Transcriptome Analysis in Hippocampus of Rats Prenatally Exposed to Valproic Acid and Effects of Intranasal Treatment of Oxytocin

Rapid effects of valproic acid on the fetal brain transcriptome: Implications for brain development and autism

There is an increased incidence of autism among the children of women who take the anti-epileptic, mood-stabilizing drug, valproic acid (VPA) during pregnancy; moreover, exposure to VPA in utero causes autistic-like symptoms in rodents and non-human primates. Analysis of RNA-seq data obtained from E12.5 fetal mouse brains 3 hours after VPA administration to the pregnant dam revealed that VPA rapidly and significantly increased or decreased the expression of approximately 7,300 genes. No significant sex differences in VPA-induced gene expression were observed. Expression of 399 autism risk genes was significantly altered by VPA as was expression of 255 genes that have been reported to play fundamental roles in fetal brain development but are not otherwise linked to autism. Expression of genes associated with intracellular signaling pathways, neurogenesis, and excitation-inhibition balance as well as synaptogenesis, neuronal fate determination, axon and dendritic development, neuroinflammation, circadian rhythms, and epigenetic modulation of gene expression was dysregulated by VPA. The goal of this study was to identify mouse genes that are: (a) significantly up- or down-regulated by VPA in the fetal brain and (b) known to be associated with autism and/or to play a role in embryonic neurodevelopmental processes, perturbation of which has the potential to alter brain connectivity and, consequently behavior, in the adult. The set of genes meeting these criteria provides potential targets for future hypothesis-driven studies to elucidate the proximal causes of errors in brain connectivity underlying neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Rapid effects of valproic acid on the fetal brain transcriptome: Implications for brain development and autism

There is an increased incidence of autism among the children of women who take the anti-epileptic, mood stabilizing drug, valproic acid (VPA) during pregnancy; moreover, exposure to VPA in utero causes autistic-like symptoms in rodents and non-human primates. Analysis of RNAseq data obtained from fetal mouse brains 3 hr after VPA administration revealed that VPA significantly [p(FDR) ≤ 0.025] increased or decreased the expression of approximately 7,300 genes. No significant sex differences in VPA-induced gene expression were observed. Expression of genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism as well as neurogenesis, axon growth and synaptogenesis, GABAergic, glutaminergic and dopaminergic synaptic transmission, perineuronal nets, and circadian rhythms was dysregulated by VPA. Moreover, expression of 400 autism risk genes was significantly altered by VPA as was expression of 247 genes that have been reported to play fundamental roles in the development of the nervous system, but are not linked to autism by GWAS. The goal of this study was to identify mouse genes that are: (a) significantly up- or down-regulated by VPA in the fetal brain and (b) known to be associated with autism and/or to play a role in embryonic neurodevelopmental processes, perturbation of which has the potential to alter brain connectivity in the postnatal and adult brain. The set of genes meeting these criteria provides potential targets for future hypothesis-driven approaches to elucidating the proximal underlying causes of defective brain connectivity in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Intranasal Polymeric and Lipid-Based Nanocarriers for CNS Drug Delivery

Nanomedicine is currently focused on the design and development of nanocarriers that enhance drug delivery to the brain to address unmet clinical needs for treating neuropsychiatric disorders and neurological diseases. Polymer and lipid-based drug carriers are advantageous for delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) due to their safety profiles, drug-loading capacity, and controlled-release properties. Polymer and lipid-based nanoparticles (NPs) are reported to penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and have been extensively assessed in in vitro and animal models of glioblastoma, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative disease. Since approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of intranasal esketamine for treatment of major depressive disorder, intranasal administration has emerged as an attractive route to bypass the BBB for drug delivery to the CNS. NPs can be specifically designed for intranasal administration by tailoring their size and coating with mucoadhesive agents or other moieties that promote transport across the nasal mucosa. In this review, unique characteristics of polymeric and lipid-based nanocarriers desirable for drug delivery to the brain are explored in addition to their potential for drug repurposing for the treatment of CNS disorders. Progress in intranasal drug delivery using polymeric and lipid-based nanostructures for the development of treatments of various neurological diseases are also described.