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Hsu H, Zanettini C, Coker M, Boudova S, Rach D, Mvula G, Divala TH, Mungwira RG, Boldrin F, Degiacomi G, Mazzabò LC, Manganelli R, Laufer MK, Zhang Y, Marchionni L, Cairo C. Concomitant assessment of PD-1 and CD56 expression identifies subsets of resting cord blood Vδ2 T cells with disparate cytotoxic potential. Cell Immunol 2024; 395-396:104797. [PMID: 38157646 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2023.104797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes are programmed for broad antimicrobial responses with rapid production of Th1 cytokines even before birth, and thus thought to play key roles against pathogens in infants. The process regulating Vδ2 cell acquisition of cytotoxic potential shortly after birth remains understudied. We observed that perforin production in cord blood Vδ2 cells correlates with phenotypes defined by the concomitant assessment of PD-1 and CD56. Bulk RNA sequencing of sorted Vδ2 cell fractions indicated that transcripts related to cytotoxic activity and NK function are enriched in the subset with the highest proportion of perforin+ cells. Among differentially expressed transcripts, IRF8, previously linked to CD8 T cell effector differentiation and NK maturation, has the potential to mediate Vδ2 cell differentiation towards cytotoxic effectors. Our current and past results support the hypothesis that distinct mechanisms regulate Vδ2 cell cytotoxic function before and after birth, possibly linked to different levels of microbial exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoting Hsu
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Modupe Coker
- Department of Oral Biology, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, Rutgers State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Sarah Boudova
- Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - David Rach
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Godfrey Mvula
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Titus H Divala
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Randy G Mungwira
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Francesca Boldrin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giulia Degiacomi
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | | | - Miriam K Laufer
- Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yuji Zhang
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Cristiana Cairo
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
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Omar M, Nuzzo PV, Ravera F, Bleve S, Fanelli GN, Zanettini C, Valencia I, Marchionni L. Notch-based gene signature for predicting the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer. J Transl Med 2023; 21:811. [PMID: 37964363 PMCID: PMC10647131 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04713-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is generally accepted, not all patients derive benefit from this preoperative treatment. Presently, there are no validated biomarkers to predict the NACT response, and previous attempts to develop predictive classifiers based on gene expression data have not demonstrated clinical utility. However, predictive models incorporating biological constraints have shown increased robustness and improved performance compared to agnostic classifiers. METHODS We used the preoperative transcriptomic profiles from 298 patients with TNBC to train and test a rank-based classifier, k-top scoring pairs, to predict whether the patient will have pathological complete response (pCR) or residual disease (RD) following NACT. To reduce overfitting and enhance the signature's interpretability, we constrained the training process to genes involved in the Notch signaling pathway. Subsequently, we evaluated the signature performance on two independent cohorts with 75 and 71 patients. Finally, we assessed the prognostic value of the signature by examining its association with relapse-free survival (RFS) using Kaplan‒Meier (KM) survival estimates and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS The final signature consists of five gene pairs, whose relative ordering can be predictive of the NACT response. The signature has a robust performance at predicting pCR in TNBC patients with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.76 and 0.85 in the first and second testing cohorts, respectively, outperforming other gene signatures developed for the same purpose. Additionally, the signature was significantly associated with RFS in an independent TNBC patient cohort even after adjusting for T stage, patient age at the time of diagnosis, type of breast surgery, and menopausal status. CONCLUSION We introduce a robust gene signature to predict pathological complete response (pCR) in patients with TNBC. This signature applies easily interpretable, rank-based decision rules to genes regulated by the Notch signaling pathway, a known determinant in breast cancer chemoresistance. The robust predictive and prognostic performance of the signature make it a strong candidate for clinical implementation, aiding in the stratification of TNBC patients undergoing NACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Pier Vitale Nuzzo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Francesco Ravera
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Sara Bleve
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) "Dino Amadori", Meldola, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Nicolò Fanelli
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- First Division of Pathology, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Itzel Valencia
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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Beg S, Zanettini C, Queiroz L, Marchionni L, Alperstein SA, Siddiqui MT. Optimal fluid volume for detecting malignancy in serous effusions: a single institution experience. J Am Soc Cytopathol 2023; 12:415-422. [PMID: 37419704 DOI: 10.1016/j.jasc.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Detection of malignant cells in serous fluids is an indicator of advanced stage of malignancy and is critical in clinical management decisions and prompt treatment initiation. The minimum volume which is ideal for detecting malignancy in serous fluid is not well established. In this study, we aim to identify optimal volume that will be ideal for adequate cytopathological diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 1597 samples of serous fluids from 1134 patients were included in the study. Samples were diagnosed based on International System for Reporting Serous Fluid Cytopathology (ISRSFC). Clinicopathologic results from different diagnostic groups were compared and statistically analyzed. RESULTS Pleural fluids comprised 890 (55.7%) specimens, followed by 456 (28.6%) peritoneal, 128 (8%) ascites, and 123 (7.7%) pericardial fluid specimens. The majority were negative for malignancy (1138, 71.3%), followed by malignant (376, 23.5%), atypical (59, 3.7%), and suspicious for malignancy (24, 1.5%). Malignancy was identified in sample with volumes from 5 mL to 5000 mL. Rate of detection of malignant cells increased significantly with higher sample volumes. For malignancy detection the optimal volume for overall serous fluid is 70 mL. Pericardial fluid is an exception, with lower mean volume and significantly lower proportion of cases with malignant diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that higher fluid volumes have a higher rate of malignancy detection and a low false-negative rate. We recommend a minimum of 70 mL of serous fluid for optimal cytopathologic examination and malignancy detection. Pericardial fluid is an exception, with lower mean volume and thus lower requirement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaham Beg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Lucio Queiroz
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York; Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Susan A Alperstein
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Momin T Siddiqui
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York.
