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Blaschke SJ, Rautenberg N, Endepols H, Jendro A, Konrad J, Vlachakis S, Wiedermann D, Schroeter M, Hoffmann B, Merkel R, Marklund N, Fink GR, Rueger MA. Early Blood-Brain Barrier Impairment as a Pathological Hallmark in a Novel Model of Closed-Head Concussive Brain Injury (CBI) in Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4837. [PMID: 38732053 PMCID: PMC11084321 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094837] [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: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Concussion, caused by a rotational acceleration/deceleration injury mild enough to avoid structural brain damage, is insufficiently captured in recent preclinical models, hampering the relation of pathophysiological findings on the cellular level to functional and behavioral deficits. We here describe a novel model of unrestrained, single vs. repetitive concussive brain injury (CBI) in male C56Bl/6j mice. Longitudinal behavioral assessments were conducted for up to seven days afterward, alongside the evaluation of structural cerebral integrity by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 9.4 T), and validated ex vivo by histology. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity was analyzed by means of fluorescent dextran- as well as immunoglobulin G (IgG) extravasation, and neuroinflammatory processes were characterized both in vivo by positron emission tomography (PET) using [18F]DPA-714 and ex vivo using immunohistochemistry. While a single CBI resulted in a defined, subacute neuropsychiatric phenotype, longitudinal cognitive testing revealed a marked decrease in spatial cognition, most pronounced in mice subjected to CBI at high frequency (every 48 h). Functional deficits were correlated to a parallel disruption of the BBB, (R2 = 0.29, p < 0.01), even detectable by a significant increase in hippocampal uptake of [18F]DPA-714, which was not due to activation of microglia, as confirmed immunohistochemically. Featuring a mild but widespread disruption of the BBB without evidence of macroscopic damage, this model induces a characteristic neuro-psychiatric phenotype that correlates to the degree of BBB disruption. Based on these findings, the BBB may function as both a biomarker of CBI severity and as a potential treatment target to improve recovery from concussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan J. Blaschke
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - Nora Rautenberg
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - Heike Endepols
- Institute of Radiochemistry and Experimental Molecular Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany;
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
- Nuclear Chemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-5), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - Aileen Jendro
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Jens Konrad
- Mechanobiology, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-2), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; (J.K.); (B.H.); (R.M.)
| | - Susan Vlachakis
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
| | - Dirk Wiedermann
- Multimodal Imaging Group, Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, 50931 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Michael Schroeter
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - Bernd Hoffmann
- Mechanobiology, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-2), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; (J.K.); (B.H.); (R.M.)
| | - Rudolf Merkel
- Mechanobiology, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-2), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany; (J.K.); (B.H.); (R.M.)
| | - Niklas Marklund
- Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Neurosurgery, Lund University, 221 85 Lund, Sweden;
| | - Gereon R. Fink
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - Maria A. Rueger
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany; (N.R.); (A.J.); (M.S.); (G.R.F.); (M.A.R.)
- Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52428 Juelich, Germany
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Campbell BFN, Cruz-Ochoa N, Otomo K, Lukacsovich D, Espinosa P, Abegg A, Luo W, Bellone C, Földy C, Tyagarajan SK. Gephyrin phosphorylation facilitates sexually dimorphic development and function of parvalbumin interneurons in the mouse hippocampus. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02517-5. [PMID: 38503929 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02517-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
The precise function of specialized GABAergic interneuron subtypes is required to provide appropriate synaptic inhibition for regulating principal neuron excitability and synchronization within brain circuits. Of these, parvalbumin-type (PV neuron) dysfunction is a feature of several sex-biased psychiatric and brain disorders, although, the underlying developmental mechanisms are unclear. While the transcriptional action of sex hormones generates sexual dimorphism during brain development, whether kinase signaling contributes to sex differences in PV neuron function remains unexplored. In the hippocampus, we report that gephyrin, the main inhibitory post-synaptic scaffolding protein, is phosphorylated at serine S268 and S270 in a developmentally-dependent manner in both males and females. When examining GphnS268A/S270A mice in which site-specific phosphorylation is constitutively blocked, we found that sex differences in PV neuron density in the hippocampal CA1 present in WT