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Hammer M, Krzyzaniak C, Bahramnejad E, Smelser K, Hack J, Watkins J, Ronaldson P. Sex differences in physiological response to increased neuronal excitability in a knockin mouse model of pediatric epilepsy. Clin Sci (Lond) 2024; 138:205-223. [PMID: 38348743 PMCID: PMC10881277 DOI: 10.1042/cs20231572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epilepsy is a common neurological disease; however, few if any of the currently marketed antiseizure medications prevent or cure epilepsy. Discovery of pathological processes in the early stages of epileptogenesis has been challenging given the common use of preclinical models that induce seizures in physiologically normal animals. Moreover, despite known sex dimorphism in neurological diseases, females are rarely included in preclinical epilepsy models. METHODS We characterized sex differences in mice carrying a pathogenic knockin variant (p.N1768D) in the Scn8a gene that causes spontaneous tonic-clonic seizures (TCs) at ∼3 months of age and found that heterozygous females are more resilient than males in mortality and morbidity. To investigate the cellular mechanisms that underlie female resilience, we utilized blood-brain barrier (BBB) and hippocampal transcriptomic analyses in heterozygous mice before seizure onset (pre-TC) and in mice that experienced ∼20 TCs (post-TC). RESULTS In the pre-TC latent phase, both sexes exhibited leaky BBB; however, patterns of gene expression were sexually dimorphic. Females exhibited enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and protein biogenesis, while males activated gliosis and CREB signaling. After seizure onset (chronic phase), females exhibited a metabolic switch to lipid metabolism, while males exhibited increased gliosis and BBB dysfunction and a strong activation of neuroinflammatory pathways. CONCLUSION The results underscore the central role of oxidative stress and BBB permeability in the early stages of epileptogenesis, as well as sex dimorphism in response to increasing neuronal hyperexcitability. Our results also highlight the need to include both sexes in preclinical studies to effectively translate results of drug efficacy studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F. Hammer
- BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
- Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
| | | | - Erfan Bahramnejad
- BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
| | | | - Joshua B. Hack
- BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
| | - Joseph C. Watkins
- Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A
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Xue X, Zong W, Glausier JR, Kim SM, Shelton MA, Phan BN, Srinivasan C, Pfenning AR, Tseng GC, Lewis DA, Seney ML, Logan RW. Molecular rhythm alterations in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens associated with opioid use disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:123. [PMID: 35347109 PMCID: PMC8960783 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01894-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe and persistent disruptions to sleep and circadian rhythms are common in people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Preclinical evidence suggests altered molecular rhythms in the brain modulate opioid reward and relapse. However, whether molecular rhythms are disrupted in the brains of people with OUD remained an open question, critical to understanding the role of circadian rhythms in opioid addiction. Using subjects' times of death as a marker of time of day, we investigated transcriptional rhythms in the brains of subjects with OUD compared to unaffected comparison subjects. We discovered rhythmic transcripts in both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), key brain areas involved in OUD, that were largely distinct between OUD and unaffected subjects. Fewer rhythmic transcripts were identified in DLPFC of subjects with OUD compared to unaffected subjects, whereas in the NAc, nearly double the number of rhythmic transcripts was identified in subjects with OUD. In NAc of subjects with OUD, rhythmic transcripts peaked either in the evening or near sunrise, and were associated with an opioid, dopamine, and GABAergic neurotransmission. Associations with altered neurotransmission in NAc were further supported by co-expression network analysis which identified OUD-specific modules enriched for transcripts involved in dopamine, GABA, and glutamatergic synaptic functions. Additionally, rhythmic transcripts in DLPFC and NAc of subjects with OUD were enriched for genomic loci associated with sleep-related GWAS traits, including sleep duration and insomnia. Collectively, our findings connect transcriptional rhythm changes in opioidergic, dopaminergic, GABAergic signaling in the human brain to sleep-related traits in opioid addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangning Xue
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Wei Zong
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Jill R. Glausier
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Sam-Moon Kim
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Micah A. Shelton
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - BaDoi N. Phan
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Chaitanya Srinivasan
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Andreas R. Pfenning
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA ,grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - George C. Tseng
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - David A. Lewis
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Marianne L. Seney
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Ryan W. Logan
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118 USA ,grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118 USA
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Foley KE, Hewes AA, Garceau DT, Kotredes KP, Carter GW, Sasner M, Howell GR. The APOEε3/ε4 Genotype Drives Distinct Gene Signatures in the Cortex of Young Mice. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:838436. [PMID: 35370604 PMCID: PMC8967347 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.838436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
