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Olivares-Berjaga D, Martínez-Pinteño A, Rodríguez N, Madero S, Prohens L, Martínez-Serrano I, Mas S, Morén C, Parellada E, Gassó P. Effects of the PAM of mGluR2, JNJ-46356479, on brain apoptotic protein levels in a mouse model of schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 131:110955. [PMID: 38296154 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.110955] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Current treatment for schizophrenia (SZ) ameliorates the positive symptoms, but is inefficient in treating the negative and cognitive symptoms. The SZ glutamatergic dysfunction hypothesis has opened new avenues in the development of novel drugs targeting the glutamate storm, an inducer of progressive neuropathological changes. Positive allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2), such as JNJ-46356479 (JNJ), reduce the presynaptic release of glutamate, which has previously been demonstrated to attenuate glutamate- and dopamine-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cell cultures. We hypothesised that JNJ treatment would modify the brain levels of apoptotic proteins in a mouse model of ketamine (KET)-induced schizophrenia. We analysed the levels of proapoptotic (caspase-3 and Bax) and antiapoptotic (Bcl-2) proteins by western blot in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of JNJ-treated mice. JNJ attenuated apoptosis in the brain by partially restoring the levels of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein, which is significantly reduced in animals exposed to KET. Additionally, a significant inverse correlation was observed between proapoptotic protein levels and behavioural deficits in the mice. Our findings suggest that JNJ may attenuate brain apoptosis in vivo, as previously described in cell cultures, providing a link between neuropathological deficits and SZ symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Albert Martínez-Pinteño
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Natalia Rodríguez
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Santiago Madero
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit (BCSU), Dpt. of Psychiatry, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Llucía Prohens
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Sergi Mas
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain.
| | - Constanza Morén
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit (BCSU), Dpt. of Psychiatry, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Spain.
| | - Eduard Parellada
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit (BCSU), Dpt. of Psychiatry, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Patricia Gassó
- Dept. of Basic Clinical Practice, University of Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain.
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Prohens L, Rodríguez N, Segura ÀG, Martínez-Pinteño A, Olivares-Berjaga D, Martínez I, González A, Mezquida G, Parellada M, Cuesta MJ, Bernardo M, Gassó P, Mas S. Gene expression imputation provides clinical and biological insights into treatment-resistant schizophrenia polygenic risk. Psychiatry Res 2024; 332:115722. [PMID: 38198858 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115722] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed the polygenic nature of treatment-resistant schizophrenia TRS. Gene expression imputation allowed the translation of GWAS results into regulatory mechanisms and the construction of gene expression (GReX) risk scores (GReX-RS). In the present study we computed GReX-RS from the largest GWAS of TRS to assess its association with clinical features. We perform transcriptome imputation in the largest GWAS of TRS to find GReX associated with TRS using brain tissues. Then, for each tissue, we constructed a GReX-RS of the identified genes in a sample of 254 genotyped first episode of psychosis (FEP) patients to test its association with clinical phenotypes, including clinical symptomatology, global functioning and cognitive performance. Our analysis provides evidence that the polygenic basis of TRS includes genetic variants that modulate the expression of certain genes in certain brain areas (substantia nigra, hippocampus, amygdala and frontal cortex), which at the same time are related to clinical features in FEP patients, mainly persistence of negative symptoms and cognitive alterations in sustained attention, which have also been suggested as clinical predictors of TRS. Our results provide a clinical explanation of the polygenic architecture of TRS and give more insight into the biological mechanisms underlying TRS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Llucia Prohens
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Natalia Rodríguez
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Àlex-Gonzàlez Segura
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Albert Martínez-Pinteño
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Olivares-Berjaga
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Irene Martínez
- Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aitor González
- Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gisela Mezquida
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit (BCSU), Neuroscience Institute, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mara Parellada
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, IiSGM, Madrid, Spain; School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel J Cuesta
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Miquel Bernardo
- Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain; Barcelona Clínic Schizophrenia Unit (BCSU), Neuroscience Institute, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patricia Gassó
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain
| | - Sergi Mas
- Department of Clinical Foundations, Pharmacology Unit, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red en salud Mental (CIBERSAM), ISCIII, Spain.
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