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Chen S, Huang L, Liu G, Kang J, Qian Q, Wang J, Wang R, Zheng L, Wang H, Ou P. Acupuncture Ameliorated Behavioral Abnormalities in the Autism Rat Model via Pathways for Hippocampal Serotonin. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2023; 19:951-972. [PMID: 37096024 PMCID: PMC10122481 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s398321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Acupuncture can improve symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the potential mechanisms remain undefined. So, we aimed to explore the behavioral improvement of autism rat model after acupuncture and to describe the potential molecular mechanism underlying these changes. Patients and Methods Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with VPA 12.5 days after conception, and their offspring were considered as good models of autism. Experimental rats were divided into three groups (wild-type (WT), n = 10; VPA, n = 10; and VPA_acupuncture, n = 10). VPA_acupuncture group rat received 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment (Shéntíng (GV24), and Bilateral Běnshén (GB13)) on the 23rd day after birth. All rats were subjected to behavioral tests, including social interaction, open field, and Morris water maze tests. Afterwards, hippocampal tissues (left side) were removed and subjected to RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis; ELISA was also used to detect the associated serotonin levels in the hippocampus. Results Behavioral tests showed that acupuncture treatment improved spontaneous activity, aberrant social interaction, and alleviated impaired learning and memory in the VPA-induced rat model. Differentially expressed genes (DGEs) analysis showed 142 significantly differentially expressed genes between WT and VPA groups, and 282 between VPA and VPA_acupuncture rats. Htr2c and Htr1a, 5-HT receptor genes, were up-regulated in the VPA group compared with WT group. Additionally, Tph1, a rate-limiting enzyme gene of 5-HT synthesis, was up-regulated after acupuncture. These genes were confirmed to have the same trend of expression obtained by RT-qPCR and RNA seq. Furthermore, the concentration of serotonin in the hippocampus in the VPA group was significantly lower than the WT and VPA_acupuncture groups. Conclusion Acupuncture improved abnormal behavioral symptoms in the VPA-induced rat model. Further experiments showed that the improvement of the serotonin system may be one of the main regulatory mechanisms of acupuncture for treating ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijie Chen
- College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350108, People’s Republic of China
| | - Longsheng Huang
- Child Health Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350001, People’s Republic of China
| | - Guihua Liu
- Child Health Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350001, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jie Kang
- Department of TCM Syndrome Research Base, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350122, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qinfang Qian
- Child Health Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350001, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jingrong Wang
- Child Health Center, Fujian Branch of Shanghai Children’s Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350011, People’s Republic of China
| | - Rong Wang
- College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350108, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lizhen Zheng
- College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350108, People’s Republic of China
| | - Haijun Wang
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100089, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ping Ou
- Child Health Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350001, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Ping Ou, Child Health Center, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350001, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13905916211, Email
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Nees F, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Desrivières S, Grigis A, Garavan H, Gowland P, Grimmer Y, Heinz A, Brühl R, Isensee C, Becker A, Martinot JL, Paillère Martinot ML, Artiges E, Papadopoulos Orfanos D, Lemaître H, Stringaris A, van Noort B, Paus T, Penttilä J, Millenet S, Fröhner JH, Smolka MN, Walter H, Whelan R, Schumann G, Poustka L. Global and Regional Structural Differences and Prediction of Autistic Traits during Adolescence. Brain Sci 2022; 12:1187. [PMID: 36138923 PMCID: PMC9496772 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12091187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autistic traits are commonly viewed as dimensional in nature, and as continuously distributed in the general population. In this respect, the identification of predictive values of markers such as subtle autism-related alterations in brain morphology for parameter values of autistic traits could increase our understanding of this dimensional occasion. However, currently, very little is known about how these traits correspond to alterations in brain morphology in typically developing individuals, particularly during a time period where changes due to brain development processes do not provide a bias. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed brain volume, cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) in a cohort of 14-15-year-old adolescents (N = 285, female: N = 162) and tested their predictive value for autistic traits, assessed with the social responsiveness scale (SRS) two years later at the age of 16-17 years, using a regression-based approach. We found that autistic traits were significantly predicted by volumetric changes in the amygdala (r = 0.181), cerebellum (r = 0.128) and hippocampus (r = -0.181, r = -0.203), both in boys and girls. Moreover, the CT of the superior frontal region was negatively correlated (r = -0.144) with SRS scores. Furthermore, we observed a significant association between the SRS total score and smaller left putamen volume, specifically in boys (r = -0.217), but not in girls. Our findings suggest that neural correlates of autistic traits also seem to lie on a continuum in the general population, are determined by limbic-striatal neuroanatomical brain areas, and are partly dependent on sex. As we imaged adolescents from a large population-based cohort within a small age range, these data may help to increase the understanding of autistic-like occasions in otherwise typically developing individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frauke Nees
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Arun L. W. Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Centre for Population Neuroscience and Precision Medicine (PONS), SGDP Centre, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Penny Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2QL, UK
| | - Yvonne Grimmer
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM and Berlin Institute of Health, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Brühl
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Corinna Isensee
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Becker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP Sorbonne Université, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Psychiatry Department, EPS Barthélémy Durand, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91150 Etampes, France
| | | | - Hervé Lemaître
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, CNRS, CEA, Université de Bordeaux, 33076 Bordeaux, France
| | - Argyris Stringaris
- National Institute of Mental Health/NIH, 15K North Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Betteke van Noort
- MSB Medical School Berlin, Hochschule für Gesundheit und Medizin, Siemens Villa, 14197 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Departments of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 2S8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 2S8, Canada
| | - Jani Penttilä
- CanadaDepartment of Social and Health Care, Psychosocial Services Adolescent Outpatient Clinic Kauppakatu 14, 15140 Lahti, Finland
| | - Sabina Millenet
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Juliane H. Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry, Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N. Smolka
- School of Psychology, Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology, Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- PONS Research Group, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charite Mitte, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
- Institute for Science and Technology of Brain-inspired Intelligence (ISTBI), Fudan University, Shanghai 200437, China
| | - Luise Poustka
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U A10 “Trajectoires Développementales en Psychiatrie”, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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