mice were abolished, coincident with a female-specific increase in PV neuron-derived terminals and increased inhibitory input onto principal cells. Electrophysiological analysis of CA1 PV neurons indicated that gephyrin phosphorylation is required for sexually dimorphic function. Moreover, while male and female WT mice showed no difference in hippocampus-dependent memory tasks, GphnS268A/S270A mice exhibited sex- and task-specific deficits, indicating that gephyrin phosphorylation is differentially required by males and females for convergent cognitive function. In fate mapping experiments, we uncovered that gephyrin phosphorylation at S268 and S270 establishes sex differences in putative PV neuron density during early postnatal development. Furthermore, patch-sequencing of putative PV neurons at postnatal day 4 revealed that gephyrin phosphorylation contributes to sex differences in the transcriptomic profile of developing interneurons. Therefore, these early shifts in male-female interneuron development may drive adult sex differences in PV neuron function and connectivity. Our results identify gephyrin phosphorylation as a new substrate organizing PV neuron development at the anatomical, functional, and transcriptional levels in a sex-dependent manner, thus implicating kinase signaling disruption as a new mechanism contributing to the sex-dependent etiology of brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin F N Campbell
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Natalia Cruz-Ochoa
- Laboratory of Neural Connectivity, Brain Research Institute, Faculties of Medicine and Science, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
- Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University Research Priority Program (URPP), University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Kanako Otomo
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - David Lukacsovich
- Laboratory of Neural Connectivity, Brain Research Institute, Faculties of Medicine and Science, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Pedro Espinosa
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andrin Abegg
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Wenshu Luo
- Laboratory of Neural Connectivity, Brain Research Institute, Faculties of Medicine and Science, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Bellone
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Csaba Földy
- Laboratory of Neural Connectivity, Brain Research Institute, Faculties of Medicine and Science, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
- Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD), University Research Priority Program (URPP), University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Shiva K Tyagarajan
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland.
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Bahader GA, Naghavi F, Alotaibi A, Dehghan A, Swain CC, Burkett JP, Shah ZA. Neurobehavioral and inflammatory responses following traumatic brain injury in male and female mice. Behav Brain Res 2024; 456:114711. [PMID: 37827252 PMCID: PMC10615863 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114711] [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: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and is associated with a high rate of functional comorbidities, including motor, cognitive, anxiety, depression, and emotional disorders. TBI pathophysiology and recovery are complicated and involve several mechanistic pathways that control neurobehavioral outcomes. In this study, male and female C57Bl/6 J mice were subjected to a controlled cortical impact model of TBI or sham injury and evaluated for different neurobehavioral and inflammatory outcomes over a month. We demonstrate that TBI mice have increased motor dysfunction at early and late time points following the injury as compared to the sham group. Anxiety-like symptoms were time- and task-dependent, with both sexes having increased anxiety-like behavior 2 weeks post-injury. Cognitive functions measured by T-maze presented greater deficits in TBI mice, while there was no sex or injury-related difference in depressive-like behaviors. Notably, a significant effect of sex was found in empathy-like behavior, with females showing more allogrooming and freezing behavior in the consoling and fear observational tests, respectively. Evaluating the impact of the injury-induced brain damage demonstrated a greater injury volume and neuronal degeneration in males compared to females one month after TBI. Moreover, male mice showed higher peripheral inflammatory responses, as represented by elevated serum levels of peripheral leukocytes and inflammatory markers. These results will have significant implications for understanding TBI's long-term consequences on neurobehavioral and inflammatory responses, which are sex-specific and can be considered for individualized therapeutic strategies in treating TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghaith A Bahader
- Department of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Farzaneh Naghavi
- Department of Neurosciences, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Ahmed Alotaibi
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Amir Dehghan
- Department of Neurosciences, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Caroline C Swain
- Department of Neurosciences, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - James P Burkett
- Department of Neurosciences, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
| | - Zahoor A Shah
- Department of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA.