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4
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Zawidzka EM, Biavati L, Thomas A, Zanettini C, Marchionni L, Leone R, Borrello I. Tumor-Specific CD8 + T Cells from the Bone Marrow Resist Exhaustion and Exhibit Increased Persistence in Tumor-Bearing Hosts as Compared to Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes. bioRxiv 2023:2023.08.28.555119. [PMID: 37693379 PMCID: PMC10491133 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.28.555119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy is now an integral aspect of cancer therapy. Strategies employing adoptive cell therapy (ACT) have seen the establishment of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells using peripheral blood lymphocytes as well as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with significant clinical results. Despite these successes, the limitations of the current strategies are also emerging and novel approaches are needed. The bone marrow (BM) is an immunological niche that houses T cells with specificity for previously encountered antigens, including tumor-associated antigens from certain solid cancers. This study sought to improve our understanding of tumor-specific BM T cells in the context of solid tumors by comparing them with TILs, and to assess whether there is a rationale for using the BM as a source of T cells for ACT against solid malignancies. Herein, we demonstrate that T cells from the BM appear superior to TILs as a source of cells for cellular therapy. Specifically, they possess a memory-enriched phenotype and exhibit improved effector function, greater persistence within a tumor-bearing host, and the capacity for increased tumor infiltration. Taken together, these data provide a foundation for further exploring the BM as a source of tumor-specific T cells for ACT in solid malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M. Zawidzka
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
| | - Luca Biavati
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
| | - Amy Thomas
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
| | | | | | - Robert Leone
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
| | - Ivan Borrello
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
- Current Address: Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute
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5
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Omar M, Dinalankara W, Mulder L, Coady T, Zanettini C, Imada EL, Younes L, Geman D, Marchionni L. Using biological constraints to improve prediction in precision oncology. iScience 2023; 26:106108. [PMID: 36852282 PMCID: PMC9958363 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Many gene signatures have been developed by applying machine learning (ML) on omics profiles, however, their clinical utility is often hindered by limited interpretability and unstable performance. Here, we show the importance of embedding prior biological knowledge in the decision rules yielded by ML approaches to build robust classifiers. We tested this by applying different ML algorithms on gene expression data to predict three difficult cancer phenotypes: bladder cancer progression to muscle-invasive disease, response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer, and prostate cancer metastatic progression. We developed two sets of classifiers: mechanistic, by restricting the training to features capturing specific biological mechanisms; and agnostic, in which the training did not use any a priori biological information. Mechanistic models had a similar or better testing performance than their agnostic counterparts, with enhanced interpretability. Our findings support the use of biological constraints to develop robust gene signatures with high translational potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Wikum Dinalankara
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Lotte Mulder
- Technical University Delft, 2628 CD Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Tendai Coady
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Eddie Luidy Imada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Laurent Younes
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Donald Geman
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Jang JY, Hwang I, Pan H, Yao J, Alinari L, Imada E, Zanettini C, Kluk MJ, Wang Y, Lee Y, Lin HV, Huang X, Di Liberto M, Chen Z, Ballman KV, Cantley LC, Marchionni L, Inghirami G, Elemento O, Baiocchi RA, Chen-Kiang S, Belvedere S, Zheng H, Paik J. A FOXO1-dependent transcription network is a targetable vulnerability of mantle cell lymphomas. J Clin Invest 2022; 132:160767. [PMID: 36282572 PMCID: PMC9753996 DOI: 10.1172/jci160767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeting lineage-defined transcriptional dependencies has emerged as an effective therapeutic strategy in cancer treatment. Through screening for molecular vulnerabilities of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), we identified a set of transcription factors (TFs) including FOXO1, EBF1, PAX5, and IRF4 that are essential for MCL propagation. Integrated chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-Seq) with transcriptional network reconstruction analysis revealed FOXO1 as a master regulator that acts upstream in the regulatory TF hierarchy. FOXO1 is both necessary and sufficient to drive MCL lineage commitment through supporting the lineage-specific transcription programs. We further show that FOXO1, but not its close paralog FOXO3, can reprogram myeloid leukemia cells and induce B-lineage gene expression. Finally, we demonstrate that cpd10, a small molecule identified from an enriched FOXO1 inhibitor library, induces a robust cytotoxic response in MCL cells in vitro and suppresses MCL progression in vivo. Our findings establish FOXO1 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy targeting lineage-driven transcriptional addiction in MCL.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Inah Hwang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and
| | - Heng Pan
- Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jun Yao
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Lapo Alinari
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Eddie Imada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and
| | | | - Michael J. Kluk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Yizhe Wang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and
| | - Yunkyoung Lee
- Forkhead BioTherapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA
| | - Hua V. Lin
- Forkhead BioTherapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Maurizio Di Liberto
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Zhengming Chen
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.,Division of Biostatistics, Department of Population Health Sciences, and
| | - Karla V. Ballman
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.,Division of Biostatistics, Department of Population Health Sciences, and
| | - Lewis C. Cantley
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Giorgio Inghirami
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Olivier Elemento
- Caryl and Israel Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Robert A. Baiocchi
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Selina Chen-Kiang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Hongwu Zheng
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and
| | - Jihye Paik
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and,Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York, USA
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7
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Marchionni L, Lobo FP, Kostadinov R, Serra A, Besso FG, Deaglio S, Stratta P, Berrino M, Zanettini C, Imada EL, Omar MN, Gaidano G, Bruno B, Saglio G, Amoroso A. Donor-derived acute myeloid leukemia in solid organ transplantation. Am J Transplant 2022; 22:3111-3119. [PMID: 35979657 PMCID: PMC9897593 DOI: 10.1111/ajt.17174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
We report the transmission of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) undetected at donation from a deceased organ donor to two kidneys and one liver recipients. We reviewed the medical records, and performed molecular analyses and whole exome sequencing (WES) to ascertain AML donor origin and its molecular evolution. The liver recipient was diagnosed 11 months after transplantation and died from complications 2 months later. The two kidney recipients (R1 and R2) were diagnosed 19 and 20 months after transplantation and both received treatment for leukemia. R1 died of complications 11 months after diagnosis, while R2 went into complete remission for 44 months, before relapsing. R2 died 10 months later of complications from allogenic bone marrow transplantation. Microsatellite analysis demonstrated donor chimerism in circulating cells from both kidney recipients. Targeted molecular analyses and medical records revealed NPM1 mutation present in the donor and recipients, while FLT3 was mutated only in R1. These findings were confirmed by WES, which revealed additional founder and clonal mutations, and HLA genomic loss in R2. In conclusion, we report the first in-depth genomic analysis of AML transmission following solid organ transplantation, revealing distinct clonal evolution, and providing a potential molecular explanation for tumor escape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Francisco Pereira Lobo
- Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Rumen Kostadinov
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Anna Serra
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Federico Genzano Besso
- Immunogenetics and Transplant Biology Service, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy
| | - Silvia Deaglio
- Immunogenetics and Transplant Biology Service, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Piero Stratta
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy
| | - Monica Berrino
- Immunogenetics and Transplant Biology Service, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eddie Luidy Imada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mohamed N. Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gianluca Gaidano
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy
| | - Benedetto Bruno
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Saglio
- Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Antonio Amoroso
- Immunogenetics and Transplant Biology Service, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
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8
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Velu P, Cong L, Rand S, Qiu Y, Zhang Z, Zhang J, Guo J, Ruggiero P, Sukhu A, Fauntleroy K, Imada E, Zanettini C, Brundage D, Westblade L, Marchionni L, Cushing M, Rennert H. Rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by single nucleotide polymorphism genotpying using TaqMan assays. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2022; 104:115789. [PMID: 36122486 PMCID: PMC9392658 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2022.115789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We evaluated the performance of SARS-CoV-2 TaqMan real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assays (ThermoFisher) for detecting 2 nonsynonymous spike protein mutations, E484K and N501Y. Assay accuracy was evaluated by whole genome sequencing (WGS). Residual nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 positive samples (N = 510) from a diverse patient population in New York City submitted for routine SARS-CoV-2 testing during January-April 2020 were used. We detected 91 (18%) N501Y and 101 (20%) E484K variants. Four samples (0.8%) were positive for both variants. The assay had nearly perfect concordance with WGS in the validation subset, detecting B.1.1.7 and B.1.526 variants among others. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 0.95 to 1.00. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.98−1.00. TaqMan genotyping successfully predicted the presence of B.1.1.7, but had significantly lower sensitivity, 62% (95% CI, 0.53, 0.71), for predicting B.1.526 sub-lineages lacking E484K. This approach is rapid and accurate for detecting SARS-CoV-2 variants and can be rapidly implemented in routine clinical setting.
