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Brown TG, Thayer MN, VanTreeck JG, Zarate N, Hart DW, Heilbronner S, Gomez-Pastor R. Striatal spatial heterogeneity, clustering, and white matter association of GFAP + astrocytes in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1094503. [PMID: 37187609 PMCID: PMC10175581 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1094503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects the striatum, a brain region that controls movement and some forms of cognition. Neuronal dysfunction and loss in HD is accompanied by increased astrocyte density and astrocyte pathology. Astrocytes are a heterogeneous population classified into multiple subtypes depending on the expression of different gene markers. Studying whether mutant Huntingtin (HTT) alters specific subtypes of astrocytes is necessary to understand their relative contribution to HD. Methods Here, we studied whether astrocytes expressing two different markers; glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), associated with astrocyte activation, and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B), a marker of matured astrocytes and inflammation, were differentially altered in HD. Results First, we found three distinct populations in the striatum of WT and symptomatic zQ175 mice: GFAP+, S100B+, and dual GFAP+S100B+. The number of GFAP+ and S100B+ astrocytes throughout the striatum was increased in HD mice compared to WT, coinciding with an increase in HTT aggregation. Overlap between GFAP and S100B staining was expected, but dual GFAP+S100B+ astrocytes only accounted for less than 10% of all tested astrocytes and the number of GFAP+S100B+ astrocytes did not differ between WT and HD, suggesting that GFAP+ astrocytes and S100B+ astrocytes are distinct types of astrocytes. Interestingly, a spatial characterization of these astrocyte subtypes in HD mice showed that while S100B+ were homogeneously distributed throughout the striatum, GFAP+ preferentially accumulated in "patches" in the dorsomedial (dm) striatum, a region associated with goal-directed behaviors. In addition, GFAP+ astrocytes in the dm striatum of zQ175 mice showed increased clustering and association with white matter fascicles and were preferentially located in areas with low HTT aggregate load. Discussion In summary, we showed that GFAP+ and S100B+ astrocyte subtypes are distinctly affected in HD and exist in distinct spatial arrangements that may offer new insights to the function of these specific astrocytes subtypes and their potential implications in HD pathology.
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Benhamou E, Marshall CR, Russell LL, Hardy CJD, Bond RL, Sivasathiaseelan H, Greaves CV, Friston KJ, Rohrer JD, Warren JD, Razi A. The neurophysiological architecture of semantic dementia: spectral dynamic causal modelling of a neurodegenerative proteinopathy. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16321. [PMID: 33004840 PMCID: PMC7530731 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72847-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The selective destruction of large-scale brain networks by pathogenic protein spread is a ubiquitous theme in neurodegenerative disease. Characterising the circuit architecture of these diseases could illuminate both their pathophysiology and the computational architecture of the cognitive processes they target. However, this is challenging using standard neuroimaging techniques. Here we addressed this issue using a novel technique-spectral dynamic causal modelling-that estimates the effective connectivity between brain regions from resting-state fMRI data. We studied patients with semantic dementia-the paradigmatic disorder of the brain system mediating world knowledge-relative to healthy older individuals. We assessed how the effective connectivity of the semantic appraisal network targeted by this disease was modulated by pathogenic protein deposition and by two key phenotypic factors, semantic impairment and behavioural disinhibition. The presence of pathogenic protein in SD weakened the normal inhibitory self-coupling of network hubs in both antero-mesial temporal lobes, with development of an abnormal excitatory fronto-temporal projection in the left cerebral hemisphere. Semantic impairment and social disinhibition were linked to a similar but more extensive profile of abnormally attenuated inhibitory self-coupling within temporal lobe regions and excitatory projections between temporal and inferior frontal regions. Our findings demonstrate that population-level dynamic causal modelling can disclose a core pathophysiological feature of proteinopathic network architecture-attenuation of inhibitory connectivity-and the key elements of distributed neuronal processing that underwrite semantic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elia Benhamou
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
| | - Charles R Marshall
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Lucy L Russell
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Chris J D Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Rebecca L Bond
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Harri Sivasathiaseelan
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Caroline V Greaves
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Adeel Razi