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Spencer HF, Boese M, Berman RY, Radford KD, Choi KH. Effects of a Subanesthetic Ketamine Infusion on Inflammatory and Behavioral Outcomes after Closed Head Injury in Rats. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:941. [PMID: 37627826 PMCID: PMC10452037 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10080941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people annually, and most cases are classified as mild TBI (mTBI). Ketamine is a potent trauma analgesic and anesthetic with anti-inflammatory properties. However, ketamine's effects on post-mTBI outcomes are not well characterized. For the current study, we used the Closed-Head Impact Model of Engineered Rotational Acceleration (CHIMERA), which replicates the biomechanics of a closed-head impact with resulting free head movement. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats sustained a single-session, repeated-impacts CHIMERA injury. An hour after the injury, rats received an intravenous ketamine infusion (0, 10, or 20 mg/kg, 2 h period), during which locomotor activity was monitored. Catheter blood samples were collected at 1, 3, 5, and 24 h after the CHIMERA injury for plasma cytokine assays. Behavioral assays were conducted on post-injury days (PID) 1 to 4 and included rotarod, locomotor activity, acoustic startle reflex (ASR), and pre-pulse inhibition (PPI). Brain tissue samples were collected at PID 4 and processed for GFAP (astrocytes), Iba-1 (microglia), and silver staining (axonal injury). Ketamine dose-dependently altered locomotor activity during the infusion and reduced KC/GRO, TNF-α, and IL-1β levels after the infusion. CHIMERA produced a delayed deficit in rotarod performance (PID 3) and significant axonal damage in the optic tract (PID 4), without significant changes in other behavioral or histological measures. Notably, subanesthetic doses of intravenous ketamine infusion after mTBI did not produce adverse effects on behavioral outcomes in PID 1-4 or neuroinflammation on PID 4. A further study is warranted to thoroughly investigate beneficial effects of IV ketamine on mTBI given multi-modal properties of ketamine in traumatic injury and stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley F. Spencer
- Program in Neuroscience, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
- Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
| | - Martin Boese
- Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (M.B.); (K.D.R.)
| | - Rina Y. Berman
- Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
| | - Kennett D. Radford
- Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (M.B.); (K.D.R.)
| | - Kwang H. Choi
- Program in Neuroscience, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
- Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
- Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (M.B.); (K.D.R.)
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
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Spahic H, Parmar P, Miller S, Emerson PC, Lechner C, St. Pierre M, Rastogi N, Nugent M, Duck SA, Kirkwood A, Chavez-Valdez R. Dysregulation of ErbB4 Signaling Pathway in the Dorsal Hippocampus after Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia and Late Deficits in PV + Interneurons, Synaptic Plasticity and Working Memory. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:ijms24010508. [PMID: 36613949 PMCID: PMC9820818 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury leads to deficits in hippocampal parvalbumin (PV)+ interneurons (INs) and working memory. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) does not prevent these deficits. ErbB4 supports maturation and maintenance of PV+ IN. Thus, we hypothesized that neonatal HI leads to persistent deficits in PV+ INs, working memory and synaptic plasticity associated with ErbB4 dysregulation despite TH. P10 HI-injured mice were randomized to normothermia (NT, 36 °C) or TH (31 °C) for 4 h and compared to sham. Hippocampi were studied for α-fodrin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neuroregulin (Nrg) 1 levels; erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4 (ErbB4)/ Ak strain transforming (Akt) activation; and PV, synaptotagmin (Syt) 2, vesicular-glutamate transporter (VGlut) 2, Nrg1, and ErbB4 expression in coronal sections. Extracellular field potentials and behavioral testing were performed. At P40, deficits in PV+ INs correlated with impaired memory and coincided with blunted long-term depression (LTD), heightened long-term potentiation (LTP) and increased Vglut2/Syt2 ratio, supporting excitatory-inhibitory (E/I) imbalance. Hippocampal Nrg1 levels were increased in the hippocampus 24 h after neonatal HI, delaying the decline documented in shams. Paradoxically ErbB4 activation decreased 24 h and again 30 days after HI. Neonatal HI leads to persistent deficits in hippocampal PV+ INs, memory, and synaptic plasticity. While acute decreased ErbB4 activation supports impaired maturation and survival after HI, late deficit reemergence may impair PV+ INs maintenance after HI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harisa Spahic
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Pritika Parmar
- Mind-Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Sarah Miller
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Paul Casey Emerson
- Mind-Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Charles Lechner
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Mark St. Pierre
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Neetika Rastogi
- Mind-Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Michael Nugent
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Sarah Ann Duck
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Alfredo Kirkwood
- Mind-Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Raul Chavez-Valdez
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
- Correspondence:
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Harris AC, Jin XT, Greer JE, Povlishock JT, Jacobs KM. Somatostatin interneurons exhibit enhanced functional output and resilience to axotomy after mild traumatic brain injury. Neurobiol Dis 2022; 171:105801. [PMID: 35753625 PMCID: PMC9383472 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) gives rise to a remarkable breadth of pathobiological consequences, principal among which are traumatic axonal injury and perturbation of the functional integrity of neuronal networks that may arise secondary to the elimination of the presynaptic contribution of axotomized neurons. Because there exists a vast diversity of neocortical neuron subtypes, it is imperative to elucidate the relative vulnerability to axotomy among different subtypes. Toward this end, we exploited SOM-IRES-Cre mice to investigate the consequences of the central fluid percussion model of mTBI on the microanatomical integrity and the functional efficacy of the somatostatin (SOM) interneuron population, one of the principal subtypes of neocortical interneuron. We found that the SOM population is resilient to axotomy, representing only 10% of the global burden of inhibitory interneuron axotomy, a result congruous with past work demonstrating that parvalbumin (PV) interneurons bear most of the burden of interneuron axotomy. However, the intact structure of SOM interneurons after injury did not translate to normal cellular function. One day after mTBI, the SOM population is more intrinsically excitable and demonstrates enhanced synaptic efficacy upon post-synaptic layer 5 pyramidal neurons as measured by optogenetics, yet the global evoked inhibitory tone within layer 5 is stable. Simultaneously, there exists a significant increase in the frequency of miniature inhibitory post-synaptic currents within layer 5 pyramidal neurons. These results are consistent with a scheme in which 1 day after mTBI, SOM interneurons are stimulated to compensate for the release from inhibition of layer 5 pyramidal neurons secondary to the disproportionate axotomy of PV interneurons. The enhancement of SOM interneuron intrinsic excitability and synaptic efficacy may represent the initial phase of a dynamic process of attempted autoregulation of neocortical network homeostasis secondary to mTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan C Harris
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, United States of America.
| | - Xiao-Tao Jin
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, United States of America.
| | - John E Greer
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, United States of America.
| | - John T Povlishock
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, United States of America.
| | - Kimberle M Jacobs
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, United States of America.
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Fitzgerald J, Houle S, Cotter C, Zimomra Z, Martens KM, Vonder Haar C, Kokiko-Cochran ON. Lateral Fluid Percussion Injury Causes Sex-Specific Deficits in Anterograde but Not Retrograde Memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:806598. [PMID: 35185489 PMCID: PMC8854992 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.806598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is a common symptom after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Memory, in particular, is often disrupted during chronic post-injury recovery. To understand the sex-specific effects of brain injury on retrograde and anterograde memory, we examined paired associate learning (PAL), spatial learning and memory, and fear memory after lateral fluid percussion TBI. We hypothesized that male and female mice would display unique memory deficits after TBI. PAL task acquisition was initiated via touchscreen operant conditioning 22 weeks before sham injury or TBI. Post-injury PAL testing occurred 7 weeks post-injury. Barnes maze and fear conditioning were completed at 14- and 15-weeks post-injury, respectively. Contrary to our expectations, behavioral outcomes were not primarily influenced by TBI. Instead, sex-specific differences were observed in all tasks which exposed task-specific trends in male TBI mice. Male mice took longer to complete the PAL task, but this was not affected by TBI and did not compromise the ability to make a correct choice. Latency to reach the goal box decreased across testing days in Barnes maze, but male TBI mice lagged in improvement compared to all other groups. Use of two learning indices revealed that male TBI mice were deficient in transferring information from 1 day to the next. Finally, acquisition and contextual retention of fear memory were similar between all groups. Cued retention of the tone-shock pairing was influenced by both injury and sex. Male sham mice displayed the strongest cued retention of fear memory, evidenced by increased freezing behavior across the test trial. In contrast, male TBI mice displayed reduced freezing behavior with repetitive tone exposure. An inverse relationship in freezing behavior to tone exposure was detected between female sham and TBI mice, although the difference was not as striking. Together, these studies show that retrograde memory is intact after lateral TBI. However, male mice are more vulnerable to post-injury anterograde memory deficits. These behaviors were not associated with gross pathological change near the site injury or in subcortical brain regions associated with memory formation. Future studies that incorporate pre- and post-injury behavioral analysis will be integral in defining sex-specific memory impairment after TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Fitzgerald
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Samuel Houle
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Neurological Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Christopher Cotter
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Neurological Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Zachary Zimomra
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Neurological Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Kris M. Martens
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Cole Vonder Haar
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Olga N. Kokiko-Cochran
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Neurological Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
- *Correspondence: Olga N. Kokiko-Cochran,
