Bilateral histone deacetylase 1 and 2 activity and enrichment at unique genes following induction of long-term potentiation in vivo

N-acetyl cysteine through modulation of HDAC2 and GCN5 in the hippocampus mitigates behavioral disorders in the first and second generations of socially isolated mice

Objectives

Social isolation stress (SIS) in early life can lead to behavioral disorders. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, may aid treatment. This study explored NAC's impact on behavior in first and second-generation mice after SIS, focusing on HDAC2 and GCN5 expression in the hippocampus.

Materials and methods

In this study, 24 male and 24 female mice were bred for one generation. The pups were divided into six (3male, 3female) groups (n = 20): 1- Control receiving normal saline, 2- SIS with normal saline, 3- SIS with NAC (150 mg/kg) IP for four weeks. Eight mice from each group underwent behavioral, histopathological, and molecular tests, while others were mated (4 males + 4 females) to produce second generations. These pups were divided into 9 groups (n = 8) for behavioral tests, including elevated plus maze, open field, forced swimming, and histopathological and molecular assessments (HDAC2 and GCN5 expression) in the hippocampus.

Results

The SIS group showed increased HDAC2 and GCN5 expression. Following SIS, there was a decrease in open arm entries and passes in the open field test, alongside increased immobility in the forced swimming test and reduced CA1 and CA3 hippocampal diameters. NAC mitigated the adverse molecular, behavioral, and histopathological impacts of SIS across both generations.

Conclusion

NAC reduces behavioral disorders after SIS (first and second generation) by reducing the expression of GCN5 and HDAC2 and increasing neuronal diameter in the hippocampus. Future research should investigate the long-term therapeutic effects of NAC for behavioral disorders after SIS.

Design of a 1 × 4 micro-magnetic stimulation device and its targeted, coordinated regulation on LTP of Schaffer-CA1 in the hippocampus of rats

Magnetic technology has been a hotspot of neuromodulation research in recent years. However, magnetic coil is limited by their size, and it is impossible to realize precise targeted magnetic stimulation to the target area at the cellular scale. To this end, this study designs a 1 × 4 array micro-magnetic stimulation (μMS) device with four sub-millimeter-sized elements, enabling precise magnetic stimulation of the CA1-CA3-DG tri-synaptic positions in the rat hippocampal region. First, it is determined that 70 KHz/2 mT/1 min magnetic stimulation parameter has a modulatory effect on the long-term potentiation (LTP) of Schaffer-CA1 in rat hippocampus. Then, a 1 × 4 array μMS device is used to perform magnetic stimulation at 70 KHz/2 mT/1 min, targeting the CA1, CA3, and DG regions individually with single-point magnetic stimulation; and multi-region magnetic stimulation is applied to the double-point targeting regions of CA1-CA3, CA1-DG, and CA3-DG, as well as the triple-point targeting region of CA1-CA3-DG, so as to investigate the regulation of LTP by single-region magnetic stimulation and multi-region magnetic stimulation. The experimental results indicate that, in the case of single-region magnetic stimulation, the magnitude of the increase in LTP in the CA1 region is the greatest, followed by the CA3 region, while the effect of magnetic stimulation on the DG region is less pronounced. In multi-region magnetic stimulation, synergistic magnetic stimulation of the three-point CA1-CA3-DG results in a greater increase in LTP compared to stimulation of two individual areas, and the enhancement of LTP induction with multi-region magnetic stimulation surpasses that of single-region stimulation. This study has implications for the collaborative targeted magnetic stimulation application of arrayed micro-magnetic devices.