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Guerrero‐Preston R, Rivera‐Amill V, Caraballo K, Rodríguez‐Torres S, Purcell‐Wiltz A, García AA, Torres RS, Zamuner FT, Zanettini C, MacKay MJ, Baits R, Salgado D, Khullar G, Metti J, Baker T, Dudley J, Vale K, Pérez G, De Jesús L, Miranda Y, Ortiz D, García‐Negrón A, Viera L, Ortiz A, Canabal JA, Romaguera J, Jiménez‐Velázquez I, Marchionni L, Rodríguez‐Orengo JF, Baez A, Mason CE, Sidransky D. Precision health diagnostic and surveillance network uses
S
gene target failure (SGTF) combined with sequencing technologies to track emerging SARS‐CoV‐2 variants. Immun Inflamm Dis 2022; 10:e634. [PMID: 35634961 PMCID: PMC9092005 DOI: 10.1002/iid3.634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic revealed a worldwide lack of effective molecular surveillance networks at local, state, and national levels, which are essential to identify, monitor, and limit viral community spread. SARS‐CoV‐2 variants of concern (VOCs) such as Alpha and Omicron, which show increased transmissibility and immune evasion, rapidly became dominant VOCs worldwide. Our objective was to develop an evidenced‐based genomic surveillance algorithm, combining reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and sequencing technologies to quickly identify highly contagious VOCs, before cases accumulate exponentially. Methods Deidentified data were obtained from 508,969 patients tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) with the TaqPath COVID‐19 RT‐PCR Combo Kit (ThermoFisher) in four CLIA‐certified clinical laboratories in Puerto Rico (n = 86,639) and in three CLIA‐certified clinical laboratories in the United States (n = 422,330). Results TaqPath data revealed a frequency of S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) > 47% for the last week of March 2021 in both, Puerto Rico and US laboratories. The monthly frequency of SGTF in Puerto Rico steadily increased exponentially from 4% in November 2020 to 47% in March 2021. The weekly SGTF rate in US samples was high (>8%) from late December to early January and then also increased exponentially through April (48%). The exponential increase in SGFT prevalence in Puerto Rico was concurrent with a sharp increase in VOCs among all SARS‐CoV‐2 sequences from Puerto Rico uploaded to Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISAID) (n = 461). Alpha variant frequency increased from <1% in the last week of January 2021 to 51.5% of viral sequences from Puerto Rico collected in the last week of March 2021. Conclusions According to the proposed evidence‐based algorithm, approximately 50% of all SGTF patients should be managed with VOCs self‐quarantine and contact tracing protocols, while WGS confirms their lineage in genomic surveillance laboratories. Our results suggest this workflow is useful for tracking VOCs with SGTF.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vanessa Rivera‐Amill
- Center for Research Resources Ponce Health Sciences University‐Ponce Research Institute Ponce Puerto Rico
| | | | | | - Ana Purcell‐Wiltz
- LifeGene‐Biomarks, Inc San Juan Puerto Rico
- Biology Department University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Puerto Rico
| | - Andrea A. García
- Center for Research Resources Ponce Health Sciences University‐Ponce Research Institute Ponce Puerto Rico
| | - Raphael S. Torres
- Center for Research Resources Ponce Health Sciences University‐Ponce Research Institute Ponce Puerto Rico
| | - Fernando T. Zamuner
- Department of Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine Cornell University New York New York USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Gabriela Pérez
- Neurology Medicine Department Palmetto General Hospital Miami Florida USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Liliana Viera
- Department of Surgery University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine San Juan Puerto Rico
| | - Alberto Ortiz
- Internal Medicine Department University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine San Juan Puerto Rico
| | - Jorge A. Canabal
- Internal Medicine Department University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine San Juan Puerto Rico
| | - Josefina Romaguera
- Obstetrics and Gynecology Department University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine San Juan Puerto Rico
| | | | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
| | | | - Adriana Baez
- Otolaryngology Department University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine San Juan Puerto Rico
| | | | - David Sidransky
- Department of Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
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10
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Zanettini C, Omar M, Dinalankara W, Imada EL, Colantuoni E, Parmigiani G, Marchionni L. covid19census: U.S. and Italy COVID-19 metrics and other epidemiological data. Database (Oxford) 2021; 2021:6276173. [PMID: 33991092 PMCID: PMC8122363 DOI: 10.1093/database/baab027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, there has been a tremendous accumulation of data capturing different statistics including the number of tests, confirmed cases and deaths. This data wealth offers a great opportunity for researchers to model the effect of certain variables on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and to get a better understanding of the disease at the epidemiological level. However, in order to draw any reliable and unbiased estimate, models also need to take into account other variables and metrics available from a plurality of official and unofficial heterogenous resources. In this study, we introduce covid19census, an R package that extracts from many different repositories and combines together COVID-19 metrics and other demographic, environment- and health-related variables of the USA and Italy at the county and regional levels, respectively. The package is equipped with a number of user-friendly functions that dynamically extract the data over different timepoints and contains a detailed description of the included variables. To demonstrate the utility of this tool, we used it to extract and combine different county-level data from the USA, which we subsequently used to model the effect of diabetes on COVID-19 mortality at the county level, taking into account other variables that may influence such effects. In conclusion, it was observed that the ‘covid19census’ package allows to easily extract area-level data from both the USA and Italy using few functions. These comprehensive data can be used to provide reliable estimates of the effect of certain variables on COVID-19 outcomes. Database URL:https://github.com/c1au6i0/covid19census
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Mohamed Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Wikum Dinalankara
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Eddie Luidy Imada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Elizabeth Colantuoni
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Giovanni Parmigiani
- Department of Data Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
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11
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Zanettini C, Omar M, Dinalankara W, Imada EL, Colantuoni E, Parmigiani G, Marchionni L. Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 Mortality in the USA: An Ecological Study. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9050427. [PMID: 33923159 PMCID: PMC8145634 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9050427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 mortality rate is higher in the elderly and in those with pre-existing chronic medical conditions. The elderly also suffer from increased morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza infections; thus, an annual influenza vaccination is recommended for them. In this study, we explore a possible county-level association between influenza vaccination coverage in people aged 65 years and older and the number of deaths from COVID-19. To this end, we used COVID-19 data up to 14 December 2020 and US population health data at the county level. We fit quasi-Poisson regression models using influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population as the independent variable and the COVID-19 mortality rate as the outcome variable. We adjusted for an array of potential confounders using different propensity score regression methods. Results show that, on the county level, influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population is negatively associated with mortality from COVID-19, using different methodologies for confounding adjustment. These findings point to the need for studying the relationship between influenza vaccination and COVID-19 mortality at the individual level to investigate any underlying biological mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; (C.Z.); (M.O.); (W.D.); (E.L.I.)
