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Puvogel S, Alsema A, North HF, Webster MJ, Weickert CS, Eggen BJL. Single-Nucleus RNA-Seq Characterizes the Cell Types Along the Neuronal Lineage in the Adult Human Subependymal Zone and Reveals Reduced Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Abundance with Age. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0246-23.2024. [PMID: 38351133 PMCID: PMC10913050 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0246-23.2024] [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: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The subependymal zone (SEZ), also known as the subventricular zone (SVZ), constitutes a neurogenic niche that persists during postnatal life. In humans, the neurogenic potential of the SEZ declines after the first year of life. However, studies discovering markers of stem and progenitor cells highlight the neurogenic capacity of progenitors in the adult human SEZ, with increased neurogenic activity occurring under pathological conditions. In the present study, the complete cellular niche of the adult human SEZ was characterized by single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and compared between four youth (age 16-22) and four middle-aged adults (age 44-53). We identified 11 cellular clusters including clusters expressing marker genes for neural stem cells (NSCs), neuroblasts, immature neurons, and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. The relative abundance of NSC and neuroblast clusters did not differ between the two age groups, indicating that the pool of SEZ NSCs does not decline in this age range. The relative abundance of oligodendrocyte progenitors and microglia decreased in middle-age, indicating that the cellular composition of human SEZ is remodeled between youth and adulthood. The expression of genes related to nervous system development was higher across different cell types, including NSCs, in youth as compared with middle-age. These transcriptional changes suggest ongoing central nervous system plasticity in the SEZ in youth, which declined in middle-age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofía Puvogel
- Section Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9700 AD, The Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen 6500 HB, The Netherlands
| | - Astrid Alsema
- Section Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9700 AD, The Netherlands
| | - Hayley F North
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Maree J Webster
- Laboratory of Brain Research, Stanley Medical Research Institute, Rockville 20850, Maryland
| | - Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York 13201
| | - Bart J L Eggen
- Section Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9700 AD, The Netherlands
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2
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Khanra S, Reddy P, Giménez-Palomo A, Park CHJ, Panizzutti B, McCallum M, Arumugham SS, Umesh S, Debnath M, Das B, Venkatasubramanian G, Ashton M, Turner A, Dean OM, Walder K, Vieta E, Yatham LN, Pacchiarotti I, Reddy YCJ, Goyal N, Kesavan M, Colomer L, Berk M, Kim JH. Metabolic regulation to treat bipolar depression: mechanisms and targeting by trimetazidine. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:3231-3242. [PMID: 37386057 PMCID: PMC10618096 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02134-8] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Bipolar disorder's core feature is the pathological disturbances in mood, often accompanied by disrupted thinking and behavior. Its complex and heterogeneous etiology implies that a range of inherited and environmental factors are involved. This heterogeneity and poorly understood neurobiology pose significant challenges to existing drug development paradigms, resulting in scarce treatment options, especially for bipolar depression. Therefore, novel approaches are needed to discover new treatment options. In this review, we first highlight the main molecular mechanisms known to be associated with bipolar depression-mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation and oxidative stress. We then examine the available literature for the effects of trimetazidine in said alterations. Trimetazidine was identified without a priori hypothesis using a gene-expression signature for the effects of a combination of drugs used to treat bipolar disorder and screening a library of off-patent drugs in cultured human neuronal-like cells. Trimetazidine is used to treat angina pectoris for its cytoprotective and metabolic effects (improved glucose utilization for energy production). The preclinical and clinical literature strongly support trimetazidine's potential to treat bipolar depression, having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties while normalizing mitochondrial function only when it is compromised. Further, trimetazidine's demonstrated safety and tolerability provide a strong rationale for clinical trials to test its efficacy to treat bipolar depression that could fast-track its repurposing to address such an unmet need as bipolar depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sourav Khanra
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Preethi Reddy
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Anna Giménez-Palomo
- Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Mental Health Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Chun Hui J Park
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Bruna Panizzutti
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Madeleine McCallum
