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Liu Y, Hang X, Zhang Y, Fang Y, Yuan S, Zhang Y, Wu B, Kong Y, Kuang Z, Sun W. Maternal immune activation induces sex-dependent behavioral differences in a rat model of schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1375999. [PMID: 38659461 PMCID: PMC11040086 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1375999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Maternal immune activation (MIA) is a mature means to construct a schizophrenia model. However, some preclinical studies have reported that a MIA-induced schizophrenia model seemed to have gender heterogeneity in behavioral phenotype. On the other hand, the MIA's paradigms were diverse in different studies, and many details could affect the effect of MIA. To some extent, it is not credible and scientific to directly compare the gender differences of different MIA programs. Therefore, it is necessary to study whether the sex of the exposed offspring leads to behavioral differences on the premise of maintaining a consistent MIA mode. Methods An animal model of schizophrenia was established by the administration of 10 mg/kg Poly (I: C) when dams were on day 9 of gestation. Then, a number of female and male offspring completed a series of behavioral tests during postnatal days 61-75. Results Compared with the female control group (n = 14), female MIA offspring (n = 12) showed a longer movement distance (d = 1.07, p < 0.05) and higher average speed (d = 1.08, p < 0.05) in the open field test (OFT). In the Y maze test, the percentage of entering the novel arm of female MIA offspring was lower (d = 0.92, p < 0.05). Compared with the male control group (n = 14), male MIA offspring (n = 13) displayed less movement distance (d = 0.93, p < 0.05) and a lower average speed (d = 0.94, p < 0.05) in the OFT. In the Y maze test, the proportion of exploration time in the novel arm of male MIA offspring was lower (d = 0.96, p < 0.05). In the EPM, male MIA offspring showed less time (d = 0.85, p < 0.05) and a lower percentage of time spent in the open arms (d = 0.85, p < 0.05). Male MIA offspring also had a lower PPI index (76 dB + 120 dB, d = 0.81, p < 0.05; 80 dB + 120 dB, d = 1.45, p < 0.01). Conclusions Our results showed that the behavioral phenotypes induced by prenatal immune activation were highly dependent on the sex of the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxia Liu
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyi Hang
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yijie Zhang
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yilin Fang
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Shanfang Yuan
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Encephalopathy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Wu
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Kong
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Zihe Kuang
- The Third Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Wenjun Sun
- Department of Encephalopathy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing, China
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Khan AQ, Thielen L, Le Pen G, Krebs MO, Kebir O, Groh A, Deest M, Bleich S, Frieling H, Jahn K. Methylation pattern and mRNA expression of synapse-relevant genes in the MAM model of schizophrenia in the time-course of adolescence. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 8:110. [PMID: 36481661 PMCID: PMC9732294 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00319-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is highly heritable and aggregating in families, but genetics alone does not exclusively explain the pathogenesis. Many risk factors, including childhood trauma, viral infections, migration, and the use of cannabis, are associated with schizophrenia. Adolescence seems to be the critical period where symptoms of the disease manifest. This work focuses on studying an epigenetic regulatory mechanism (the role of DNA methylation) and its interaction with mRNA expression during development, with a particular emphasis on adolescence. The presumptions regarding the role of aberrant neurodevelopment in schizophrenia were tested in the Methyl-Azoxy-Methanol (MAM) animal model. MAM treatment induces neurodevelopmental disruptions and behavioral deficits in off-springs of the treated animals reminiscent of those observed in schizophrenia and is thus considered a promising model for studying this pathology. On a gestational day-17, adult pregnant rats were treated with the antimitotic agent MAM. Experimental animals were divided into groups and subgroups according to substance treatment (MAM and vehicle agent [Sham]) and age of analysis (pre-adolescent and post-adolescent). Methylation and mRNA expression analysis of four candidate genes, which are often implicated in schizophrenia, with special emphasis on the Dopamine hypothesis i.e., Dopamine receptor D2 (Drd2), and the "co-factors" Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), Synaptophysin (Syp), and Dystrobrevin-binding protein 1 (Dtnbp1), was performed in the Gyrus cingulum (CING) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Data were analyzed to observe the effect of substance treatment between groups and the impact of adolescence within-group. We found reduced pre-adolescent expression levels of Drd2 in both brain areas under the application of MAM. The "co-factor genes" did not show high deviations in mRNA expression levels but high alterations of methylation rates under the application of MAM (up to ~20%), which diminished in the further time course, reaching a comparable level like in Sham control animals after adolescence. The pre-adolescent reduction in DRD2 expression might be interpreted as downregulation of the receptor due to hyperdopaminergic signaling from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), eventually even to both investigated brain regions. The notable alterations of methylation rates in the three analyzed co-factor genes might be interpreted as attempt to compensate for the altered dopaminergic neurotransmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul Qayyum Khan