| | - Mohamed Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; (C.Z.); (M.O.); (W.D.); (E.L.I.)
| | - Wikum Dinalankara
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; (C.Z.); (M.O.); (W.D.); (E.L.I.)
| | - Eddie Luidy Imada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; (C.Z.); (M.O.); (W.D.); (E.L.I.)
| | - Elizabeth Colantuoni
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA;
| | - Giovanni Parmigiani
- Department of Data Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA;
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA; (C.Z.); (M.O.); (W.D.); (E.L.I.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +001-646-962-8767
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12
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Zanettini C, Omar M, Dinalankara W, Imada EL, Colantuoni E, Parmigiani G, Marchionni L. Influenza Vaccination and COVID19 Mortality in the USA. medRxiv 2020:2020.06.24.20129817. [PMID: 32607525 PMCID: PMC7325191 DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.24.20129817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 mortality rate is higher in the elderly and in those with preexisting chronic medical conditions. The elderly also suffer from increased morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza infection, and thus annual influenza vaccination is recommended for them. In this study, we explore a possible area-level association between influenza vaccination coverage in people aged 65 years and older and the number of deaths from COVID-19. To this end, we used COVID-19 data until June 10, 2020 together with population health data for the United States at the county level. We fit quasi-Poisson regression models using influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population as the independent variable and the number of deaths from COVID-19 as the outcome variable. We adjusted for a wide array of potential confounding variables using both county-level generalized propensity scores for influenza vaccination rates, as well as direct adjustment. Our results suggest that influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population is negatively associated with mortality from COVID-19. This finding is robust to using different analysis periods, different thresholds for inclusion of counties, and a variety of methodologies for confounding adjustment. In conclusion, our results suggest a potential protective effect of the influenza vaccine on COVID-19 mortality in the elderly population. The significant public health implications of this possibility point to an urgent need for studying the relationship between influenza vaccination and COVID-19 mortality at the individual level, to investigate both the epidemiology and any underlying biological mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mohamed Omar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wikum Dinalankara
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eddie Luidy Imada
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Giovanni Parmigiani
- Department of Data Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Luigi Marchionni
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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13
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Lee MR, Rohn MC, Zanettini C, Coggiano MA, Leggio L, Tanda G. Effect of systemically administered oxytocin on dose response for methylphenidate self-administration and mesolimbic dopamine levels. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2019; 1455:173-184. [PMID: 31074517 PMCID: PMC10014164 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) alters behaviors related to the administration of drugs of abuse, including stimulants. OT also plays a key role in social bonding, which involves an interaction between OT and dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The nature of the interaction between OT and DA in the striatum in the context of psychostimulants is unclear. We investigated the effect of OT, delivered intraperitoneally, on the methylphenidate (MP) dose-response function for self-administration in rats. Food was used as a control condition. In a microdialysis study, we measured the effect of intraperitoneal OT on MP-stimulated striatal DA levels. Systemic OT pretreatment caused a downward shift in the MP dose-response function for self-administration, while having no effect on motor activity. OT also caused a reduction in food self-administration, although a significantly higher dose of OT was required for this effect compared with that required for a reduction of MP self-administration. Systemic OT pretreatment caused a potentiation of MP-stimulated DA levels in the NAc shell but not in the core. The significance of these findings is discussed, including the potential of OT as a therapeutic agent for addictive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary R. Lee
- Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Intramural Clinical and Basic Research and National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Matthew C.H. Rohn
- Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Intramural Clinical and Basic Research and National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Medications Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Mark A. Coggiano
- Medications Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Lorenzo Leggio
- Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Intramural Clinical and Basic Research and National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
- Medications Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
- Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI
| | - Gianluigi Tanda
- Medications Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD
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14
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Keighron JD, Quarterman JC, Cao J, DeMarco EM, Coggiano MA, Gleaves A, Slack RD, Zanettini C, Newman AH, Tanda G. Effects of ( R)-Modafinil and Modafinil Analogues on Dopamine Dynamics Assessed by Voltammetry and Microdialysis in the Mouse Nucleus Accumbens Shell. ACS Chem Neurosci 2019; 10:2012-2021. [PMID: 30645944 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent discoveries have improved our understanding of the physiological and pathological roles of the dopamine transporter (DAT); however, only a few drugs are clinically available for DAT-implicated disorders. Among those drugs, modafinil (MOD) and its ( R)-enantiomer (R-MOD) have been used off-label as therapies for psychostimulant use disorders, but they have shown limited effectiveness in clinical trials. Recent preclinical studies on MOD and R-MOD have led to chemically modified structures aimed toward improving their neurobiological properties that might lead to more effective therapeutics for stimulant use disorders. This study examines three MOD analogues (JJC8-016, JJC8-088, and JJC8-091) with improved DAT affinities compared to their parent compound. These compounds were investigated for their effects on the neurochemistry (brain microdialysis and FSCV) and behavior (ambulatory activity) of male Swiss-Webster mice. Our data indicate that these compounds have dissimilar effects on tonic and phasic dopamine in the nucleus accumbens shell and variability in producing ambulatory activity. These results suggest that small changes in the chemical structure of a DAT inhibitor can cause compounds such as JJC8-088 to produce effects similar to abused psychostimulants like cocaine. In contrast, other compounds like JJC8-091 do not share cocaine-like effects and have a more atypical DAT-inhibitor profile, which may prove to be an advancement in the treatment of psychostimulant use disorders.
