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Mottarlini F, Rizzi B, Targa G, Buzzelli V, Di Trapano M, Rullo L, Candeletti S, Ciccocioppo R, Fattore L, Romualdi P, Fumagalli F, Trezza V, Caffino L. Communal nesting shapes the sex-dependent glutamatergic response to early life stress in the rat prefrontal cortex. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1406687. [PMID: 38835543 PMCID: PMC11148342 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1406687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Early social environment, either positive or negative, shapes the adult brain. Communal nesting (CN), a naturalistic setting in which 2-3 females keep their pups in a single nest sharing care-giving behavior, provides high level of peer interaction for pups. Early social isolation (ESI) from dam and siblings represents, instead, an adverse condition providing no peer interaction. Methods We investigated whether CN (enrichment setting) might influence the response to ESI (impoverishment setting) in terms of social behavior and glutamate system in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of adult and adolescent male and female rats. Results Pinning (a rewarding component of social play behavior) was significantly more pronounced in males than in females exposed to the combination of CN and ESI. CN sensitized the glutamate synapse in the mPFC of ESI-exposed male, but not female, rats. Accordingly, we observed (i) a potentiation of the glutamatergic neurotransmission in the mPFC of both adolescent and adult males, as shown by the recruitment of NMDA receptor subunits together with increased expression/activation of PSD95, SynCAM 1, Synapsin I and αCaMKII; (ii) a de-recruiting of NMDA receptors from active synaptic zones of same-age females, together with reduced expression/activation of the above-mentioned proteins, which might reduce the glutamate transmission. Whether similar sex-dependent glutamate homeostasis modulation occurs in other brain areas remains to be elucidated. Discussion CN and ESI interact to shape social behavior and mPFC glutamate synapse homeostasis in an age- and sex-dependent fashion, suggesting that early-life social environment may play a crucial role in regulating the risk to develop psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Mottarlini
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Beatrice Rizzi
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Giorgia Targa
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Valeria Buzzelli
- Department of Science, Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Melania Di Trapano
- Department of Science, Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Rullo
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sanzio Candeletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Roberto Ciccocioppo
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Liana Fattore
- Research National Council (CNR) Institute of Neuroscience-Cagliari, National Research Council, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Patrizia Romualdi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fabio Fumagalli
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Viviana Trezza
- Department of Science, Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
- Neuroendocrinology, Metabolism and Neuropharmacology Unit, Istituto di Ricerca e Cura di Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Lucia Caffino
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
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Cashen NA, Kloc ML, Pressman D, Liebman SA, Holmes GL. CBD treatment following early life seizures alters orbitofrontal-striatal signaling during adulthood. Epilepsy Behav 2024; 152:109638. [PMID: 38325075 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 01/06/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a comorbid condition of epilepsy and often adds to the burden of epilepsy. Both OCD and epilepsy are disorders of hyperexcitable circuits. Fronto-striatal circuit dysfunction is implicated in OCD. Prior work in our laboratory has shown that in rat pups following a series of flurothyl-induced early life seizures (ELS) exhibit frontal-lobe dysfunction along with alterations in electrographic temporal coordination between the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS), circuits implicated in OCD. Here, we studied the effects of ELS in male and female rat pups on OCD-like behaviors as adults using the marble burying test (MBT). Because cannabidiol (CBD) is an effective antiseizure medication and has shown efficacy in the treatment of individuals with OCD, we also randomized rats to CBD or vehicle treatment following ELS to determine if CBD had any effect on OCD-like behaviors. While the flurothyl model of ELS did not induce OCD-like behaviors, as measured in the MBT, ELS did alter neural signaling in structures implicated in OCD and CBD had sex-dependent effects of temporal coordination in a way which suggests it may have a beneficial effect on epilepsy-related OCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie A Cashen
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Michelle L Kloc
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Davi Pressman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Samuel A Liebman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Gregory L Holmes
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States.
