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Fatemi SH, Eschenlauer A, Aman J, Folsom TD, Chekouo T. Quantitative proteomics of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reveals an early pattern of synaptic dysmaturation in children with idiopathic autism. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:161-171. [PMID: 38696595 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae044] [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: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder with a rising prevalence and unknown etiology presenting with deficits in cognition and abnormal behavior. We hypothesized that the investigation of the synaptic component of prefrontal cortex may provide proteomic signatures that may identify the biological underpinnings of cognitive deficits in childhood ASD. Subcellular fractions of synaptosomes from prefrontal cortices of age-, brain area-, and postmortem-interval-matched samples from children and adults with idiopathic ASD vs. controls were subjected to HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry. Analysis of data revealed the enrichment of ASD risk genes that participate in slow maturation of the postsynaptic density (PSD) structure and function during early brain development. Proteomic analysis revealed down regulation of PSD-related proteins including AMPA and NMDA receptors, GRM3, DLG4, olfactomedins, Shank1-3, Homer1, CaMK2α, NRXN1, NLGN2, Drebrin1, ARHGAP32, and Dock9 in children with autism (FDR-adjusted P < 0.05). In contrast, PSD-related alterations were less severe or unchanged in adult individuals with ASD. Network analyses revealed glutamate receptor abnormalities. Overall, the proteomic data support the concept that idiopathic autism is a synaptopathy involving PSD-related ASD risk genes. Interruption in evolutionarily conserved slow maturation of the PSD complex in prefrontal cortex may lead to the development of ASD in a susceptible individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Hossein Fatemi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Arthur Eschenlauer
- Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, 599 Walter Library, 117 Pleasant Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Justin Aman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Timothy D Folsom
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Thierry Chekouo
- University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Szewczyk LM, Lipiec MA, Liszewska E, Meyza K, Urban-Ciecko J, Kondrakiewicz L, Goncerzewicz A, Rafalko K, Krawczyk TG, Bogaj K, Vainchtein ID, Nakao-Inoue H, Puscian A, Knapska E, Sanders SJ, Jan Nowakowski T, Molofsky AV, Wisniewska MB. Astrocytic β-catenin signaling via TCF7L2 regulates synapse development and social behavior. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:57-73. [PMID: 37798419 PMCID: PMC11078762 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02281-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
The Wnt/β-catenin pathway contains multiple high-confidence risk genes that are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder. However, its ubiquitous roles across brain cell types and developmental stages have made it challenging to define its impact on neural circuit development and behavior. Here, we show that TCF7L2, which is a key transcriptional effector of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, plays a cell-autonomous role in postnatal astrocyte maturation and impacts adult social behavior. TCF7L2 was the dominant Wnt effector that was expressed in both mouse and human astrocytes, with a peak during astrocyte maturation. The conditional knockout of Tcf7l2 in postnatal astrocytes led to an enlargement of astrocytes with defective tiling and gap junction coupling. These mice also exhibited an increase in the number of cortical excitatory and inhibitory synapses and a marked increase in social interaction by adulthood. These data reveal an astrocytic role for developmental Wnt/β-catenin signaling in restricting excitatory synapse numbers and regulating adult social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz Mateusz Szewczyk
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Marcin Andrzej Lipiec
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Liszewska
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ksenia Meyza
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Joanna Urban-Ciecko
- Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ludwika Kondrakiewicz
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Goncerzewicz
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | | | - Karolina Bogaj
- Laboratory of Electrophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ilia Davidovich Vainchtein
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Johnson & Johnson, Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Hiromi Nakao-Inoue
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alicja Puscian
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewelina Knapska
- Laboratory of Emotions Neurobiology, BRAINCITY-Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Stephan J Sanders
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7TY, UK
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tomasz Jan Nowakowski
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anna Victoria Molofsky
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Marta Barbara Wisniewska
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
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Physical Activity, Gut Microbiota, and Genetic Background for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:children9121834. [PMID: 36553278 PMCID: PMC9777368 DOI: 10.3390/children9121834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
It is estimated that one in 100 children worldwide has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD frequently suffer from gut dysbiosis and gastrointestinal issues, findings which possibly play a role in the pathogenesis and/or severity of their condition. Physical activity may have a positive effect on the composition of the intestinal microbiota of healthy adults. However, the effect of exercise both on the gastrointestinal problems and intestinal microbiota (and thus possibly on ASD) itself in affected children is unknown. In terms of understanding the physiopathology and manifestations of ASD, analysis of the gut-brain axis holds some promise. Here, we discuss the physiopathology of ASD in terms of genetics and microbiota composition, and how physical activity may be a promising non-pharmaceutical approach to improve ASD-related symptoms.
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Durankuş F, Albayrak Y, Erdoğan F, Albayrak N, Erdoğan MA, Erbaş O. Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Has a Sex-Dependent Positive Effect in the Maternal Immune Activation-Induced Autism Model. Int J Dev Neurosci 2022; 82:716-726. [PMID: 35904498 DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The medical intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is restricted to ameliorating comorbid situations. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a growth factor that enhances the proliferation, differentiation and survival of hematopoietic progenitor cells. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of G-CSF in a maternal immune activation-induced autism model. METHODS Sixteen female and 6 male Wistar adult rats were included in the study. After 21 days, forty-eight littermates (8 male controls, 8 female controls, 16 male lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-exposed rats and 16 female LPS-exposed rats) were divided into groups. Sixteen male LPS-exposed and 16 female LPS-exposed rats were divided into saline and G-CSF treatment groups. RESULTS In male rats, the LPS-exposed group was found to have significantly higher levels of TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-17 than the LPS-exposed G-CSF group. Levels of nerve growth factor, brain PSD-95 and brain GAD67 were higher in the LPS-exposed G-CSF group than in the LPS-exposed group in male rats. In female rats, brain NGF levels were similar between groups. There was no difference between groups in terms of brain GAD 67 levels. Brain PSD-95 levels were higher in the control group than in both the LPS-exposed and LPS-exposed G-CSF groups in female rats. Both neuronal CA1 and neuronal CA2 levels were lower, and the GFAP immunostaining index (CA1) and GFAP immunostaining index (CA3) were higher in the LPS-exposed group than in the LPS-exposed G-CSF group in male rats. However, neuronal count CA1 and Neuronal count CA3 values were found to be similar between groups in female rats. CONCLUSIONS The present research is the first to demonstrate the beneficial effects of G-CSF on core symptoms of ASD experimentally depending on male sex. G-CSF can be a good candidate for ameliorating the core symptoms of ASD without serious side effects in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferit Durankuş
- Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Medeniyet University, İstanbul, Turkey
| | - Yakup Albayrak
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Tekirdağ, Turkey
| | - Fırat Erdoğan
- Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Medeniyet University, İstanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Mümin Alper Erdoğan
- Department of Physiology, Katip Çelebi University Medical School, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Oytun Erbaş
- Medical School, Department of Physiology, Demiroğlu Bilim University, İstanbul, Turkey
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