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Barbosa MR, Costa EFL, Coimbra DG, Pinto VTBC, Gitaí DLG, Duzzioni M, Crespo MT, Golombek DA, Chiesa JJ, Agostino PV, de Andrade TG. Transitional photoperiod induces a mania-like behavior in male mice. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:5141-5155. [PMID: 39119736 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16498] [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: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the behavioral responses and circadian rhythms of mice to both rapid and gradual increases in photoperiod, mimicking the transition from winter to summer, which is associated with a heightened prevalence of hospitalizations for mania and suicidal behavior. Behavioral tests were performed in C57BL/6 male mice exposed to a transitional photoperiod, from short to long durations. To determine if circadian rhythms are affected, we measured spontaneous locomotor activity and body temperature. Mice exhibited heightened exploratory and risk-taking behaviors compared with equatorial and static long (16:8 h of light-dark cycle for several days) groups. These behaviors were prevented by lithium. Spontaneous locomotor activity and body temperature rhythms persisted and were effectively synchronized; however, the relative amplitude of activity and interdaily stability were diminished. Additionally, the animals displayed increased activity during the light phase. Photoperiodic transition modulates behavior and circadian rhythms, mirroring certain features observed in bipolar disorder patients. This study introduces an animal model for investigating mania-like behavior induced by photoperiodic changes, offering potential insights for suicide prevention strategies and the management of mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayara Rodrigues Barbosa
- Circadian Medicine Center, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | | | - Daniel Gomes Coimbra
- Circadian Medicine Center, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | | | - Daniel Leite Góes Gitaí
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Duzzioni
- Laboratory of Pharmacology Innovation, Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil
| | - Manuel Tomás Crespo
- Department of Science and Technology, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes/CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Diego Andrés Golombek
- Department of Science and Technology, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes/CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio Interdisciplinario del Tiempo (LITERA), Universidad de San Andrés, Victoria, Argentina
| | - Juan José Chiesa
- Department of Science and Technology, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes/CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Tiago Gomes de Andrade
- Circadian Medicine Center, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
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2
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Light-dependent effects on mood: Mechanistic insights from animal models. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2022; 273:71-95. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Enlightened: addressing circadian and seasonal changes in photoperiod in animal models of bipolar disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:373. [PMID: 34226504 PMCID: PMC8257630 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01494-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Bipolar disorders (BDs) exhibit high heritability and symptoms typically first occur during late adolescence or early adulthood. Affected individuals may experience alternating bouts of mania/hypomania and depression, with euthymic periods of varying lengths interspersed between these extremes of mood. Clinical research studies have consistently demonstrated that BD patients have disturbances in circadian and seasonal rhythms, even when they are free of symptoms. In addition, some BD patients display seasonal patterns in the occurrence of manic/hypomanic and depressive episodes as well as the time of year when symptoms initially occur. Finally, the age of onset of BD symptoms is strongly influenced by the distance one lives from the equator. With few exceptions, animal models useful in the study of BD have not capitalized on these clinical findings regarding seasonal patterns in BD to explore molecular mechanisms associated with the expression of mania- and depression-like behaviors in laboratory animals. In particular, animal models would be especially useful in studying how rates of change in photoperiod that occur during early spring and fall interact with risk genes to increase the occurrence of mania- and depression-like phenotypes, respectively. Another unanswered question relates to the ways in which seasonally relevant changes in photoperiod affect responses to acute and chronic stressors in animal models. Going forward, we suggest ways in which translational research with animal models of BD could be strengthened through carefully controlled manipulations of photoperiod to enhance our understanding of mechanisms underlying seasonal patterns of BD symptoms in humans. In addition, we emphasize the value of incorporating diurnal rodent species as more appropriate animal models to study the effects of seasonal changes in light on symptoms of depression and mania that are characteristic of BD in humans.
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Franceschini A, Fattore L. Gender-specific approach in psychiatric diseases: Because sex matters. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 896:173895. [PMID: 33508283 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.173895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In both animals and human beings, males and females differ in their genetic background and hormonally driven behaviour and show sex-related differences in brain activity and response to internal and external stimuli. Gender-specific medicine has been a neglected dimension of medicine for long time, and only in the last three decades it is receiving the due scientific and clinical attention. Research has recently begun to identify factors that could provide a neurobiological basis for gender-based differences in health and disease and to point to gonadal hormones as important determinants of male-female differences. Animal studies have been of great help in understanding factors contributing to sex-dependent differences and sex hormones action. Here we review and discuss evidence provided by clinical and animal studies in the last two decades showing gender (in humans) and sex (in animals) differences in selected psychiatric disorders, namely eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder), schizophrenia, mood disorders (anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder) and neurodevelopmental disorders (autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Franceschini
- Addictive Behaviors Department, Local Health Authority, Trento, Italy
| | - Liana Fattore
- Institute of Neuroscience-Cagliari, National Research Council, Italy.