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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Esménio S, Soares JM, Oliveira-Silva P, Gonçalves ÓF, Friston K, Fernandes Coutinho J. Changes in the Effective Connectivity of the Social Brain When Making Inferences About Close Others vs. the Self. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:151. [PMID: 32410974 PMCID: PMC7202326 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research showed that the ability to make inferences about our own and other’s mental states rely on common brain pathways; particularly in the case of close relationships (e.g., romantic relationships). Despite the evidence for shared neural representations of self and others, less is known about the distributed processing within these common neural networks, particularly whether there are specific patterns of internode communication when focusing on other vs. self. This study aimed to characterize context-sensitive coupling among social brain regions involved in self and other understanding. Participants underwent an fMRI while watching emotional video vignettes of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner’s (other-condition) or on their own experience (self-condition). We used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to quantify the associated changes in effective connectivity (EC) in a network of brain regions involved in social cognition including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the posterior cingulate (PCC)/precuneus and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). DCM revealed that: the PCC plays a central coordination role within this network, the bilateral MTG receives driving inputs from other nodes suggesting that social information is first processed in language comprehension regions; the right TPJ evidenced a selective increase in its sensitivity when focusing on the other’s experience, relative to focusing on oneself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Esménio
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, Portugal
| | - José Miguel Soares
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.,ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.,Clinical Academic Center, Braga, Portugal
| | - Patrícia Oliveira-Silva
- Human Neurobehavioral Laboratory, CEDH-Research Centre for Human Development, Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal
| | - Óscar F Gonçalves
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.,Spaulding Center for Neuromodulation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joana Fernandes Coutinho
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, Braga, Portugal
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Lahr J, Minkova L, Tabrizi SJ, Stout JC, Klöppel S, Scheller E. Working Memory-Related Effective Connectivity in Huntington's Disease Patients. Front Neurol 2018; 9:370. [PMID: 29915555 PMCID: PMC5994408 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a genetically caused neurodegenerative disorder characterized by heterogeneous motor, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Although motor symptoms may be the most prominent presentation, cognitive symptoms such as memory deficits and executive dysfunction typically co-occur. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and task fMRI-based dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to evaluate HD-related changes in the neural network underlying working memory (WM). Sixty-four pre-symptomatic HD mutation carriers (preHD), 20 patients with early manifest HD symptoms (earlyHD), and 83 healthy control subjects performed an n-back fMRI task with two levels of WM load. Effective connectivity was assessed in five predefined regions of interest, comprising bilateral inferior parietal cortex, left anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. HD mutation carriers performed less accurately and more slowly at high WM load compared with the control group. While between-group comparisons of brain activation did not reveal differential recruitment of the cortical WM network in mutation carriers, comparisons of brain connectivity as identified with DCM revealed a number of group differences across the whole WM network. Most strikingly, we observed decreasing connectivity from several regions toward right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in preHD and even more so in earlyHD. The deterioration in rDLPFC connectivity complements results from previous studies and might mirror beginning cortical neural decline at premanifest and early manifest stages of HD. We were able to characterize effective connectivity in a WM network of HD mutation carriers yielding further insight into patterns of cognitive decline and accompanying neural deterioration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Lahr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lora Minkova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sarah J Tabrizi
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Julie C Stout
