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Cubello J, Marvin E, Conrad K, Merrill AK, George JV, Welle K, Jackson BP, Chalupa D, Oberdörster G, Sobolewski M, Cory-Slechta DA. The contributions of neonatal inhalation of copper to air pollution-induced neurodevelopmental outcomes in mice. Neurotoxicology 2024; 100:55-71. [PMID: 38081392 PMCID: PMC10842733 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Exposures to ambient ultrafine particle (UFP) air pollution (AP) during the early postnatal period in mice (equivalent to human third trimester brain development) produce male-biased changes in brain structure, including ventriculomegaly, reduced brain myelination, alterations in neurotransmitters and glial activation, as well as impulsive-like behavioral characteristics, all of which are also features characteristic of male-biased neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which inhaled Cu, a common contaminant of AP that is also dysregulated across multiple NDDs, might contribute to these phenotypes. For this purpose, C57BL/6J mice were exposed from postnatal days 4-7 and 10-13 for 4 hr/day to inhaled copper oxide (CuxOy) nanoparticles at an environmentally relevant concentration averaging 171.9 ng/m3. Changes in brain metal homeostasis and neurotransmitter levels were determined following termination of exposure (postnatal day 14), while behavioral changes were assessed in adulthood. CuxOy inhalation modified cortical metal homeostasis and produced male-biased disruption of striatal neurotransmitters, with marked increases in dopaminergic function, as well as excitatory/inhibitory imbalance and reductions in serotonergic function. Impulsive-like behaviors in a fixed ratio (FR) waiting-for-reward schedule and a fixed interval (FI) schedule of food reward occurred in both sexes, but more prominently in males, effects which could not be attributed to altered locomotor activity or short-term memory. Inhaled Cu as from AP exposures, at environmentally relevant levels experienced during development, may contribute to impaired brain function, as shown by its ability to disrupt brain metal homeostasis and striatal neurotransmission. In addition, its ability to evoke impulsive-like behavior, particularly in male offspring, may be related to striatal dopaminergic dysfunction that is known to mediate such behaviors. As such, regulation of air Cu levels may be protective of public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine Cubello
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
| | - Elena Marvin
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Katherine Conrad
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Alyssa K Merrill
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Jithin V George
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Kevin Welle
- Proteomics Core, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Brian P Jackson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - David Chalupa
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Günter Oberdörster
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Marissa Sobolewski
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Deborah A Cory-Slechta
- Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
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Silverman JL, Thurm A, Ethridge SB, Soller MM, Petkova SP, Abel T, Bauman MD, Brodkin ES, Harony‐Nicolas H, Wöhr M, Halladay A. Reconsidering animal models used to study autism spectrum disorder: Current state and optimizing future. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12803. [PMID: 35285132 PMCID: PMC9189007 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID), are pervasive, often lifelong disorders, lacking evidence-based interventions for core symptoms. With no established biological markers, diagnoses are defined by behavioral criteria. Thus, preclinical in vivo animal models of NDDs must be optimally utilized. For this reason, experts in the field of behavioral neuroscience convened a workshop with the goals of reviewing current behavioral studies, reports, and assessments in rodent models. Goals included: (a) identifying the maximal utility and limitations of behavior in animal models with construct validity; (b) providing recommendations for phenotyping animal models; and (c) guidelines on how in vivo models should be used and reported reliably and rigorously while acknowledging their limitations. We concluded by recommending minimal criteria for reporting in manuscripts going forward. The workshop elucidated a consensus of potential solutions to several problems, including revisiting claims made about animal model links to ASD (and related conditions). Specific conclusions included: mice (or other rodent or preclinical models) are models of the neurodevelopmental insult, not specifically any disorder (e.g., ASD); a model that perfectly recapitulates a disorder such as ASD is untenable; and greater attention needs be given to validation of behavioral testing methods, data analysis, and critical interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill L. Silverman
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesUniversity of California Davis School of MedicineSacramentoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Audrey Thurm
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping ServiceNational Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Sarah B. Ethridge
- Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping ServiceNational Institute of Mental HealthBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Makayla M. Soller
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesUniversity of California Davis School of MedicineSacramentoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Stela P. Petkova
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesUniversity of California Davis School of MedicineSacramentoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ted Abel
- Department of Neuroscience and PharmacologyIowa Neuroscience Institute, University of IowaIowa CityIowaUSA
| | - Melissa D. Bauman
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesUniversity of California Davis School of MedicineSacramentoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Edward S. Brodkin
- Department of PsychiatryPerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Translational Research LaboratoryPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Hala Harony‐Nicolas
- Seaver Autism Center for Research and TreatmentIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Markus Wöhr