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15
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Zanettini C, Scaglione A, Keighron JD, Giancola JB, Lin SC, Newman AH, Tanda G. Pharmacological classification of centrally acting drugs using EEG in freely moving rats: an old tool to identify new atypical dopamine uptake inhibitors. Neuropharmacology 2018; 161:107446. [PMID: 30481526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.11.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Atypical dopamine uptake inhibitors (DUIs) bind to the dopamine transporter and inhibit the reuptake of dopamine but have lower abuse potential than psychostimulants. Several atypical DUIs can block abuse-related effects of cocaine and methamphetamine, thus making them potential medication candidates for psychostimulant use disorders. The aim of the current study is to establish an in-vivo assay using EEG for the rapid identification of atypical DUIs with potential for medication development. The typical DUIs cocaine and methylphenidate dose-dependently decreased the power of the alpha, beta, and gamma bands. The atypical DUI modafinil and its F-analog, JBG1-049, decreased the power of beta, but in contrast to cocaine, none of the other frequency bands, while JHW007 did not significantly alter the EEG spectrum. The mu-opioid receptor agonists heroin and morphine dose-dependently decreased the power of gamma and increased power of the other bands. The effect of morphine on EEG power bands was antagonized by naltrexone. The NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine increased the power of all frequency bands. Therefore, typical and atypical DUIs and drugs of other classes differentially affected EEG spectra, showing distinctive features in the magnitude and direction of their effects on EEG. Comparative analysis of the effects of test drugs on EEG indicates a potential atypical profile of JBG1-049 with similar potency and effectiveness to its parent compound modafinil. These data suggest that EEG can be used to rapidly screen compounds for potential activity at specific pharmacological targets and provide valuable information for guiding the early stages of drug development. This article is part of the issue entitled 'Special Issue on Neurotransmitter Transporters'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Medication Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Alessandro Scaglione
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, NIA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jacqueline D Keighron
- Medication Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - JoLynn B Giancola
- Medicinal Chemistry Section, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shih-Chieh Lin
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, NIA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Amy H Newman
- Medication Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA; Medicinal Chemistry Section, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gianluigi Tanda
- Medication Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, NIDA-IRP, NIH/DHHS, Baltimore, MD, USA
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16
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Zanettini C, Scaglione A, Keighron J, Giancola JB, Lin S, Newman AH, Tanda G. Characterization of the Effects of Standard and Atypical Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors and Other Centrally Acting Drugs on the EEG of Freely Moving Rats. FASEB J 2018. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.681.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Alessandro Scaglione
- Neural Circuits and Cognition UnitLaboratory of Behavioral NeuroscienceNIA‐IRP, NIH/DHHSBaltimoreMD
| | | | | | - Shih‐Chieh Lin
- Neural Circuits and Cognition UnitLaboratory of Behavioral NeuroscienceNIA‐IRP, NIH/DHHSBaltimoreMD
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17
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Giannese F, Luchetti A, Barbiera G, Lampis V, Zanettini C, Knudsen GP, Scaini S, Lazarevic D, Cittaro D, D'Amato FR, Battaglia M. Conserved DNA Methylation Signatures in Early Maternal Separation and in Twins Discordant for CO 2 Sensitivity. Sci Rep 2018; 8:2258. [PMID: 29396481 PMCID: PMC5797081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20457-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Respiratory and emotional responses to blood-acidifying inhalation of CO2 are markers of some human anxiety disorders, and can be enhanced by repeatedly cross-fostering (RCF) mouse pups from their biological mother to unrelated lactating females. Yet, these dynamics remain poorly understood. We show RCF-associated intergenerational transmission of CO2 sensitivity in normally-reared mice descending from RCF-exposed females, and describe the accompanying alterations in brain DNA methylation patterns. These epigenetic signatures were compared to DNA methylation profiles of monozygotic twins discordant for emotional reactivity to a CO2 challenge. Altered methylation was consistently associated with repeated elements and transcriptional regulatory regions among RCF-exposed animals, their normally-reared offspring, and humans with CO2 hypersensitivity. In both species, regions bearing differential methylation were associated with neurodevelopment, circulation, and response to pH acidification processes, and notably included the ASIC2 gene. Our data show that CO2 hypersensitivity is associated with specific methylation clusters and genes that subserve chemoreception and anxiety. The methylation status of genes implicated in acid-sensing functions can inform etiological and therapeutic research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Giannese
- Centre for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandra Luchetti
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Barbiera
- Centre for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Claudio Zanettini
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.,National Institute on Drug Abuse, Medication Development Program Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, Intramural Research Program, NIH, Baltimore, USA
| | - Gun Peggy Knudsen
- The Norwegian Institute of Public Health Department of Genetics, Environment and Mental Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Simona Scaini
- Department of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy
| | - Dejan Lazarevic
- Centre for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Cittaro
- Centre for Translational Genomics and Bioinformatics, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca R D'Amato
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
| | - Marco Battaglia
- Department of Psychiatry, the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. .,Division of Child, Youth and Emerging Adulthood, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.
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18
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Zou MF, Cao J, Abramyan AM, Kopajtic T, Zanettini C, Guthrie DA, Rais R, Slusher BS, Shi L, Loland CJ, Newman AH. Structure-Activity Relationship Studies on a Series of 3α-[Bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]tropanes and 3α-[Bis(4-fluorophenyl)methylamino]tropanes As Novel Atypical Dopamine Transporter (DAT) Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorders. J Med Chem 2017; 60:10172-10187. [PMID: 29227643 PMCID: PMC5746459 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b01454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The development of medications to treat cocaine use disorders has thus far defied success, leaving this patient population without pharmacotherapeutic options. As the dopamine transporter (DAT) plays a prominent role in the reinforcing effects of cocaine that can lead to addiction, atypical DAT inhibitors have been developed that prevent cocaine from binding to DAT, but they themselves are not cocaine-like. Herein, a series of novel DAT inhibitors were synthesized, and based on its pharmacological profile, the lead compound 10a was evaluated in phase I metabolic stability studies in mouse liver microsomes and compared to cocaine in locomotor activity and drug discrimination paradigms in mice. A molecular dynamic simulation study supported the hypothesis that atypical DAT inhibitors have similar binding poses at DAT in a conformation that differs from that of cocaine. Such differences may ultimately contribute to their unique behavioral profiles and potential for development as cocaine use disorder therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu-Fa Zou
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Jianjing Cao
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Ara M. Abramyan
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Theresa Kopajtic
- Psychobiology Section, Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Daryl A. Guthrie
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Rana Rais
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 855 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Barbara S. Slusher
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 855 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
| | - Lei Shi
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
| | - Claus J. Loland
- Molecular Neuropharmacology and Genetics Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Amy Hauck Newman
- Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse - Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 333 Cassell Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
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19
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Zanettini C, Pressly JD, Ibarra MH, Smith KR, Gerak LR. Comparing the discriminative stimulus effects of modulators of GABAA receptors containing α4-δ subunits with those of gaboxadol in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:2005-13. [PMID: 26900079 PMCID: PMC5054722 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 02/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Gaboxadol is a selective agonist at γ-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptors that contain α4-δ subunits, and it produces anxiolytic and sedative effects. Although adverse effects preclude its clinical use, its mechanism of action suggests that those receptors might provide novel therapeutic targets, particularly for modulators of those GABAA receptor subtypes, by retaining therapeutic effects of gaboxadol and not adverse effects. OBJECTIVES The current study compared discriminative stimulus effects of gaboxadol with those of modulators acting at GABAA receptors containing α4-δ subunits. MATERIALS Eight rats discriminated 5.6 mg/kg gaboxadol from vehicle while responding under a fixed - ratio 10 schedule for food. Modulators acting at GABAA receptors containing α4-δ subunits (pregnanolone, ethanol, and flumazenil) and receptors that do not contain those subunits (midazolam) were studied alone; pregnanolone and ethanol were also combined with gaboxadol. In addition, gaboxadol was studied in separate groups discriminating 0.32 mg/kg midazolam, 3.2 mg/kg pregnanolone, or 0.75 g/kg ethanol from vehicle. RESULTS Gaboxadol produced ≥80 % gaboxadol-lever responding and did not alter rates. No other drug produced, on average, ≥80 % drug-lever responding up to doses that decreased rates, although 1.78 mg/kg midazolam produced 32 % gaboxadol-lever responding. Ethanol and pregnanolone did not enhance the effects of gaboxadol. Rats discriminating midazolam, pregnanolone, or ethanol from vehicle responded predominantly on the vehicle lever after receiving gaboxadol. CONCLUSIONS Drugs that modulate GABAA receptors containing α4-δ subunits neither mimicked nor enhanced the discriminative stimulus effects of gaboxadol, indicating that at least some effects of gaboxadol are not shared with modulators of that GABAA receptor subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA
- Medication Development Program, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Pressly
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA
| | - Miguel H Ibarra
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA
| | - Kelsey R Smith
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA
| | - Lisa R Gerak
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA.
