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He Q, Li R, Zhong N, Ma J, Nie F, Zhang R. The role and molecular mechanisms of the early growth response 3 gene in schizophrenia. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2024; 195:e32969. [PMID: 38327141 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating mental illness caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors play a major role in schizophrenia development. Early growth response 3 (EGR3) is a member of the EGR family, which is associated with schizophrenia. Accumulating studies have investigated the relationship between EGR3 and schizophrenia. However, the role of EGR3 in schizophrenia pathogenesis remains unclear. In the present review, we focus on the progress of research related to the role of EGR3 in schizophrenia, including association studies between EGR3 and schizophrenia, abnormal gene expressional analysis of EGR3 in schizophrenia, biological function studies of EGR3 in schizophrenia, the molecular regulatory mechanism of EGR3 and schizophrenia susceptibility candidate genes, and possible role of EGR3 in the immune system function in schizophrenia. In summary, EGR3 is a schizophrenia risk candidate factor and has comprehensive regulatory roles in schizophrenia pathogenesis. Further studies investigating the molecular mechanisms of EGR3 in schizophrenia are warranted for understanding the pathophysiology of this disorder as well as the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment and control of this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi He
- School of Basic Medicine, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine, Shannxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ruochun Li
- Department of Medical Technology, Guiyang Healthcare Vocational University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
| | - Nannan Zhong
- Department of Medical Technology, Guiyang Healthcare Vocational University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
| | - Jie Ma
- Department of Electron Microscope, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Fayi Nie
- School of Basic Medicine, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine, Shannxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Medical Technology, Guiyang Healthcare Vocational University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
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Gao W, Li G, Han X, Song Z, Zhao S, Sun F, Ma H, Cui A, Wang Y, Liu X, Chen Y, Zhang L, Ma G, Tang X. Regional brain network and behavioral alterations in EGR3 gene transfected rat model of schizophrenia. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 15:2606-2615. [PMID: 33723811 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-021-00462-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disease while its etiology and effective treatment are not completely clear. A rat model of schizophrenia was previously established by transfecting EGR3 gene into the hippocampus of rats. This study aimed to investigate the behavioral and cerebral alterations of the schizophrenic model rats and the risperidone effects. Twenty-six rats were divided into 3 groups: schizophrenia model group (E group), risperidone treatment group (T group), and healthy control group (H group). Morris water maze and open field test were used as behavioral tests, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed after EGR3 gene transfection and risperidone therapy. Graph analyses were used for examining cerebral alterations of the rats. Behavioral tests demonstrated reduced spatial working memory and exploring unfamiliar space ability in schizophrenic model rats. Graph analyses revealed reduced regional architectures in the olfactory bulb, nucleus accumbens, and pineal gland in group E compared to group H (p < 0.05), while group T showed increased regional architecture in pineal gland compared to group E (p < 0.05). Besides, the regional architectures in the olfactory bulb, nucleus accumbens were lower in group T than group H, while the hippocampus showed increased regional architecture in group T compared to group H (p < 0.05). Schizophrenia induced several regional alterations in the cerebrum while risperidone can reverse part of these alterations. This study lends support for future research on the pathology of schizophrenia and provides new insights on the role of risperidone in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Gao
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Guangfei Li
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Xiaowei Han
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China.,Graduate School of Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100006, China
| | - Zeyu Song
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Shuai Zhao
- Changzhi Medical College, Shanxi, 046000, China
| | - Feiyi Sun
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Hong Ma
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Ailing Cui
- Anatomy Department of Changzhi Medical College, Shanxi, 046000, China
| | - Yige Wang
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Xiuxiu Liu
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Department of Science and Education, Shangluo Central Hospital, Shangluo, 726000, China
| | - Guolin Ma
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, No.2 Yinghuayuan East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China.
| | - Xiaoying Tang
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No.5 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China.