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Shyam Sundar Arumugham
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Shreekantiah Umesh
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Monojit Debnath
- Department of Human Genetics, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Basudeb Das
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Ganesan Venkatasubramanian
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Melanie Ashton
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Alyna Turner
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Olivia M Dean
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Ken Walder
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Eduard Vieta
- Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Mental Health Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lakshmi N Yatham
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Isabella Pacchiarotti
- Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Mental Health Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Y C Janardhan Reddy
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Nishant Goyal
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Muralidharan Kesavan
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Lluc Colomer
- Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Mental Health Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Michael Berk
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
| | - Jee Hyun Kim
- IMPACT, The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
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3
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Yolken R. Infections and neuropsychiatric disorders: new studies document pathways to prevention and treatment. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:2624-2626. [PMID: 37106118 PMCID: PMC10134699 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02072-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert Yolken
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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4
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Tomasik J, Han SYS, Barton-Owen G, Mirea DM, Martin-Key NA, Rustogi N, Lago SG, Olmert T, Cooper JD, Ozcan S, Eljasz P, Thomas G, Tuytten R, Metcalfe T, Schei TS, Farrag LP, Friend LV, Bell E, Cowell D, Bahn S. A machine learning algorithm to differentiate bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder using an online mental health questionnaire and blood biomarker data. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:41. [PMID: 33436544 PMCID: PMC7804187 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01181-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The vast personal and economic burden of mood disorders is largely caused by their under- and misdiagnosis, which is associated with ineffective treatment and worsening of outcomes. Here, we aimed to develop a diagnostic algorithm, based on an online questionnaire and blood biomarker data, to reduce the misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD) as major depressive disorder (MDD). Individuals with depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥5) aged 18-45 years were recruited online. After completing a purpose-built online mental health questionnaire, eligible participants provided dried blood spot samples for biomarker analysis and underwent the World Health Organization World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview via telephone, to establish their mental health diagnosis. Extreme Gradient Boosting and nested cross-validation were used to train and validate diagnostic models differentiating BD from MDD in participants who self-reported a current MDD diagnosis. Mean test area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for separating participants with BD diagnosed as MDD (N = 126) from those with correct MDD diagnosis (N = 187) was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.97). Core predictors included elevated mood, grandiosity, talkativeness, recklessness and risky behaviour. Additional validation in participants with no previous mood disorder diagnosis showed AUROCs of 0.89 (0.86-0.91) and 0.90 (0.87-0.91) for separating newly diagnosed BD (N = 98) from MDD (N = 112) and subclinical low mood (N = 120), respectively. Validation in participants with a previous diagnosis of BD (N = 45) demonstrated sensitivity of 0.86 (0.57-0.96). The diagnostic algorithm accurately identified patients with BD in various clinical scenarios, and could help expedite accurate clinical diagnosis and treatment of BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Tomasik
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Sung Yeon Sarah Han
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Dan-Mircea Mirea
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Nayra A Martin-Key
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nitin Rustogi
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Santiago G Lago
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tony Olmert
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Jason D Cooper
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Owlstone Medical Ltd, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sureyya Ozcan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Chemistry, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Pawel Eljasz
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Robin Tuytten
- Metabolomic Diagnostics, Little Island, Cork, Ireland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sabine Bahn
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Psyomics Ltd, Cambridge, UK.
