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Bar E, Fischer I, Rokach M, Elad-Sfadia G, Shirenova S, Ophir O, Trangle SS, Okun E, Barak B. Neuronal deletion of Gtf2i results in developmental microglial alterations in a mouse model related to Williams syndrome. Glia 2024; 72:1117-1135. [PMID: 38450767 DOI: 10.1002/glia.24519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a heterozygous microdeletion, characterized by hypersociability and unique neurocognitive abnormalities. Of the deleted genes, GTF2I has been linked to hypersociability in WS. We have recently shown that Gtf2i deletion from forebrain excitatory neurons, referred to as Gtf2i conditional knockout (cKO) mice leads to multi-faceted myelination deficits associated with the social behaviors affected in WS. These deficits were potentially mediated also by microglia, as they present a close relationship with oligodendrocytes. To study the impact of altered myelination, we characterized these mice in terms of microglia over the course of development. In postnatal day 30 (P30) Gtf2i cKO mice, cortical microglia displayed a more ramified state, as compared with wild type (controls). However, postnatal day 4 (P4) microglia exhibited high proliferation rates and an elevated activation state, demonstrating altered properties related to activation and inflammation in Gtf2i cKO mice compared with control. Intriguingly, P4 Gtf2i cKO-derived microglial cells exhibited significantly elevated myelin phagocytosis in vitro compared to control mice. Lastly, systemic injection of clemastine to P4 Gtf2i cKO and control mice until P30, led to a significant interaction between genotypes and treatments on the expression levels of the phagocytic marker CD68, and a significant reduction of the macrophage/microglial marker Iba1 transcript levels in the cortex of the Gtf2i cKO treated mice. Our data thus implicate microglia as important players in WS, and that early postnatal manipulation of microglia might be beneficial in treating inflammatory and myelin-related pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ela Bar
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Inbar Fischer
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - May Rokach
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Galit Elad-Sfadia
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sophie Shirenova
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- The Paul Feder Laboratory on Alzheimer's Disease Research, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Omer Ophir
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sari Schokoroy Trangle
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Eitan Okun
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- The Paul Feder Laboratory on Alzheimer's Disease Research, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Boaz Barak
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Wilder L, Semendeferi K. Infant Brain Development and Plasticity from an Evolutionary Perspective. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-76000-7_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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Doletskii A, Sentyabrev N, Gorbaneva E, Achundova R, Klitochenko G. The effects of essential oils and music on the bioelectrical activity in brain. CARDIOMETRY 2021. [DOI: 10.18137/cardiometry.2021.19.100105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied the effect of essential oils and music fragments, as wellas their various combinations on the brain’s electrical activity parameters.We showed the character of their impact on the basicEEG frequency bands, identified localization of sources for specificactivity. It was found that the olfactory and musical influenceof different modalities have unidirectional effect on the bioelectricactivity indices. This EEG response is most likely associated with acommon mechanism for implementing the effects of audio andodorant stimulants. It was found that the response to the combinationsof sensory effects has different intensity. These data permit thesensory effects to be ranked in terms of their activation level, whichmakes it possible to purposefully influence the psycho-emotionalstates. Our findings are the basis for developing further methodsand programs of modifying the athletes’ functional states.
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Ortiz-Romero P, González-Simón A, Egea G, Pérez-Jurado LA, Campuzano V. Co-Treatment With Verapamil and Curcumin Attenuates the Behavioral Alterations Observed in Williams-Beuren Syndrome Mice by Regulation of MAPK Pathway and Microglia Overexpression. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:670785. [PMID: 34413771 PMCID: PMC8369570 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.670785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive cognitive phenotype for which there are currently no effective treatments. We investigated the progression of behavioral deficits present in WBS complete deletion (CD) mice, after chronic treatment with curcumin, verapamil, and a combination of both. These compounds have been proven to have beneficial effects over different cognitive aspects of various murine models and, thus, may have neuroprotective effects in WBS. Treatment was administered orally dissolved in drinking water. A set of behavioral tests demonstrated the efficiency of combinatorial treatment. Some histological and molecular analyses were performed to analyze the effects of treatment and its underlying mechanism. CD mice showed an increased density of activated microglia in the motor cortex and CA1 hippocampal region, which was prevented by co-treatment. Behavioral improvement correlated with the molecular recovery of several affected pathways regarding MAPK signaling, in tight relation to the control of synaptic transmission, and inflammation. Therefore, the results show that co-treatment prevented behavioral deficits by recovering altered gene expression in the cortex of CD mice and reducing activated microglia. These findings unravel the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of this novel treatment on behavioral deficits observed in CD mice and suggest that the combination of curcumin and verapamil could be a potential candidate to treat the cognitive impairments in WBS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Ortiz-Romero
- Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandro González-Simón
- Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gustavo Egea
- Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer, IDIBAPS-UB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luis A Pérez-Jurado
- Unitat de Genètica, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain.,Servei de Genètica, Hospital del Mar, Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Victoria Campuzano
- Departament de Biomedicina, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain
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Genes dysregulated in the blood of people with Williams syndrome are enriched in protein-coding genes positively selected in humans. Eur J Med Genet 2020; 63:103828. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmg.2019.103828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 11/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Decreased density of cholinergic interneurons in striatal territories in Williams syndrome. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1019-1032. [PMID: 32189114 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02055-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the hemideletion of approximately 25-28 genes at 7q11.23. Its unusual social and cognitive phenotype is most strikingly characterized by the disinhibition of social behavior, in addition to reduced global IQ, with a relative sparing of language ability. Hypersociality and increased social approach behavior in WS may represent a unique inability to inhibit responses to specific social stimuli, which is likely associated with abnormalities of frontostriatal circuitry. The striatum is characterized by a diversity of interneuron subtypes, including inhibitory parvalbumin-positive interneurons (PV+) and excitatory cholinergic interneurons (Ch+). Animal model research has identified an important role for these specialized cells in regulating social approach behavior. Previous research in humans identified a depletion of interneuron subtypes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we examined the density of PV+ and Ch+ interneurons in the striatum of 13 WS and neurotypical (NT) subjects. We found a significant reduction in the density of Ch+ interneurons in the medial caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens, important regions receiving cortical afferents from the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and circuitry involved in language and reward systems. No significant difference in the distribution of PV+ interneurons was found. The pattern of decreased Ch+ interneuron densities in WS differs from patterns of interneuron depletion found in other disorders.
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Hrvoj-Mihic B, Semendeferi K. Neurodevelopmental disorders of the prefrontal cortex in an evolutionary context. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 250:109-127. [PMID: 31703898 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex consists of several cytoarchitectonically defined areas that are involved in higher-order cognitive and emotional processing. The areas are highly variable in terms of organization of cortical layers and distribution of specific neuronal classes, and are affected in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Here the focus is on microstructural anatomical characteristics of human prefrontal cortex in an evolutionary context with special emphasis on Williams syndrome. We include a pilot analysis of distribution of neurons labeled with an antibody to non-phosphorylated neurofilament protein (SMI-32) in the frontal pole of Williams syndrome to further examine microstructural characteristics of the prefrontal cortex in Williams syndrome and implications of the distribution of SMI-32 immunoreactive neurons for connectivity between the frontal pole and other cortical areas in the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Branka Hrvoj-Mihic
- University of California San Diego, Department of Anthropology, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Katerina Semendeferi
- University of California San Diego, Department of Anthropology, La Jolla, CA, United States; University of California San Diego, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, La Jolla, CA, United States.
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Martínez-González AE, Veas A. Identification of emotions and physiological response in individuals with moderate intellectual disability. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 67:397-402. [PMID: 34925769 PMCID: PMC8676681 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2019.1651142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
According to Ekman's model, the basic emotions are anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. These emotions are universal and have an adaptative function. However, studies on these emotions among individuals with moderate intellectual disability (MID) are limited, mainly owing to issues in sample size and sample homogeneity. The present study aimed to explore differences between a MID group (n = 10) and a non-MID control group (n = 10) in 1) the identification of basic emotions; and 2) the physiological response with images related to fear, happiness, sadness, anger, and disgust, as well as images with neutral and sexual content. A total of 29 images from The International Affective Picture System and a biofeedback measurement system were used. The results showed no statistically significant differences in the identification of the basic emotions of fear, sadness, and disgust. However, statistically significant differences were found for happiness (p = .008), anger (p = .02), and neutral images (p = .02), and minor statistically significant differences were found for images with sexual content (p < .01) in MID individuals with respect to the control group. The MID group's physiological response was lower compared with the control group, with statistically significant differences for all emotional visual stimuli. This preliminary study showed important and interesting results for the study of emotions and sexuality in MID. Future studies should consider the sample size, sex and age comparisons, and the different levels of intellectual disability.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alejandro Veas
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactics, University of Alicante, Spain
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Bar E, Barak B. Microglia roles in synaptic plasticity and myelination in homeostatic conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders. Glia 2019; 67:2125-2141. [DOI: 10.1002/glia.23637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ela Bar
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, and The Sagol School of NeuroscienceTel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
- The School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Faculty of Life SciencesTel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
| | - Boaz Barak
- The School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, and The Sagol School of NeuroscienceTel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
- The Sagol School of NeuroscienceTel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel
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