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Laboratory of Biological PsychologySocial and Affective Neuroscience Research Group, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium,Leuven Brain InstituteKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium,Faculty of Psychology, Experimental and Biological Psychology, Behavioral NeurosciencePhilipps‐University of MarburgMarburgGermany,Center for Mind, Brain, and BehaviorPhilipps‐University of MarburgMarburgGermany
| | - Alycia Halladay
- Autism Science FoundationUSA,Department of Pharmacology and ToxicologyRutgers UniversityPiscatawayNew JerseyUSA
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Campesi I, Montella A, Seghieri G, Franconi F. The Person's Care Requires a Sex and Gender Approach. J Clin Med 2021; 10:4770. [PMID: 34682891 PMCID: PMC8541070 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10204770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an urgent need to optimize pharmacology therapy with a consideration of high interindividual variability and economic costs. A sex-gender approach (which considers men, women, and people of diverse gender identities) and the assessment of differences in sex and gender promote global health, avoiding systematic errors that generate results with low validity. Care for people should consider the single individual and his or her past and present life experiences, as well as his or her relationship with care providers. Therefore, intersectoral and interdisciplinary studies are urgently required. It is desirable to create teams made up of men and women to meet the needs of both. Finally, it is also necessary to build an alliance among regulatory and ethic authorities, statistics, informatics, the healthcare system and providers, researchers, the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries, decision makers, and patients to overcome the gender gap in medicine and to take real care of a person in an appropriate manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Campesi
- Laboratory of Sex-Gender Medicine, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Andrea Montella
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Seghieri
- Department of Epidemiology, Regional Health Agency of Tuscany, 50124 Florence, Italy;
| | - Flavia Franconi
- Laboratory of Sex-Gender Medicine, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
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Nicolay-Kritter K, Lassalle J, Guillou JL, Mons N. The histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase G9a/GLP complex activity is required for long-term consolidation of spatial memory in mice. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 179:107406. [PMID: 33609736 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The G9a/G9a-like protein (GLP) histone lysine dimethyltransferase complex and downstream histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) repressive mark have recently emerged as key transcriptional regulators of gene expression programs necessary for long-term memory (LTM) formation in the dorsal hippocampus. However, the role for hippocampal G9a/GLP complex in mediating the consolidation of spatial LTM remains largely unknown. Using a water maze competition task in which both dorsal hippocampus-dependent spatial and striatum-dependent cue navigation strategies are effective to solve the maze, we found that pharmacological inhibition of G9a/GLP activity immediately after learning disrupts long-term consolidation of previously learned spatial information in male mice, hence producing cue bias on the competition test performed 24 h later. Importantly, the inhibition of hippocampal G9a/GLP did not disrupt short-term memory retention. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed increases in global levels of permissive histone H3K9 acetylation in the dorsal hippocampus and dorsal striatum at 1 h post-training, which persisted up to 24 h in the hippocampus. Conversely, H3K9me2 levels were either unchanged in the dorsal hippocampus or transiently decreased at 15 min post-training in the dorsal striatum. Finally, the inhibition of G9a/GLP activity further increased global levels of H3K9 acetylation while decreasing H3K9me2 in the hippocampus at 1 h post-training. However, both marks returned to vehicle control levels at 24 h. Together, these findings support the possibility that G9a/GLP in the dorsal hippocampus is required for the transcriptional switch from short-term to long-term spatial memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyrian Nicolay-Kritter
- Université de Bordeaux, France; Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5287, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Jordan Lassalle
- Université de Bordeaux, France; Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5287, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Jean-Louis Guillou
- Université de Bordeaux, France; Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5287, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Nicole Mons
- Université de Bordeaux, France; Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5287, 33615 Pessac, France.
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Keiser AA, Wood MA. Examining the contribution of histone modification to sex differences in learning and memory. Learn Mem 2019; 26:318-331. [PMID: 31416905 PMCID: PMC6699407 DOI: 10.1101/lm.048850.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The epigenome serves as a signal integration platform that encodes information from experience and environment that adds tremendous complexity to the regulation of transcription required for memory, beyond the directions encoded in the genome. To date, our understanding of how epigenetic mechanisms integrate information to regulate gene expression required for memory is primarily obtained from male derived data despite sex-specific life experiences and sex differences in consolidation and retrieval of memory, and in the molecular mechanisms that mediate these processes. In this review, we examine the contribution of chromatin modification to learning and memory in both sexes. We provide examples of how exposure to a number of internal and external factors influence the epigenome in sex-similar and sex-specific ways that may ultimately impact transcription required for memory processes. We also pose a number of key open questions and identify areas requiring further investigation as we seek to understand how histone modifying mechanisms shape memory in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley A Keiser
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
| | - Marcelo A Wood
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, USA
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