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5
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Kannan G, Di Cristina M, Schultz AJ, Huynh MH, Wang F, Schultz TL, Lunghi M, Coppens I, Carruthers VB. Role of Toxoplasma gondii Chloroquine Resistance Transporter in Bradyzoite Viability and Digestive Vacuole Maintenance. mBio 2019; 10:e01324-19. [PMID: 31387907 PMCID: PMC6686041 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01324-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [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: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous pathogen that can cause encephalitis, congenital defects, and ocular disease. T. gondii has also been implicated as a risk factor for mental illness in humans. The parasite persists in the brain as slow-growing bradyzoites contained within intracellular cysts. No treatments exist to eliminate this form of parasite. Although proteolytic degradation within the parasite lysosome-like vacuolar compartment (VAC) is critical for bradyzoite viability, whether other aspects of the VAC are important for parasite persistence remains unknown. An ortholog of Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (CRT), TgCRT, has previously been identified in T. gondii To interrogate the function of TgCRT in chronic-stage bradyzoites and its role in persistence, we knocked out TgCRT in a cystogenic strain and assessed VAC size, VAC digestion of host-derived proteins and parasite autophagosomes, and the viability of in vitro and in vivo bradyzoites. We found that whereas parasites deficient in TgCRT exhibit normal digestion within the VAC, they display a markedly distended VAC and their viability is compromised both in vitro and in vivo Interestingly, impairing VAC proteolysis in TgCRT-deficient bradyzoites restored VAC size, consistent with a role for TgCRT as a transporter of products of digestion from the VAC. In conjunction with earlier studies, our current findings suggest a functional link between TgCRT and VAC proteolysis. This study provides further evidence of a crucial role for the VAC in bradyzoite persistence and a new potential VAC target to abate chronic Toxoplasma infection.IMPORTANCE Individuals chronically infected with the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii are at risk of experiencing reactivated disease that can result in progressive loss of vision. No effective treatments exist for chronic toxoplasmosis due in part to a poor understanding of the biology underlying chronic infection and a lack of well-validated potential targets. We show here that a T. gondii transporter is functionally linked to protein digestion within the parasite lysosome-like organelle and that this transporter is necessary to sustain chronic infection in culture and in experimentally infected mice. Ablating the transporter results in severe bloating of the lysosome-like organelle. Together with earlier work, this study suggests the parasite's lysosome-like organelle is vital for parasite survival, thus rendering it a potential target for diminishing infection and reducing the risk of reactivated disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geetha Kannan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Manlio Di Cristina
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Aric J Schultz
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - My-Hang Huynh
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Fengrong Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Tracey L Schultz
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Matteo Lunghi
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Isabelle Coppens
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Vern B Carruthers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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6
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D'Aiuto L, Bloom DC, Naciri JN, Smith A, Edwards TG, McClain L, Callio JA, Jessup M, Wood J, Chowdari K, Demers M, Abrahamson EE, Ikonomovic MD, Viggiano L, De Zio R, Watkins S, Kinchington PR, Nimgaonkar VL. Modeling Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infections in Human Central Nervous System Neuronal Cells Using Two- and Three-Dimensional Cultures Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. J Virol 2019; 93:e00111-19. [PMID: 30787148 PMCID: PMC6475775 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00111-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [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: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) establishes latency in both peripheral nerve ganglia and the central nervous system (CNS). The outcomes of acute and latent infections in these different anatomic sites appear to be distinct. It is becoming clear that many of the existing culture models using animal primary neurons to investigate HSV-1 infection of the CNS are limited and not ideal, and most do not recapitulate features of CNS neurons. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and neurons derived from them are documented as tools to study aspects of neuropathogenesis, but few have focused on modeling infections of the CNS. Here, we characterize functional two-dimensional (2D) CNS-like neuron cultures and three-dimensional (3D) brain organoids made from hiPSCs to model HSV-1-human-CNS interactions. Our results show that (i) hiPSC-derived CNS neurons are permissive for HSV-1 infection; (ii) a quiescent state exhibiting key landmarks of HSV-1 latency described in animal models can be established in hiPSC-derived CNS neurons; (iii) the complex laminar structure of the organoids can be efficiently infected with HSV, with virus being transported from the periphery to the central layers of the organoid; and (iv) the organoids support reactivation of HSV-1, albeit less efficiently than 2D cultures. Collectively, our results indicate that hiPSC-derived neuronal platforms, especially 3D organoids, offer an extraordinary opportunity for modeling the interaction of HSV-1 with the complex cellular and architectural structure of the human CNS.IMPORTANCE This study employed human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to model acute and latent HSV-1 infections in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) CNS neuronal cultures. We successfully established acute HSV-1 infections and infections showing features of latency. HSV-1 infection of the 3D organoids was able to spread from the outer surface of the organoid and was transported to the interior lamina, providing a model to study HSV-1 trafficking through complex neuronal tissue structures. HSV-1 could be reactivated in both culture systems; though, in contrast to 2D cultures, it appeared to be more difficult to reactivate HSV-1 in 3D cultures, potentially paralleling the low efficiency of HSV-1 reactivation in the CNS of animal models. The reactivation events were accompanied by dramatic neuronal morphological changes and cell-cell fusion. Together, our results provide substantive evidence of the suitability of hiPSC-based neuronal platforms to model HSV-1-CNS interactions in a human context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo D'Aiuto
