white matter abnormalities that correlated with autistic-like behavior only in male offspring. A single injection of ALLO or muscimol, a GABAAR agonist, during late gestation abolished these alterations. Comparison of male and female human preterm infant cerebellum also showed sex-linked myelination marker alteration, suggesting similarities between mouse placental ALLO insufficiency and human preterm brain development. This study reveals a new role for a placental hormone in shaping brain regions and behaviors in a sex-linked manner. Placental hormone replacement might offer novel therapeutic opportunities to prevent later neurobehavioral disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire-Marie Vacher
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Helene Lacaille
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jiaqi J O'Reilly
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jacquelyn Salzbank
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dana Bakalar
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sonia Sebaoui
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Philippe Liere
- U1195 INSERM, Paris-Saclay University, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre Cedex, France
| | | | - Toru Sasaki
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Aaron Sathyanesan
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Panagiotis Kratimenos
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
- The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Pediatrics, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jacob Ellegood
- Mouse Imaging Centre (MICe), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Mouse Imaging Centre (MICe), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Yuka Imamura
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Anastas Popratiloff
- The George Washington University, Nanofabrication and Imaging Center, Washington, DC, USA
- The George Washington University, SMHS, Anatomy & Cell Biology, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kazue Hashimoto-Torii
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
- The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Pediatrics, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Vittorio Gallo
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
- The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Pediatrics, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Anna A Penn
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
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Mesiano SA, Peters GA, Amini P, Wilson RA, Tochtrop GP, van Den Akker F. Progestin therapy to prevent preterm birth: History and effectiveness of current strategies and development of novel approaches. Placenta 2019; 79:46-52. [PMID: 30745115 PMCID: PMC6766339 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2019.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2018] [Revised: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In the 1930s the "progestin" hormone produced by the corpus luteum was isolated and found to be a Δ4-keto-steroid. It was aptly named progesterone (P4) and in the following 30 years the capacity of P4 and derivatives to prevent preterm birth (PTB) was examined. Outcomes of multiple small studies suggested that progestin prophylaxis beginning at mid-gestation decreases the risk for PTB. Subsequent larger trials found that prophylaxis with weekly intramuscular injections of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17HPC) beginning at mid-gestation decreased PTB risk in women with a history of PTB. Other trials found that daily vaginal P4 prophylaxis, also beginning at mid-gestation decreased PTB risk in women with a short cervix. Currently, prophylaxis with 17HPC (in women with a history of PTB) or vaginal P4 (in women with a short cervix) are used to prevent PTB. Recent advances in understanding the molecular biology of P4 signaling in uterine cells is revealing novel progestin-based targets for PTB prevention. One possibility is to use selective P4 receptor (PR) modulators (SPRMs) to boost PR anti-inflammatory activity that blocks labor, while simultaneously preventing PR phosphorylation that causes loss of P4/PR anti-inflammatory activity. This may be achieved by SPRMs that induce a specific PR conformation that prevents site-specific serine phosphorylation that inhibits anti-inflammatory activity. Further advances in understanding how P4 promotes uterine quiescence and how its labor blocking actions are withdrawn to trigger parturition will reveal novel therapeutic targets to more effectively prevent PTB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam A Mesiano
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
| | - Gregory A Peters
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Peyvand Amini
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rachel A Wilson
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Gregory P Tochtrop
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Focco van Den Akker
- Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
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