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany ,grid.444940.9University of Management and Technology—School of Pharmacy, 72-A Raiwind Rd, Dubai Town, Lahore Pakistan
| | - Lukas Thielen
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Gwenaëlle Le Pen
- grid.512035.0Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM, Pathophysiology of Psychiatric disorders: Development and Vulnerability, U1266, 102-108 Rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Marie-Odile Krebs
- grid.512035.0Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM, Pathophysiology of Psychiatric disorders: Development and Vulnerability, U1266, 102-108 Rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France ,GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, 1 Rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Oussama Kebir
- grid.512035.0Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM, Pathophysiology of Psychiatric disorders: Development and Vulnerability, U1266, 102-108 Rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France ,GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, 1 Rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Adrian Groh
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Maximilian Deest
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Bleich
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Helge Frieling
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Kirsten Jahn
- grid.10423.340000 0000 9529 9877Laboratory for Molecular Neurosciences (LMN), Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Jones CA, Watson DJG, Fone KCF. Animal models of schizophrenia. Br J Pharmacol 2011; 164:1162-94. [PMID: 21449915 PMCID: PMC3229756 DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01386.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 520] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2010] [Revised: 03/09/2011] [Accepted: 03/12/2011] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Developing reliable, predictive animal models for complex psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, is essential to increase our understanding of the neurobiological basis of the disorder and for the development of novel drugs with improved therapeutic efficacy. All available animal models of schizophrenia fit into four different induction categories: developmental, drug-induced, lesion or genetic manipulation, and the best characterized examples of each type are reviewed herein. Most rodent models have behavioural phenotype changes that resemble 'positive-like' symptoms of schizophrenia, probably reflecting altered mesolimbic dopamine function, but fewer models also show altered social interaction, and learning and memory impairment, analogous to negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia respectively. The negative and cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are resistant to treatment with current antipsychotics, even after remission of the psychosis, which limits their therapeutic efficacy. The MATRICS initiative developed a consensus on the core cognitive deficits of schizophrenic patients, and recommended a standardized test battery to evaluate them. More recently, work has begun to identify specific rodent behavioural tasks with translational relevance to specific cognitive domains affected in schizophrenia, and where available this review focuses on reporting the effect of current and potential antipsychotics on these tasks. The review also highlights the need to develop more comprehensive animal models that more adequately replicate deficits in negative and cognitive symptoms. Increasing information on the neurochemical and structural CNS changes accompanying each model will also help assess treatments that prevent the development of schizophrenia rather than treating the symptoms, another pivotal change required to enable new more effective therapeutic strategies to be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Jones
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Influence of social isolation in the rat on serotonergic function and memory--relevance to models of schizophrenia and the role of 5-HT₆ receptors. Neuropharmacology 2011; 61:400-7. [PMID: 21414329 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2010] [Revised: 02/24/2011] [Accepted: 03/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing awareness of the importance that early environmental factors have on brain development and their role in the neurobiology of neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia. The isolation reared rat attempts to model adverse effects that human social isolation (absence of social contact) can have on normal brain development. The isolation reared rat also models aspects of schizophrenia including the development of persistent learning and memory deficits. This short review concentrates on the effects of isolation rearing on cognition, including deficits in novel object discrimination, and the neural mechanisms that may underlie this impairment. There is evidence that a key effect of social isolation may be loss of neuronal plasticity combined with change in the functional state of various cortical and hippocampal neurotransmitters, including glutamate and serotonin. Reduced glutamate function may underlie the deficits in novel object discrimination, which can be reversed by administration of a 5-HT(6) receptor antagonist. This suggests that the 5-HT(6) antagonists may act by reducing 5-HT(6) receptor mediated activation of GABA, resulting in glutamate disinhibition. Thus drugs acting at 5-HT(6) receptors may offer a novel approach to treat neurodevelopmental cognitive symptoms, including those seen in schizophrenia.
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