IntroductionRestrictions on existing APOE mouse models have impacted research toward understanding the strongest genetic risk factor contributing to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia, APOEε4, by hindering observation of a key, common genotype in humans – APOEε3/ε4. Human studies are typically underpowered to address APOEε4 allele risk as the APOEε4/ε4 genotype is rare, which leaves human and mouse research unsupported to evaluate the APOEε3/ε4 genotype on molecular and pathological risk for AD and dementia.MethodsAs a part of MODEL-AD, we created and validated new versions of humanized APOEε3/ε3 and APOEε4/ε4 mouse strains that, due to unrestricted breeding, allow for the evaluation of the APOEε3/ε4 genotype. As biometric measures are often translatable between mouse and human, we profiled circulating lipid concentrations. We also performed transcriptional profiling of the cerebral cortex at 2 and 4 months (mos), comparing APOEε3/ε4 and APOEε4/ε4 to the reference APOEε3/ε3 using linear modeling and WGCNA. Further, APOE mice were exercised and compared to litter-matched sedentary controls, to evaluate the interaction between APOEε4 and exercise at a young age.ResultsExpression of human APOE isoforms were confirmed in APOEε3/ε3, APOEε3/ε4 and APOEε4/ε4 mouse brains. At two mos, cholesterol composition was influenced by sex, but not APOE genotype. Results show that the APOEε3/ε4 and APOEε4/ε4 genotype exert differential effects on cortical gene expression. APOEε3/ε4 uniquely impacts ‘hormone regulation’ and ‘insulin signaling,’ terms absent in APOEε4/ε4 data. At four mos, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were affected by sex and activity, with only triglyceride levels influenced by APOE genotype. Linear modeling revealed APOEε3/ε4, but not APOEε4/ε4, affected ‘extracellular matrix’ and ‘blood coagulation’ related terms. We confirmed these results using WGCNA, indicating robust, yet subtle, transcriptional patterns. While there was little evidence of APOE genotype by exercise interaction on the cortical transcriptome at this young age, running was predicted to affect myelination and gliogenesis, independent of APOE genotype with few APOE genotype-specific affects identified.DiscussionAPOEε4 allele dosage-specific effects were observed in circulating lipid levels and cortical transcriptional profiles. Future studies are needed to establish how these data may contribute to therapeutic development in APOEε3/ε4 and APOEε4/ε4 dementia patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E. Foley
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
- School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Amanda A. Hewes
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, United States
| | | | | | - Gregory W. Carter
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
- School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, United States
| | | | - Gareth R. Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
- School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, United States
- *Correspondence: Gareth R. Howell,
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Foley KE, Diemler CA, Hewes AA, Garceau DT, Sasner M, Howell GR. APOE
ε4 and exercise interact in a sex‐specific manner to modulate dementia risk factors. ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA: TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH & CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS 2022; 8:e12308. [PMID: 35783454 PMCID: PMC9241167 DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs), affecting many different pathways that lead to cognitive decline. Exercise is one of the most widely proposed prevention and intervention strategies to mitigate risk and symptomology of ADRDs. Importantly, exercise and APOE ε4 affect similar processes in the body and brain. While both APOE ε4 and exercise have been studied extensively, their interactive effects are not well understood. Methods To address this, male and female APOE ε3/ε3, APOE ε3/ε4, and APOE ε4/ε4 mice ran voluntarily from wean (1 month) to midlife (12 months). Longitudinal and cross‐sectional phenotyping were performed on the periphery and the brain, assessing markers of risk for dementia such as weight, body composition, circulating cholesterol composition, murine daily activities, energy expenditure, and cortical and hippocampal transcriptional profiling. Results Data revealed chronic running decreased age‐dependent weight gain, lean and fat mass, and serum low‐density lipoprotein concentration dependent on APOE genotype. Additionally, murine daily activities and energy expenditure were significantly influenced by an interaction between APOE genotype and running in both sexes. Transcriptional profiling of the cortex and hippocampus predicted that APOE genotype and running interact to affect numerous biological processes including vascular integrity, synaptic/neuronal health, cell motility, and mitochondrial metabolism, in a sex‐specific manner. Discussion These data in humanized mouse models provide compelling evidence that APOE genotype should be considered for population‐based strategies that incorporate exercise to prevent ADRDs and other APOE‐relevant diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate E. Foley
- The Jackson Laboratory Bar Harbor Maine USA
- School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Tufts University School of Medicine Boston Massachusetts USA
| | | | - Amanda A. Hewes
- The Jackson Laboratory Bar Harbor Maine USA
- Department of Psychology University of Maine Orono Maine USA
| | | | | | - Gareth R. Howell
- The Jackson Laboratory Bar Harbor Maine USA
- School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Tufts University School of Medicine Boston Massachusetts USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering University of Maine Orono Maine USA
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Sagud M, Tudor L, Pivac N. Personalized treatment interventions: nonpharmacological and natural treatment strategies in Alzheimer's disease. Expert Rev Neurother 2021; 21:571-589. [PMID: 33749488 DOI: 10.1080/14737175.2021.1906223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slow, irreversible, progressive, complex, and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. Available pharmacological treatment, known for almost two decades, does not cure the disease, but only alleviates the symptoms, with various efficacy and different side effects. Therefore, there is an unmet need to find other person-centered or personalized approaches to treat AD.Areas covered: This article describes the application of precision medicine-like approaches utilizing nonpharmacological treatment strategies and the use of natural products in personalized care for patients with AD.Expert opinion: Due to the heterogeneity of disease symptoms, somatic conditions, and patient preferences, there is definitely no "one size fits all" intervention. Therefore, individualized treatment choice is based on dementia stage, medical and psychiatric comorbidity, leading symptoms, patient preferences, and remaining capacity of the patient. In the absence of disease-modifying agents, a patient-centered, multidisciplinary team approach appears to be the best option to alleviate the heavy symptomatic burden in this unfortunate population. Hence, appropriate interventions can be offered along the AD continuum, while a better understanding of personal characteristics might help in establishing optimal individualized treatment, as well as its duration and intensity, to deliver interventions in the most effective ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Sagud
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia.,School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lucija Tudor
- Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
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