- School of Psychological Sciences, Institute of Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Stefan Klöppel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Garcia‐Gorro C, de Diego‐Balaguer R, Martínez‐Horta S, Pérez‐Pérez J, Kulisevsky J, Rodríguez‐Dechicha N, Vaquer I, Subira S, Calopa M, Muñoz E, Santacruz P, Ruiz‐Idiago J, Mareca C, Caballol N, Camara E. Reduced striato-cortical and inhibitory transcallosal connectivity in the motor circuit of Huntington's disease patients. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:54-71. [PMID: 28990240 PMCID: PMC6866479 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which is primarily associated with striatal degeneration. However, the alterations in connectivity of this structure in HD have been underinvestigated. In this study, we analyzed the functional and structural connectivity of the left putamen, while participants performed a finger-tapping task. Using fMRI and DW-MRI, 30 HD gene expansion carriers (HDGEC) and 29 healthy participants were scanned. Psychophysiological interaction analysis and DTI-based tractography were employed to examine functional and structural connectivity, respectively. Manifest HDGEC exhibited a reduced functional connectivity of the left putamen with the left and the right primary sensorimotor areas (SM1). Based on this result, the inhibitory functional connectivity between the left SM1 and the right SM1 was explored, appearing to be also decreased. In addition, the tract connecting these areas (motor corpus callosum), and the tract connecting the left putamen with the left SM1 appeared disrupted in HDGEC compared to controls. Significant correlations were found between measures of functional and structural connectivity of the motor corpus callosum, showing a coupling of both types of alterations in this tract. The observed reduction of functional and structural connectivity was associated with worse motor scores, which highlights the clinical relevance of these results. Hum Brain Mapp 39:54-71, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Garcia‐Gorro
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Ruth de Diego‐Balaguer
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- The Institute of Neurosciences of the University of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- ICREA (Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies)BarcelonaSpain
| | - Saul Martínez‐Horta
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
| | - Jesus Pérez‐Pérez
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
| | - Jaime Kulisevsky
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
- Universidad Autónoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | | | - Irene Vaquer
- Hestia Duran i Reynals, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
| | - Susana Subira
- Hestia Duran i Reynals, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Clinical and Health PsychologyUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Matilde Calopa
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
| | - Esteban Muñoz
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital ClínicBarcelonaSpain
- IDIBAPS (Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer)BarcelonaSpain
- Facultat de medicina, University of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Pilar Santacruz
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital ClínicBarcelonaSpain
| | | | | | - Nuria Caballol
- Hospital de Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi, Sant Joan DespíBarcelonaSpain
| | - Estela Camara
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
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Abstract
The FMR1 premutation confers a 40–60% risk for males of developing a neurodegenerative disease called the Fragile X-associated Tremor Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS). FXTAS is a late-onset disease that primarily involves progressive symptoms of tremor and ataxia, as well as cognitive decline that can develop into dementia in some patients. At present, it is not clear whether changes to brain function are detectable in motor regions prior to the onset of frank symptomatology. The present study therefore aimed to utilize an fMRI motor task for the first time in an asymptomatic premutation population. Premutation carriers without a diagnosis of FXTAS (n = 17) and a group of healthy male controls (n = 17), with an age range of 24–68 years old, were recruited for this cross-sectional study. This study utilized neuroimaging, molecular and clinical measurements, employing an fMRI finger-tapping task with a block design consisting of sequential finger-tapping, random finger-tapping and rest conditions. The imaging analysis contrasted the sequential and random conditions to investigate activation changes in response to a change in task demand. Additionally, measurements were obtained of participant tremor, co-ordination and balance using the CATSYS-2000 system and measures of FMR1 mRNA were quantified from peripheral blood samples using quantitative real-time PCR methodology. Premutation carriers demonstrated significantly less cerebellar activation than controls during sequential versus random finger tapping (FWEcorr < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant age by group interaction in the hippocampus, inferior parietal cortex and temporal cortex originating from a more negative relationship between brain activation and age in the carrier group compared to the controls (FWEcorr < 0.001). Here, we present for the first time functional imaging-based evidence for early movement-related neurodegeneration in Fragile X premutation carriers. These changes pre-exist the diagnosis of FXTAS and are greatest in older carriers suggesting that they may be indicative of FXTAS vulnerability. The authors present a cross-sectional fMRI study in male carriers of the FMR1 premutation Carriers show decreased BOLD activation at the cerebellum in response to change in task demand in a finger-tapping task Carriers exhibit a group x age interaction of BOLD response in the temporoparietal area These changes pre-exist the diagnosis of the Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS)
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