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Abstract
RATIONALE Opioids remain the drugs of choice for treating moderate to severe pain, although adverse effects limit their use. Therapeutic utility might be improved by combining opioids with other drugs to enhance analgesic effects, but only if adverse effects are not similarly changed. OBJECTIVE Cannabinoids have been shown to enhance the antinociceptive potency of opioids without increasing other effects; this study examined whether the effectiveness of cannabinoids is altered in morphine-dependent monkeys. METHODS Four monkeys received up to 10 mg/kg morphine twice daily. Changes in the antinociceptive effects of opioid receptor agonists (morphine, U50,488) and cannabinoid receptor agonists (WIN 55,212, CP 55,940, and Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) were determined by measuring the latency for monkeys to remove their tails from 40, 50, 54, and 58 °C water. RESULTS Before treatment, all drugs increased tail withdrawal latency from warm (54 °C) water. Chronic morphine treatment decreased the potency of each drug; the magnitude of rightward shift in dose-effect curves was greatest for morphine, WIN 55,212 and CP 55,940 with at least sixfold shifts for each drug during treatment. Discontinuation of morphine treatment resulted in signs that are indicative of withdrawal, including increased heart rate, decreased daytime activity, and tongue movement. CONCLUSION Tolerance developed to the antinociceptive effects of morphine and cross-tolerance developed to cannabinoids under conditions that produced modest physical dependence. Compared with the doses examined in this study, much smaller doses of opioids have antinociceptive effects when given with cannabinoids; it is possible that tolerance will not develop to chronic treatment with opioid/cannabinoid mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- L R Gerak
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, Mail Code 7764, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3900, USA
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Zanettini C, Gerak L, France C. Effects of opioids and cannabinoids during chronic morphine treatment in rhesus monkeys (658.3). FASEB J 2014. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.658.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Pharmacology University of Texas Health Science CenterSAN ANTONIOTXUnited States
| | - Lisa Gerak
- Pharmacology University of Texas Health Science CenterSAN ANTONIOTXUnited States
| | - Charles France
- Pharmacology University of Texas Health Science CenterSAN ANTONIOTXUnited States
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Abstract
Although it is more common for drug abuse to progress from tobacco to cannabis, in many cases cannabis use develops before tobacco use. Epidemiological evidence indicates that prior cannabis use increases the likelihood of becoming dependent on tobacco. To determine whether this effect might be due to cannabis exposure per se, in addition to any genetic, social, or environmental factors that might contribute, we extended our series of studies on 'gateway drug' effects in animal models of drug abuse. Rats were exposed to THC, the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, for 3 days (two intraperitoneal injections/day). Then, starting 1 week later, they were allowed to self-administer nicotine intravenously. THC exposure increased the likelihood of acquiring the nicotine self-administration response from 65% in vehicle-exposed rats to 94% in THC-exposed rats. When the price of nicotine was manipulated by increasing the response requirement, THC-exposed rats maintained higher levels of intake than vehicle-exposed rats, indicating that THC exposure increased the value of nicotine reward. These results contrast sharply with our earlier findings that prior THC exposure did not increase the likelihood of rats acquiring either heroin or cocaine self-administration, nor did it increase the reward value of these drugs. The findings obtained here suggest that a history of cannabis exposure might have lasting effects that increase the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh V Panlilio
- Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Claudio Zanettini
- Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA,Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Chanel Barnes
- Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marcelo Solinas
- Experimental and Clinical Neurosciences Laboratory, INSERM U-1084, Poitiers, France,University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Steven R Goldberg
- Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA,Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Biomedical Research Center, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA, Tel: +1 443 740 2519, Fax: +1 443 740 2733, E-mail:
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Zanettini C, France CP, Gerak LR. Synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA
A
receptors in benzodiazepine withdrawal: effects of pregnanolone and gaboxadol in benzodiazepine‐dependent monkeys. FASEB J 2013. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.658.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Zanettini C, Yoon SS, France CP, Gerak LR. Acute tolerance to chlordiazepoxide qualitatively changes the interaction between flumazenil and pregnanolone and not the interaction between flumazenil and midazolam in rhesus monkeys discriminating midazolam. Eur J Pharmacol 2013; 700:159-64. [PMID: 23305839 PMCID: PMC3578055 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.12.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2012] [Revised: 12/08/2012] [Accepted: 12/18/2012] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Benzodiazepines and neuroactive steroids act at distinct binding sites on γ-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptors where they positively modulate GABA, resulting in similar acute behavioral effects. Tolerance to benzodiazepines can develop with repeated treatment; however, cross tolerance to neuroactive steroids does not develop, perhaps due to conformational changes in benzodiazepine, and not neuroactive steroid, binding sites. Three monkeys discriminated 0.178 mg/kg midazolam while responding under a fixed-ratio 10 schedule of stimulus-shock termination. On separate occasions, dose-effect curves for midazolam and pregnanolone were determined when monkeys had not received chlordiazepoxide and when they received 10 mg/kg chlordiazepoxide 46 hours earlier; for some tests, flumazenil was given before determination of dose-effect curves. Midazolam and pregnanolone produced ≥80% midazolam-lever responding. When administered 46 h before sessions, chlordiazepoxide did not produce pregnanolone-lever responding; under those treatment conditions, midazolam dose-effect curves were shifted 2.8-fold rightward and pregnanolone dose-effect curves were not changed. Flumazenil antagonized midazolam; Schild (linear) analyses yielded slopes that were not different from unity and pA(2) values of 7.46 when monkeys had not received chlordiazepoxide and 7.44 when they received chlordiazepoxide 46 h earlier. Flumazenil did not alter the effects of pregnanolone in chlordiazepoxide-treated monkeys. Thus, interactions between flumazenil and midazolam were not qualitatively or quantitatively changed in monkeys acutely tolerant to chlordiazepoxide, suggesting that mechanisms other than alterations of benzodiazepine binding sites account for the development of acute tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr.-mail code 7764, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