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Li G, Han X, Gao W, Song Z, Zhao S, Sun F, Ma H, Cui A, Tang X, Ma G. Influence of EGR3 Transfection on Imaging and Behavior in Rats and Therapeutic Effect of Risperidone in Schizophrenia Model. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:00787. [PMID: 33192626 PMCID: PMC7542223 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a type of neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder. However, to date, scientists have not discovered the etiology and effective treatment of this condition. We injected the early growth response gene (EGR3) into the bilateral hippocampus to build a schizophrenia rat model. Behavioral phenotyping and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) were used to analyze the behavioral and cerebral alterations in the schizophrenia rat model. The efficacy of risperidone therapy was also evaluated. We divided 34 rats into four groups: schizophrenia model group (E group), sham-operation group (FE group), healthy control group (H group), and risperidone therapy group (T group). Open field test and Morris water maze were conducted as behavioral experiments. Next, we performed rs-fMRI after four weeks of EGR3 transfection and risperidone treatment and analyzed imaging data using regional homogeneity (ReHo), the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and functional connectivity (FC). We examined the difference in behavioral and neural activation among the four groups and considered the correlations between behavior and imaging results. EGR3 gene transfection decreased the total moved distance in the open field test and the duration in the Q5 zone of the Morris water maze. Risperidone treatment reversed the trend and improved the performance of rats in these behavioral tests. Schizophrenia induced several neural alterations in ALFF and ReHo metrics of the rat brain, and risperidone could partly reverse these alterations. The results suggest that similar research is required for schizophrenia and that risperidone may be a novel treatment for dysregulated neural activation in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangfei Li
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaowei Han
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China.,Graduate School, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Wenwen Gao
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zeyu Song
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Shuai Zhao
- Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, China
| | - Feiyi Sun
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Ma
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ailing Cui
- Anatomy Department, Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, China
| | - Xiaoying Tang
- School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Guolin Ma
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
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Ma E, Song T, Zhang H, Lu J, Wang L, Zhao Q, Guo R, Li M, Ma G, Lu G, Li K. The reduction of volume and fiber bundle connections in the hippocampus of EGR3 transgenic schizophrenia rats. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2015; 11:1625-38. [PMID: 26170675 PMCID: PMC4494618 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s81440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE There is a growing consensus that schizophrenia is ultimately caused by abnormal communication between spatially disparate brain structures. White matter fasciculi represent the primary infrastructure for long distance communication in the brain. In this study, we aimed to investigate the white matter connection in schizophrenia susceptible brain regions of early growth response factor 3 (EGR3) expressing rats. METHODS A rat model of schizophrenia was created by the transfection of the EGR3 gene into rat hippocampus. All animals were placed in a fixation system using a commercial rat-dedicated coil. Schizophrenia susceptible brain regions were scanned using in vivo diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. The volume, quantity, average length of fiber bundles, fractional anisotropy, apparent diffusion coefficient, the relative heterosexual fraction, and volume ratio were collected in the whole brain and schizophrenia related brain areas (the hippocampus, thalamus, and prefrontal lobe). MedINRIA software was used for data processing of diffusion tensor and fiber bundles tracking. The fibronectin in relevant brain regions was also analyzed. RESULTS There was a significant decrease in the volume of the fiber beam through the left hippocampus dentate in the schizophrenia model group in comparison to the control group and the risperidone treatment group (P<0.05). A significant reduction in the volume and number of the fiber bundles was also observed in left prefrontal-left hippocampus, left hippocampus-left thalamus, left prefrontal-left hippocampus-left thalamus areas in the model group (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION The volume of hippocampus and the number of fiber bundles were reduced in EGR3 transgenic schizophrenia rats, and are the most sensitive indicators in schizophrenia. The diffusion tensor imaging technique plays an important role in the evaluation of patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ensen Ma
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China ; Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianbin Song
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Shunyi Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Radiology, First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Xicheng, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Liwen Wang
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qichao Zhao
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Runcai Guo
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Miao Li
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guolin Ma
- Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangming Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Kefeng Li
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA ; Tianjin SunnyPeak Biotech Co., Ltd, Tianjin, People's Republic of China
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