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David C Bloom
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Jennifer N Naciri
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Adam Smith
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Terri G Edwards
- Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Lora McClain
- Magee-Women's Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jason A Callio
- Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Morgan Jessup
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Joel Wood
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kodavali Chowdari
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Matthew Demers
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Eric E Abrahamson
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Milos D Ikonomovic
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Luigi Viggiano
- Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberta De Zio
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Biotecnologie e Biofarmaceutica, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Simon Watkins
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul R Kinchington
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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7
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Abstract
Existence of aging associated transcriptional differences in the schizophrenia brain was investigated in RNA sequencing data from 610 postmortem Dorso-Lateral Pre-Frontal Cortex (DLPFC) samples in the CommondMind Consortium (CMC) and the psychENCODE cohorts. This analysis discovered that the trajectory of gene expression changes that occur during brain aging differed between schizophrenia cases and unaffected controls. Mainly, the identified gene expression differences between the diagnosis groups shrank in magnitude following 60 years of age. A differential expression analysis restricted to the 40 to 60 year age group identified 556 statistically significant loci that replicated and had highly consistent gene expression fold changes in the two cohorts. An interaction between age and diagnosis in the wider psychENCODE cohort was also detected. Gene set enrichment analysis discovered disruptions in mitochondria, RNA splicing and phosphoprotein gene pathways. The identified differentially expressed genes in the two cohorts were also significantly enriched in genomic regions associated with schizophrenia although no enrichment was observed for differentially expressed genes identified in the 40 to 60 year age group. This work implicates disruptions to the normal brain aging processes in the pathology of schizophrenia and demonstrates the need for age stratification in schizophrenia postmortem brain gene expression studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarven Sabunciyan
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
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8
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Alsaady I, Tedford E, Alsaad M, Bristow G, Kohli S, Murray M, Reeves M, Vijayabaskar MS, Clapcote SJ, Wastling J, McConkey GA. Downregulation of the Central Noradrenergic System by Toxoplasma gondii Infection. Infect Immun 2019; 87:e00789-18. [PMID: 30510101 PMCID: PMC6346129 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00789-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [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: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is associated with physiological effects in the host. Dysregulation of catecholamines in the central nervous system has previously been observed in chronically infected animals. In the study described here, the noradrenergic system was found to be suppressed with decreased levels of norepinephrine (NE) in brains of infected animals and in infected human and rat neural cells in vitro The mechanism responsible for the NE suppression was found to be downregulation of dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) gene expression, encoding the enzyme that synthesizes norepinephrine from dopamine, with downregulation observed in vitro and in infected brain tissue, particularly in the dorsal locus coeruleus/pons region. The downregulation was sex specific, with males expressing reduced DBH mRNA levels whereas females were unchanged. Rather, DBH expression correlated with estrogen receptor in the female rat brains for this estrogen-regulated gene. DBH silencing was not a general response of neurons to infection, as human cytomegalovirus did not downregulate DBH expression. The noradrenergic-linked behaviors of sociability and arousal were altered in chronically infected animals, with a high correlation between DBH expression and infection intensity. A decrease in DBH expression in noradrenergic neurons can elevate dopamine levels, which provides a possible explanation for mixed observations of changes in this neurotransmitter with infection. Decreased NE is consistent with the loss of coordination and motor impairments associated with toxoplasmosis. Further, the altered norepinephrine synthesis observed here may, in part, explain behavioral effects of infection and associations with mental illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isra Alsaady
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Ellen Tedford
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Mohammad Alsaad
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Greg Bristow
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Shivali Kohli
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Murray
- Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, UCL Department of Virology, Division of Infection & Immunity, Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Reeves
- Institute of Immunity & Transplantation, UCL Department of Virology, Division of Infection & Immunity, Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - M S Vijayabaskar
- School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Steven J Clapcote
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Wastling
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom
| | - Glenn A McConkey
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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