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O'Connell CJ, Reeder EL, Hymore JA, Brown RS, Notorgiacomo GA, Collins SM, Gudelsky GA, Robson MJ. Transcriptomic dynamics governing serotonergic dysregulation in the dorsal raphe nucleus following mild traumatic brain injury. Exp Neurol 2024; 374:114695. [PMID: 38246304 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114695] [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: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a leading cause of disability in the United States, with neuropsychiatric disturbances such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and social disturbances being common comorbidities following injury. The molecular mechanisms driving neuropsychiatric complications following neurotrauma are not well understood and current FDA-approved pharmacotherapies employed to ameliorate these comorbidities lack desired efficacy. Concerted efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms of and identify novel drug candidates for treating neurotrauma-elicited neuropsychiatric sequelae are clearly needed. Serotonin (5-HT) is linked to the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, however our understanding of how various forms of TBI directly affect 5-HT neurotransmission is limited. 5-HT neurons originate in the raphe nucleus (RN) of the midbrain and project throughout the brain to regulate diverse behavioral phenotypes. We hypothesize that the characterization of the dynamics governing 5-HT neurotransmission after injury will drive the discovery of novel drug targets and lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms associated with neuropsychiatric disturbances following mild TBI (mTBI). Herein, we provide evidence that closed-head mTBI alters total DRN 5-HT levels, with RNA sequencing of the DRN revealing injury-derived alterations in transcripts required for the development, identity, and functional stability of 5-HT neurons. Further, using gene ontology analyses combined with immunohistological analyses, we have identified a novel mechanism of transcriptomic control within 5-HT neurons that may directly influence 5-HT neuron identity/function post-injury. These studies provide molecular evidence of injury-elicited 5-HT neuron dysregulation, data which may expedite the identification of novel therapeutic targets to attenuate TBI-elicited neuropsychiatric sequelae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J O'Connell
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Evan L Reeder
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Jacob A Hymore
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Ryan S Brown
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | | | - Sean M Collins
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Gary A Gudelsky
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Matthew J Robson
- University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
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O’Connell CJ, Brown RS, Peach TM, Traubert OD, Schwierling HC, Notorgiacomo GA, Robson MJ. Strain in the Midbrain: Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Central Serotonin System. Brain Sci 2024; 14:51. [PMID: 38248266 PMCID: PMC10813794 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010051] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a pervasive public health crisis that severely impacts the quality of life of affected individuals. Like peripheral forms of trauma, TBI results from extraordinarily heterogeneous environmental forces being imparted on the cranial space, resulting in heterogeneous disease pathologies. This has made therapies for TBI notoriously difficult to develop, and currently, there are no FDA-approved pharmacotherapies specifically for the acute or chronic treatment of TBI. TBI is associated with changes in cognition and can precipitate the onset of debilitating psychiatric disorders like major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Complicating these effects of TBI, FDA-approved pharmacotherapies utilized to treat these disorders often fail to reach the desired level of efficacy in the context of neurotrauma. Although a complicated association, decades of work have linked central serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission as being involved in the etiology of a myriad of neuropsychiatric disorders, including MDD and GAD. 5-HT is a biogenic monoamine neurotransmitter that is highly conserved across scales of biology. Though the majority of 5-HT is isolated to peripheral sites such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, 5-HT neurotransmission within the CNS exerts exquisite control over diverse biological functions, including sleep, appetite and respiration, while simultaneously establishing normal mood, perception, and attention. Although several key studies have begun to elucidate how various forms of neurotrauma impact central 5-HT neurotransmission, a full determination of precisely how TBI disrupts the highly regulated dynamics of 5-HT neuron function and/or 5-HT neurotransmission has yet to be conceptually or experimentally resolved. The purpose of the current review is, therefore, to integrate the disparate bodies of 5-HT and TBI research and synthesize insight into how new combinatorial research regarding 5-HT neurotransmission and TBI may offer an informed perspective into the nature of TBI-induced neuropsychiatric complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J. O’Connell
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; (C.J.O.); (R.S.B.); (T.M.P.)
| | - Ryan S. Brown
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; (C.J.O.); (R.S.B.); (T.M.P.)
| | - Taylor M. Peach
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; (C.J.O.); (R.S.B.); (T.M.P.)
| | - Owen D. Traubert
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA;
| | - Hana C. Schwierling
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; (C.J.O.); (R.S.B.); (T.M.P.)
| | | | - Matthew J. Robson
- Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA; (C.J.O.); (R.S.B.); (T.M.P.)
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
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