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Miyata S, Kashio T, Tsuchiya K, Mitsui S. Motopsin deficiency imparts partial insensitivity to doxorubicin-induced hippocampal impairments in adult mice. Neurosci Lett 2021; 763:136181. [PMID: 34416345 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Motopsin is a serine protease that plays a crucial role in synaptic functions. Loss of motopsin function causes severe intellectual disability in humans. In this study, we evaluated the role of motopsin in the neuropathological development of cognitive impairments following chemotherapy, also known as chemobrain. Motopsin knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were intravenously injected with doxorubicin (Dox) or saline four times every 8 days and were evaluated for open field, novel object recognition, and passive avoidance tests. Parvalbumin-positive neurons in the hippocampus were immunohistochemically analyzed. Dox administration significantly decreased the total distance in the open field test in both WT and motopsin KO mice without affecting the duration spent in the center square. A significant interaction between the genotype and drug treatment was detected in the recognition index (the rate to investigate a novel object) in the novel object recognition test, although Dox treatment did not affect the total investigation time. Additionally, Dox treatment significantly decreased the recognition index in WT mice, whereas it tended to increase the recognition index in motopsin KO mice. Dox treatment did not affect the latency to enter a dark compartment in either WT or motopsin KO mice in the passive avoidance test. Interestingly, Dox treatment increased the parvalbumin-positive neurons in the stratum oriens of the hippocampus CA1 region of only WT mice, not motopsin KO mice. Our data suggest that motopsin deficiency imparted partial insensitivity to Dox-induced hippocampal impairments. Alternatively, motopsin may contribute to the neuropathology of chemobrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiori Miyata
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8514, Japan
| | - Taiki Kashio
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8514, Japan
| | - Kenji Tsuchiya
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8514, Japan
| | - Shinichi Mitsui
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 3-39-22 Showa, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8514, Japan.
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9
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Tucker LB, Fu AH, McCabe JT. Hippocampal-Dependent Cognitive Dysfunction following Repeated Diffuse Rotational Brain Injury in Male and Female Mice. J Neurotrauma 2021; 38:1585-1606. [PMID: 33622092 PMCID: PMC8126427 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2021.0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction is a common, often long-term complaint following acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cognitive deficits suggest dysfunction in hippocampal circuits. The goal of the studies described here is to phenotype in both male and female mice the hippocampal-dependent learning and memory deficits resulting from TBI sustained by the Closed-Head Impact Model of Engineered Rotational Acceleration (CHIMERA) device—a model that delivers both a contact–concussion injury as well as unrestrained rotational head movement. Mice sustained either sham procedures or four injuries (0.7 J, 24-h intervals). Spatial learning and memory skills assessed in the Morris water maze (MWM) approximately 3 weeks following injuries were significantly impaired by brain injuries; however, slower swimming speeds and poor performance on visible platform trials suggest that measurement of cognitive impairment with this test is confounded by injury-induced motor and/or visual impairments. A separate experiment confirmed hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficits with trace fear conditioning (TFC), a behavioral test less dependent on motor and visual function. Male mice had greater injury-induced deficits on both the MWM and TFC tests than female mice. Pathologically, the injury was characterized by white matter damage as observed by silver staining and glial fibrillary acidic protein (astrogliosis) in the optic tracts, with milder damage seen in the corpus callosum, and fimbria and brainstem (cerebral peduncles) of some animals. No changes in the density of GABAergic parvalbumin-expressing cells in the hippocampus, amygdala, or parietal cortex were found. This experiment confirmed significant sexually dimorphic cognitive impairments following a repeated, diffuse brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura B Tucker
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Amanda H Fu
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Joseph T McCabe
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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10
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Anderson EM, Demis S, D’Acquisto H, Engelhardt A, Hearing M. The Role of Parvalbumin Interneuron GIRK Signaling in the Regulation of Affect and Cognition in Male and Female Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:621751. [PMID: 33841107 PMCID: PMC8032990 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.621751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological impairments in the regulation of affect (i.e., emotion) and flexible decision-making are commonly observed across numerous neuropsychiatric disorders and are thought to reflect dysfunction of cortical and subcortical circuits that arise in part from imbalances in excitation and inhibition within these structures. Disruptions in GABA transmission, in particular, that from parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PVI), has been highlighted as a likely mechanism by which this imbalance arises, as they regulate excitation and synchronization of principle output neurons. G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium ion (GIRK/Kir3) channels are known to modulate excitability and output of pyramidal neurons in areas like the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus; however, the role GIRK plays in PVI excitability and behavior is unknown. Male and female mice lacking GIRK1 in PVI (Girk1flox/flox:PVcre) and expressing td-tomato in PVI (Girk1flox/flox:PVCre:PVtdtom) exhibited increased open arm time in the elevated plus-maze, while males showed an increase in immobile episodes during the forced swim test (FST). Loss of GIRK1 did not alter motivated behavior for an appetitive reward or impair overall performance in an operant-based attention set-shifting model of cognitive flexibility; however it did alter types of errors committed during the visual cue test. Unexpectedly, baseline sex differences were also identified in these tasks, with females exhibiting overall poorer performance compared to males and distinct types of errors, highlighting potential differences in task-related problem-solving. Interestingly, reductions in PVI GIRK signaling did not correspond to changes in membrane excitability but did increase action potential (AP) firing at higher current injections in PVI of males, but not females. This is the first investigation on the role that PVI GIRK-signaling has on membrane excitability, AP firing, and their role on affect and cognition together increasing the understanding of PVI cellular mechanisms and function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Matthew Hearing