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Scherma M, Justinová Z, Zanettini C, Panlilio LV, Mascia P, Fadda P, Fratta W, Makriyannis A, Vadivel SK, Gamaleddin I, Le Foll B, Goldberg SR. The anandamide transport inhibitor AM404 reduces the rewarding effects of nicotine and nicotine-induced dopamine elevations in the nucleus accumbens shell in rats. Br J Pharmacol 2012; 165:2539-48. [PMID: 21557729 DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01467.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor URB597 can reverse the abuse-related behavioural and neurochemical effects of nicotine in rats. Fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors block the degradation (and thereby magnify and prolong the actions) of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA), and also the non-cannabinoid fatty acid ethanolamides oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). OEA and PEA are endogenous ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha (PPAR-α). Since recent evidence indicates that PPAR-α can modulate nicotine reward, it is unclear whether AEA plays a role in the effects of URB597 on nicotine reward. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH A way to selectively increase endogenous levels of AEA without altering OEA or PEA levels is to inhibit AEA uptake into cells by administering the AEA transport inhibitor N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-arachidonamide (AM404). To clarify AEA's role in nicotine reward, we investigated the effect of AM404 on conditioned place preference (CPP), reinstatement of abolished CPP, locomotor suppression and anxiolysis in an open field, and dopamine elevations in the nucleus accumbens shell induced by nicotine in Sprague-Dawley rats. KEY RESULTS AM404 prevented the development of nicotine-induced CPP and impeded nicotine-induced reinstatement of the abolished CPP. Furthermore, AM404 reduced nicotine-induced increases in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens shell, the terminal area of the brain's mesolimbic reward system. AM404 did not alter the locomotor suppressive or anxiolytic effect of nicotine. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS These findings suggest that AEA transport inhibition can counteract the addictive effects of nicotine and that AEA transport may serve as a new target for development of medications for treatment of tobacco dependence. LINKED ARTICLES This article is part of a themed section on Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2012.165.issue-8. To view Part I of Cannabinoids in Biology and Medicine visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2011.163.issue-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Scherma
- Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
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Ventura R, Coccurello R, Andolina D, Latagliata EC, Zanettini C, Lampis V, Battaglia M, D'Amato FR, Moles A. Postnatal aversive experience impairs sensitivity to natural rewards and increases susceptibility to negative events in adult life. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 23:1606-17. [PMID: 22669969 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Evidence shows that maternal care and postnatal traumatic events can exert powerful effects on brain circuitry development but little is known about the impact of early postnatal experiences on processing of rewarding and aversive stimuli related to the medial prefrontal cortex (mpFC) function in adult life. In this study, the unstable maternal environment induced by repeated cross-fostering (RCF) impaired palatable food conditioned place preference and disrupted the natural preference for sweetened fluids in the saccharin preference test. By contrast, RCF increased sensitivity to conditioned place aversion (CPA) and enhanced immobility in the forced swimming test. Intracerebral microdialysis data showed that the RCF prevents mpFC dopamine (DA) outflow regardless of exposure to rewarding or aversive stimuli, whereas it induces a strong and sustained prefrontal norepinephrine (NE) release in response to different aversive experiences. Moreover, the selective mpFC NE depletion abolished CPA, thus indicating that prefrontal NE is required for motivational salience attribution to aversion-related stimuli. These findings demonstrate that an unstable maternal environment impairs the natural propensity to seek pleasurable sources of reward, enhances sensitivity to negative events in adult life, blunts prefrontal DA outflow, and modulates NE release in the reverse manner depending on the exposure to rewarding or aversive stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Ventura
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Centre for Brain Research (CERC), Roma, Italy.
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D'Amato FR, Zanettini C, Sgobio C, Sarli C, Carone V, Moles A, Ammassari-Teule M. Intensification of maternal care by double-mothering boosts cognitive function and hippocampal morphology in the adult offspring. Hippocampus 2012; 21:298-308. [PMID: 20087885 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Mice born from high care-giving females show, as adults, low anxiety levels, decreased responsiveness to stress, and substantial improvements in cognitive function and hippocampal plasticity. Given the relevance of this issue for preventing emotional and cognitive abnormalities in high-risk subjects, this study examines the possibility to further enhance the beneficial effects observed in the progeny by augmenting maternal care beyond the highest levels females can display in standard laboratory conditions. This was produced by placing a second female with the dam and its litter in the rearing cage from the partum until pups weaning. Maternal behavior of all females was scored during the first week postpartum, and behavioral indices of emotionality, prestress and poststress corticosterone levels, cognitive performance, and hippocampal morphology were assessed in the adult offspring. We found that pups reared by female dyads received more maternal care than pups reared by dams alone, but as adults, they did not exhibit alterations in emotionality or corticosterone response estimated in basal condition or following restraint stress. Conversely, they showed enhanced performance in hippocampal-dependent tasks including long-term object discrimination, reactivity to spatial change, and fear conditioning together with an increase in dendritic length and spine density in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. In general, the beneficial effects of dyadic maternal care were stronger when both the females were lactating. This study demonstrates that double-mothering exerts a long-term positive control on cognitive function and hippocampal neuronal connectivity. This experimental manipulation, especially if associated with increased feeding, might offer a concrete possibility to limit or reverse the consequences of negative predisposing conditions for normal cognitive development.
