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De Jesús-Cortés H, Rajadhyaksha AM, Pieper AA. Cacna1c: Protecting young hippocampal neurons in the adult brain. Neurogenesis (Austin) 2016; 3:e1231160. [PMID: 27900342 DOI: 10.1080/23262133.2016.1231160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Revised: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/09/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disease is the leading cause of disability in the United States, and fourth worldwide.1,2 Not surprisingly, human genetic studies have revealed a common genetic predisposition for many forms of neuropsychiatric disease, potentially explaining why overlapping symptoms are commonly observed across multiple diagnostic categories. For example, the CACNA1C gene was recently identified in the largest human genome-wide association study to date as a risk loci held in common across 5 major forms of neuropsychiatric disease: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.3 This gene encodes for the Cav1.2 subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel (LTCC), accounting for 85% of LTCCs in the brain, while the Cav1.3 subunit comprises the remainder.4 In neurons, LTCCs mediate calcium influx in response to membrane depolarization,5 thereby regulating neurotransmission and gene expression. Here, we describe our recent finding that Cav1.2 also controls survival of young hippocampal neurons in the adult brain, which has been linked to the etiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disease. We also describe the effective restoration of young hippocampal neuron survival in adult Cav1.2 forebrain-specific conditional knockout mice using the neuroprotective compound P7C3-A20.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor De Jesús-Cortés
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Anjali M Rajadhyaksha
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics and Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA; Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew A Pieper
- Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Department of Free Radical and Radiation Biology Program, Department of Radiation Oncology Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA; Department of Veteran Affairs, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
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Lee AS, De Jesús-Cortés H, Kabir ZD, Knobbe W, Orr M, Burgdorf C, Huntington P, McDaniel L, Britt JK, Hoffmann F, Brat DJ, Rajadhyaksha AM, Pieper AA. The Neuropsychiatric Disease-Associated Gene cacna1c Mediates Survival of Young Hippocampal Neurons. eNeuro 2016; 3:ENEURO.0006-16.2016. [PMID: 27066530 PMCID: PMC4819284 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0006-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic variations in CACNA1C, which encodes the Cav1.2 subunit of L-type calcium channels (LTCCs), are associated with multiple forms of neuropsychiatric disease that manifest high anxiety in patients. In parallel, mice harboring forebrain-specific conditional knockout of cacna1c (forebrain-Cav1.2 cKO) display unusually high anxiety-like behavior. LTCCs in general, including the Cav1.3 subunit, have been shown to mediate differentiation of neural precursor cells (NPCs). However, it has not previously been determined whether Cav1.2 affects postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis in vivo. Here, we show that forebrain-Cav1.2 cKO mice exhibit enhanced cell death of young hippocampal neurons, with no change in NPC proliferation, hippocampal size, dentate gyrus thickness, or corticosterone levels compared with wild-type littermates. These mice also exhibit deficits in brain levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and Cre recombinase-mediated knockdown of adult hippocampal Cav1.2 recapitulates the deficit in young hippocampal neurons survival. Treatment of forebrain-Cav1.2 cKO mice with the neuroprotective agent P7C3-A20 restored the net magnitude of postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis to wild-type levels without ameliorating their deficit in BDNF expression. The role of Cav1.2 in young hippocampal neurons survival may provide new approaches for understanding and treating neuropsychiatric disease associated with aberrations in CACNA1C. Visual Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni S. Lee
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
| | - Héctor De Jesús-Cortés
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Zeeba D. Kabir
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
| | - Whitney Knobbe
- Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - Madeline Orr
- Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - Caitlin Burgdorf
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
| | - Paula Huntington
- Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - Latisha McDaniel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Jeremiah K. Britt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Franz Hoffmann
- Institute of Pharmacology, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
- Research Group 923, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Daniel J. Brat
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
| | - Anjali M. Rajadhyaksha
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
- Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, New York 10065
- Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065
| | - Andrew A. Pieper
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Weill Cornell Autism Research Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065
- Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Department of Free Radical and Radiation Biology Program, Department of Radiation Oncology Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
- Department of Veteran Affairs, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
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