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, United States
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11
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Vu PA, McNamara EH, Liu J, Tucker LB, Fu AH, McCabe JT. Behavioral responses following repeated bilateral frontal region closed head impacts and fear conditioning in male and female mice. Brain Res 2020; 1750:147147. [PMID: 33091394 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.147147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The frontal lobes are among the most vulnerable sites in traumatic brain injuries. In the current study, a balanced 2 × 2 × 2 design (n = 18 mice/group), female and male C57Bl/6J mice received repeated bilateral frontal concussive brain injury (frCBI) and underwent fear conditioning (FC) to assess how injured mice respond to adverse conditions. Shocks received during FC impacted behavior on all subsequent tests except the tail suspension test. FC resulted in more freezing behavior in all mice that received foot shocks when evaluated in subsequent context and cue tests and induced hypoactivity in the open field (OF) and elevated zero maze (EZM). Mice that sustained frCBI learned the FC association between tone and shock. Injured mice froze less than sham controls during context and cue tests, which could indicate memory impairment, but could also suggest that frCBI resulted in hyperactivity that overrode the rodent's natural freezing response to threat, as injured mice were also more active in the OF and EZM. There were notable sex differences, where female mice exhibited more freezing behavior than male mice during FC context and cue tests. The findings suggest frCBI impaired, but did not eliminate, FC retention and resulted in an overall increase in general activity. The injury was characterized pathologically by increased inflammation (CD11b staining) in cortical regions underlying the injury site and in the optic tracts. The performance of male and female mice after injury suggested the complexity of possible sex differences for neuropsychiatric symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia A Vu
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Eileen H McNamara
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Jiong Liu
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Laura B Tucker
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Pre-Clinical Studies Core, Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Amanda H Fu
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Pre-Clinical Studies Core, Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Joseph T McCabe
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Genetics, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States; Pre-Clinical Studies Core, Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, F.E. Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, United States.
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12
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Celorrio M, Rhodes J, Vadivelu S, Davies M, Friess SH. N-acetylcysteine reduces brain injury after delayed hypoxemia following traumatic brain injury. Exp Neurol 2020; 335:113507. [PMID: 33065076 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Preclinical investigations into neuroprotective agents for traumatic brain injury (TBI) have shown promise when administered before or very early after experimental TBI. However clinical trials of therapeutics demonstrating preclinical efficacy for TBI have failed to replicate these results in humans, a lost in translation phenomenon. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a potent anti-oxidant with demonstrated efficacy in pre-clinical TBI when administered early after primary injury. Utilizing our clinically relevant mouse model, we hypothesized that NAC administration in a clinically relevant timeframe could improve the brain's resilience to the secondary insult of hypoxemia. NAC or vehicle administered daily starting 2 h prior to hypoxemia (24 h after controlled cortical impact) for 3 doses in male mice reduced short-term axonal injury and hippocampal neuronal loss. Six month behavioral assessments including novel object recognition, socialization, Barnes maze, and fear conditioning did not reveal performance differences between sham controls and injured mice receiving NAC or saline vehicle. At 7 months after injury, NAC administered mice had reduced hippocampal neuronal loss but no reduction in lesion volume. In summary, our preclinical trial to test the neuroprotective efficacy of NAC against a secondary hypoxic insult after TBI demonstrated short and long-term neuropathological evidence of neuroprotection but a lack of detectable differences in long-term behavioral assessments between sham controls and injured mice limits conclusions on its impact on long-term neurobehavioral outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Celorrio
- Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - James Rhodes
- Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Sangeetha Vadivelu
- Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - McKenzie Davies
- Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Stuart H Friess
- Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, One Children's Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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