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Zanettini C, Panlilio LV, Alicki M, Goldberg SR, Haller J, Yasar S. Effects of endocannabinoid system modulation on cognitive and emotional behavior. Front Behav Neurosci 2011; 5:57. [PMID: 21949506 PMCID: PMC3171696 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2011.00057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2011] [Accepted: 08/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cannabis has long been known to produce cognitive and emotional effects. Research has shown that cannabinoid drugs produce these effects by driving the brain’s endogenous cannabinoid system and that this system plays a modulatory role in many cognitive and emotional processes. This review focuses on the effects of endocannabinoid system modulation in animal models of cognition (learning and memory) and emotion (anxiety and depression). We review studies in which natural or synthetic cannabinoid agonists were administered to directly stimulate cannabinoid receptors or, conversely, where cannabinoid antagonists were administered to inhibit the activity of cannabinoid receptors. In addition, studies are reviewed that involved genetic disruption of cannabinoid receptors or genetic or pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid-degrading enzyme, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Endocannabinoids affect the function of many neurotransmitter systems, some of which play opposing roles. The diversity of cannabinoid roles and the complexity of task-dependent activation of neuronal circuits may lead to the effects of endocannabinoid system modulation being strongly dependent on environmental conditions. Recent findings are reviewed that raise the possibility that endocannabinoid signaling may change the impact of environmental influences on emotional and cognitive behavior rather than selectively affecting any specific behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zanettini
- Department of Health and Human Services, Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neurosciences Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health Baltimore, MD, USA
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D'Amato FR, Zanettini C, Lampis V, Coccurello R, Pascucci T, Ventura R, Puglisi-Allegra S, Spatola CAM, Pesenti-Gritti P, Oddi D, Moles A, Battaglia M. Unstable maternal environment, separation anxiety, and heightened CO2 sensitivity induced by gene-by-environment interplay. PLoS One 2011; 6:e18637. [PMID: 21494633 PMCID: PMC3072999 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2010] [Accepted: 03/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In man, many different events implying childhood separation from caregivers/unstable parental environment are associated with heightened risk for panic disorder in adulthood. Twin data show that the occurrence of such events in childhood contributes to explaining the covariation between separation anxiety disorder, panic, and the related psychobiological trait of CO(2) hypersensitivity. We hypothesized that early interference with infant-mother interaction could moderate the interspecific trait of response to CO(2) through genetic control of sensitivity to the environment. METHODOLOGY Having spent the first 24 hours after birth with their biological mother, outbred NMRI mice were cross-fostered to adoptive mothers for the following 4 post-natal days. They were successively compared to normally-reared individuals for: number of ultrasonic vocalizations during isolation, respiratory physiology responses to normal air (20%O(2)), CO(2)-enriched air (6% CO(2)), hypoxic air (10%O(2)), and avoidance of CO(2)-enriched environments. RESULTS Cross-fostered pups showed significantly more ultrasonic vocalizations, more pronounced hyperventilatory responses (larger tidal volume and minute volume increments) to CO(2)-enriched air and heightened aversion towards CO(2)-enriched environments, than normally-reared individuals. Enhanced tidal volume increment response to 6%CO(2) was present at 16-20, and 75-90 postnatal days, implying the trait's stability. Quantitative genetic analyses of unrelated individuals, sibs and half-sibs, showed that the genetic variance for tidal volume increment during 6%CO(2) breathing was significantly higher (Bartlett χ = 8.3, p = 0.004) among the cross-fostered than the normally-reared individuals, yielding heritability of 0.37 and 0.21 respectively. These results support a stress-diathesis model whereby the genetic influences underlying the response to 6%CO(2) increase their contribution in the presence of an environmental adversity. Maternal grooming/licking behaviour, and corticosterone basal levels were similar among cross-fostered and normally-reared individuals. CONCLUSIONS A mechanism of gene-by-environment interplay connects this form of early perturbation of infant-mother interaction, heightened CO(2) sensitivity and anxiety. Some non-inferential physiological measurements can enhance animal models of human neurodevelopmental anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Valentina Lampis
- Academic Centre for the Study of Behavioural Plasticity, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Tiziana Pascucci
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Centre for Brain Research (CERC), Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Rossella Ventura
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Centre for Brain Research (CERC), Rome, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, Università dell' Aquila, Coppito, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Stefano Puglisi-Allegra
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Centre for Brain Research (CERC), Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara A. M. Spatola
- Academic Centre for the Study of Behavioural Plasticity, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Pesenti-Gritti
- Academic Centre for the Study of Behavioural Plasticity, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Diego Oddi
- CNR, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Institute, Roma, Italy
| | - Anna Moles
- CNR, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Institute, Roma, Italy
- Genomnia, Lainate, Italy
| | - Marco Battaglia
- Academic Centre for the Study of Behavioural Plasticity, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Zanettini C, Carola V, Lo Iacono L, Moles A, Gross C, D'Amato FR. Postnatal handling reverses social anxiety in serotonin receptor 1A knockout mice. Genes Brain Behav 2009; 9:26-32. [PMID: 19740091 DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2009.00531.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Mice lacking the serotonin receptor 1A (Htr1a knockout, Htr1a(KO)) show increased innate and conditioned anxiety. This phenotype depends on functional receptor activity during the third through fifth weeks of life and thus appears to be the result of long-term changes in brain function as a consequence of an early deficit in serotonin signaling. To evaluate whether this phenotype can be influenced by early environmental factors, we subjected Htr1a knockout mice to postnatal handling, a procedure known to reduce anxiety-like behavior and stress responses in adulthood. Offspring of heterozygous Htr1a knockout mice were separated from their mother and exposed 15 min each day from postnatal day 1 (PD1) to PD14 to clean bedding. Control animals were left undisturbed. Maternal behavior was observed during the first 13 days of life. Adult male offspring were tested in the open field, social approach and resident-intruder tests and assessed for corticosterone response to restraint stress. Knockout mice showed increased anxiety in the open field and in the social approach test as well as an enhanced corticosterone response to stress. However, while no effect of postnatal handling was seen in wild-type mice, handling reduced anxiety-like behavior in the social interaction test and the corticosterone response to stress in knockout mice. These findings extend the anxiety phenotype of Htr1a(KO) mice to include social anxiety and demonstrate that this phenotype can be moderated by early environmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Zanettini
- CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Roma, Italy
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Moles A, Costantini F, Garbugino L, Zanettini C, D'Amato FR. Ultrasonic vocalizations emitted during dyadic interactions in female mice: a possible index of sociability? Behav Brain Res 2007; 182:223-30. [PMID: 17336405 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2006] [Revised: 01/16/2007] [Accepted: 01/23/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite the evidence that ultrasonic vocalizations are a consistent component of the behavioural repertoire of female mice, only few studies have investigated this phenomenon. In this paper, we reported new data about ultrasonic vocalisations emitted during female-female mice social encounters. In particular, we first showed that the resident female utters a considerable number of 70 kHz calls and that the number of calls seems to be modulated by the motivational state of the emitter during the estrous cycle: sexually receptive females emitted fewer ultrasonic vocalizations than non-receptive ones in the presence of a female intruder. A strong positive correlation linked the number of calls and the time spent by the resident sniffing the intruder female. Moreover, the number of calls uttered during interaction with an unknown female partner significantly decreased with pregnancy and ageing. Secondly we reported that 1-year-old female mice showed a reduction of ultrasonic calls in the presence of a partner they had been exposed to, only if the re-exposure (test) occurred 30 min after the previous presentation. If the test was performed with a delay of 60 min, the number of calls emitted did not decrease. These results confirm that ultrasonic vocalizations emitted during social interaction with a female conspecific can be used as an index of social recognition and can be useful to detect age-related disruption of social memory in female mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Moles
- Institute of Neuroscience, CNR-CERC, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64/65, I-00143 Rome, Italy.
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