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Saul MC, Stevenson SA, Zhao C, Driessen TM, Eisinger BE, Gammie SC. Genomic variants in an inbred mouse model predict mania-like behaviors. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0197624. [PMID: 29768498 PMCID: PMC5955540 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Contemporary rodent models for bipolar disorders split the bipolar spectrum into complimentary behavioral endophenotypes representing mania and depression. Widely accepted mania models typically utilize single gene transgenics or pharmacological manipulations, but inbred rodent strains show great potential as mania models. Their acceptance is often limited by the lack of genotypic data needed to establish construct validity. In this study, we used a unique strategy to inexpensively explore and confirm population allele differences in naturally occurring candidate variants in a manic rodent strain, the Madison (MSN) mouse strain. Variants were identified using whole exome resequencing on a small population of animals. Interesting candidate variants were confirmed in a larger population with genotyping. We enriched these results with observations of locomotor behavior from a previous study. Resequencing identified 447 structural variants that are mostly fixed in the MSN strain relative to control strains. After filtering and annotation, we found 11 non-synonymous MSN variants that we believe alter protein function. The allele frequencies for 6 of these variants were consistent with explanatory variants for the Madison strain's phenotype. The variants are in the Npas2, Cp, Polr3c, Smarca4, Trpv1, and Slc5a7 genes, and many of these genes' products are in pathways implicated in human bipolar disorders. Variants in Smarca4 and Polr3c together explained over 40% of the variance in locomotor behavior in the Hsd:ICR founder strain. These results enhance the MSN strain's construct validity and implicate altered nucleosome structure and transcriptional regulation as a chief molecular system underpinning behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C. Saul
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Sharon A. Stevenson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Changjiu Zhao
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Terri M. Driessen
- School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Brian E. Eisinger
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Stephen C. Gammie
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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6
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Mitra I, Tsang K, Ladd-Acosta C, Croen LA, Aldinger KA, Hendren RL, Traglia M, Lavillaureix A, Zaitlen N, Oldham MC, Levitt P, Nelson S, Amaral DG, Herz-Picciotto I, Fallin MD, Weiss LA. Pleiotropic Mechanisms Indicated for Sex Differences in Autism. PLoS Genet 2016; 12:e1006425. [PMID: 27846226 PMCID: PMC5147776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism in common disease is pervasive, including a dramatic male preponderance in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Potential genetic explanations include a liability threshold model requiring increased polymorphism risk in females, sex-limited X-chromosome contribution, gene-environment interaction driven by differences in hormonal milieu, risk influenced by genes sex-differentially expressed in early brain development, or contribution from general mechanisms of sexual dimorphism shared with secondary sex characteristics. Utilizing a large single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset, we identify distinct sex-specific genome-wide significant loci. We investigate genetic hypotheses and find no evidence for increased genetic risk load in females, but evidence for sex heterogeneity on the X chromosome, and contribution of sex-heterogeneous SNPs for anthropometric traits to ASD risk. Thus, our results support pleiotropy between secondary sex characteristic determination and ASDs, providing a biological basis for sex differences in ASDs and implicating non brain-limited mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ileena Mitra
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Kathryn Tsang
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Lisa A. Croen
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, California, United States of America
| | - Kimberly A. Aldinger
- Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Robert L. Hendren
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Michela Traglia
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Alinoë Lavillaureix
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculty of Medicine, France
| | - Noah Zaitlen
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Michael C. Oldham
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Pat Levitt
- Program in Developmental Neurogenetics, Institute for the Developing Mind, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Stanley Nelson
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - David G. Amaral
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medicine and Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, United States of America
| | - Irva Herz-Picciotto
- Department of Public Health Sciences and Medicine and Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, United States of America
| | - M. Daniele Fallin
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Lauren A. Weiss
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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Logan RW, McClung CA. Animal models of bipolar mania: The past, present and future. Neuroscience 2015; 321:163-188. [PMID: 26314632 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Revised: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD) is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world according to the World Health Organization and affects nearly six million (∼2.5% of the population) adults in the United State alone each year. BD is primarily characterized by mood cycling of depressive (e.g., helplessness, reduced energy and activity, and anhedonia) and manic (e.g., increased energy and hyperactivity, reduced need for sleep, impulsivity, reduced anxiety and depression), episodes. The following review describes several animal models of bipolar mania with a focus on more recent findings using genetically modified mice, including several with the potential of investigating the mechanisms underlying 'mood' cycling (or behavioral switching in rodents). We discuss whether each of these models satisfy criteria of validity (i.e., face, predictive, and construct), while highlighting their strengths and limitations. Animal models are helping to address critical questions related to pathophysiology of bipolar mania, in an effort to more clearly define necessary targets of first-line medications, lithium and valproic acid, and to discover novel mechanisms with the hope of developing more effective therapeutics. Future studies will leverage new technologies and strategies for integrating animal and human data to reveal important insights into the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- R W Logan
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 450 Technology Drive, Suite 223, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States
| | - C A McClung
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 450 Technology Drive, Suite 223, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States.
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Abstract
Impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, and elevated stress responsivity are prominent symptoms of mania, a behavioral state common to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Though inflammatory processes activated within the brain are involved in the pathophysiology of both disorders, the specific mechanisms by which neuroinflammation drives manic behavior are not well understood. Serotonin cell bodies originating within the dorsal raphe (DR) play a major role in the regulation of behavioral features characteristic of mania. Therefore, we hypothesized that the link between neuroinflammation and manic behavior may be mediated by actions on serotonergic neurocircuitry. To examine this, we induced local neuroinflammation in the DR by viral delivery of Cre recombinase into interleukin (IL)-1β(XAT) transgenic male and female mice, resulting in overexpressing of the proinflammatory cytokine, IL-1β. For assertion of brain-region specificity of these outcomes, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), as a downstream target of DR serotonergic projections, was also infused. Inflammation within the DR, but not the PFC, resulted in a profound display of manic-like behavior, characterized by increased stress-induced locomotion and responsivity, and reduced risk-aversion/fearfulness. Microarray analysis of the DR revealed a dramatic increase in immune-related genes, and dysregulation of genes important in GABAergic, glutamatergic, and serotonergic neurotransmission. Behavioral and physiological changes were driven by a loss of serotonergic neurons and reduced output as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, demonstrating inflammation-induced serotonergic hypofunction. Behavioral changes were rescued by acute selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment, supporting the hypothesis that serotonin dysregulation stemming from neuroinflammation in the DR underlies manic-like behaviors.
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