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Benvenuti F, De Carlo S, Rullo L, Caffino L, Losapio L, Morosini C, Ubaldi M, Soverchia L, Cannella N, Domi E, Candeletti S, Mottarlini F, Fattore L, Romualdi P, Fumagalli F, Trezza V, Roberto M, Ciccocioppo R. Early social isolation differentially affects the glucocorticoid receptor system and alcohol-seeking behavior in male and female Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 28:100598. [PMID: 38115888 PMCID: PMC10727952 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse early life experiences during postnatal development can evoke long-lasting neurobiological changes in stress systems, thereby affecting subsequent behaviors including propensity to develop alcohol use disorder. Here, we exposed genetically selected male and female Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring (msP) and Wistar rats to mild, repeated social deprivation from postnatal day 14 (PND14) to PND21 and investigated the effect of the early social isolation (ESI) on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) system and on the propensity to drink and seek alcohol in adulthood. We found that ESI resulted in higher levels of GR gene and protein expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in male but not female msP rats. In female Wistars, ESI resulted in significant downregulation of Nr3c1 mRNA levels and lower GR protein levels. In male and female msP rats, plasma corticosterone levels on PND35 were similar and unaffected by ESI. Wistar females exhibited higher levels of corticosterone compared with males, independently from ESI. In alcohol self-administration experiments we found that the pharmacological stressor yohimbine (0.0, 0.312, 0.625, and 1.25 mg/kg) increased alcohol self-administration in both rat lines, regardless of ESI. After extinction, 0.625 mg/kg yohimbine significantly reinstated alcohol seeking in female rats only. ESI enhanced reinstatement in female msP rats. Overall, the present results indicate that repeated social deprivation during the third week of postnatal life affects GR expression in a strain- and sex-dependent manner: such effect may contribute, at least partially, to the heightened sensitivity of female msP rats to the effects of yohimbine-induced alcohol seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. Benvenuti
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - S. De Carlo
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - L. Rullo
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - L. Caffino
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, ‘Rodolfo Paoletti’, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - L.M. Losapio
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - C. Morosini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - M. Ubaldi
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - L. Soverchia
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - N. Cannella
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - E. Domi
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - S. Candeletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - F. Mottarlini
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, ‘Rodolfo Paoletti’, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - L. Fattore
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience-Cagliari, National Research Council, Cagliari, Italy
| | - P. Romualdi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - F. Fumagalli
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, ‘Rodolfo Paoletti’, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - V. Trezza
- Department of Science, University “Roma Tre”, Rome, Italy
| | - M. Roberto
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - R. Ciccocioppo
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
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Rullo L, Losapio LM, Morosini C, Mottarlini F, Schiavi S, Buzzelli V, Ascone F, Ciccocioppo R, Fattore L, Caffino L, Fumagalli F, Romualdi P, Trezza V, Candeletti S. Outcomes of early social experiences on glucocorticoid and endocannabinoid systems in the prefrontal cortex of male and female adolescent rats. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1270195. [PMID: 38174157 PMCID: PMC10762649 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1270195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Social and emotional experiences differently shape individual's neurodevelopment inducing substantial changes in neurobiological substrates and behavior, particularly when they occur early in life. In this scenario, the present study was aimed at (i) investigating the impact of early social environments on emotional reactivity of adolescent male and female rats and (ii) uncovering the underlying molecular features, focusing on the cortical endocannabinoid (eCB) and glucocorticoid systems. To this aim, we applied a protocol of environmental manipulation based on early postnatal socially enriched or impoverished conditions. Social enrichment was realized through communal nesting (CN). Conversely, an early social isolation (ESI) protocol was applied (post-natal days 14-21) to mimic an adverse early social environment. The two forms of social manipulation resulted in specific behavioral and molecular outcomes in both male and female rat offspring. Despite the combination of CN and ESI did not affect emotional reactivity in both sexes, the molecular results reveal that the preventive exposure to CN differently altered mRNA and protein expression of the main components of the glucocorticoid and eCB systems in male and female rats. In particular, adolescent females exposed to the combination of CN and ESI showed increased corticosterone levels, unaltered genomic glucocorticoid receptor, reduced cannabinoid receptor type-1 and fatty acid amide hydrolase protein levels, suggesting that the CN condition evokes different reorganization of these systems in males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Rullo
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Loredana Maria Losapio
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Camilla Morosini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesca Mottarlini
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences “Rodolfo Paoletti,” Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Schiavi
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Buzzelli
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Ascone
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Ciccocioppo
- School of Pharmacy, Center for Neuroscience, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Liana Fattore
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience-Cagliari, National Research Council, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Lucia Caffino
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences “Rodolfo Paoletti,” Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Fumagalli
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences “Rodolfo Paoletti,” Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Patrizia Romualdi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Viviana Trezza
- Section of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
| | - Sanzio Candeletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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