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Modulation of circuit oscillations in the rat anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in vitro by mGlu2 metabotropic glutamate receptors and alleviation of the effects of phencyclidine-induced NMDA-receptor hypofunction. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2023; 223:173532. [PMID: 36822254 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2023.173532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Aberrant cortical oscillations in the beta and gamma range are associated with symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions. We have thus investigated the ability of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in vitro to generate beta and gamma oscillations, and how these are affected by Group II metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor activation and blockade of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Activation of Group II mGlu receptors, and mGlu2 specifically, with orthosteric agonists reduced the power of both beta and gamma oscillations in ACC without a significant effect on oscillation peak frequencies. The NMDA receptor blocker phencyclidine (PCP), known to evoke certain schizophrenia-like symptoms in humans, elevated the power of beta oscillations in ACC and caused a shift in oscillation frequency from the gamma range to the beta range. These enhanced beta oscillations were reduced by the Group II mGlu receptor agonists. These results show that Group II mGlu receptors, and specifically mGlu2, modulate network oscillations. Furthermore, attenuation of the effect of PCP suggests that mGlu2 receptors may stabilise aberrant network activity. These results underline the importance of Group II mGlu receptors, and particularly mGlu2, as targets for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Li SH, Abd-Elrahman KS, Ferguson SS. Targeting mGluR2/3 for treatment of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Pharmacol Ther 2022; 239:108275. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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Li ML, Peng Y, An Y, Li GY, Lan Y. LY395756 promotes NR2B expression via activation of AKT/CREB signaling in the juvenile methylazoxymethanol mice model of schizophrenia. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2466. [PMID: 35025141 PMCID: PMC8865150 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Synaptic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subtype 2B(NR2B) is significantly reduced in prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the neurodevelopmental methylazoxymethanol (MAM) model of schizophrenia (SCZ). Recent research has shown that LY395756 can effectively restore NR2B levels and improve cognitive performance in juvenile MAM mice model. However, the underlying mechanisms of these beneficial effects remain unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS Juvenile MAM mice model of SCZ is used in our study. Synaptic membrane protein levels were examined by western blotting under different treatment conditions. Interaction of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and the promoter of NR2B was detected by the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Further examination of signaling pathway that mediates NR2B expression was also investigated by western blotting. RESULTS In the PFC of the juvenile MAM mice schizophrenia model, CREB was found to directly bind with the promoter of NR2B. LY395756 activated the phosphorylation of AKT. Phosphorylated AKT subsequently induced the phosphorylation of CREB, and the activated CREB promoted the expression of NR2B. Subsequent experiments showed that the dephosphorylation of CREB induced by protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) can inhibit NR2B levels. Taken together, these findings support that the AKT/CREB signaling pathway is essential for the promoting effect of LY395756 on synaptic NR2B in PFC in juvenile MAM mice SCZ model. CONCLUSIONS Our investigation has identified a novel mechanism by which LY395756 increases NR2B expression in juvenile MAM mice SCZ model. The AKT/CREB signaling pathway warrants further research as a potential direction for clinical treatment of SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Lin Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuan Peng
- Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying An
- Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guo-Yan Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yue Lan
- Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
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Zhang CY, Xiao X, Zhang Z, Hu Z, Li M. An alternative splicing hypothesis for neuropathology of schizophrenia: evidence from studies on historical candidate genes and multi-omics data. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:95-112. [PMID: 33686213 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01037-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Alternative splicing of schizophrenia risk genes, such as DRD2, GRM3, and DISC1, has been extensively described. Nevertheless, the alternative splicing characteristics of the growing number of schizophrenia risk genes identified through genetic analyses remain relatively opaque. Recently, transcriptomic analyses in human brains based on short-read RNA-sequencing have discovered many "local splicing" events (e.g., exon skipping junctions) associated with genetic risk of schizophrenia, and further molecular characterizations have identified novel spliced isoforms, such as AS3MTd2d3 and ZNF804AE3E4. In addition, long-read sequencing analyses of schizophrenia risk genes (e.g., CACNA1C and NRXN1) have revealed multiple previously unannotated brain-abundant isoforms with therapeutic potentials, and functional analyses of KCNH2-3.1 and Ube3a1 have provided examples for investigating such spliced isoforms in vitro and in vivo. These findings suggest that alternative splicing may be an essential molecular mechanism underlying genetic risk of schizophrenia, however, the incomplete annotations of human brain transcriptomes might have limited our understanding of schizophrenia pathogenesis, and further efforts to elucidate these transcriptional characteristics are urgently needed to gain insights into the illness-correlated brain physiology and pathology as well as to translate genetic discoveries into novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chu-Yi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.,KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Zhuohua Zhang
- Institute of Molecular Precision Medicine and Hunan Key Laboratory of Molecular Precision Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Center for Medical Genetics and Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Zhonghua Hu
- Institute of Molecular Precision Medicine and Hunan Key Laboratory of Molecular Precision Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,Center for Medical Genetics and Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,Department of Critical Care Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models for Human Diseases, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,Eye Center of Xiangya Hospital and Hunan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan, China.
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China. .,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China. .,KIZ-CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
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Kryszkowski W, Boczek T. The G Protein-Coupled Glutamate Receptors as Novel Molecular Targets in Schizophrenia Treatment-A Narrative Review. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10071475. [PMID: 33918323 PMCID: PMC8038150 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10071475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease with an unknown etiology. The research into the neurobiology of this disease led to several models aimed at explaining the link between perturbations in brain function and the manifestation of psychotic symptoms. The glutamatergic hypothesis postulates that disrupted glutamate neurotransmission may mediate cognitive and psychosocial impairments by affecting the connections between the cortex and the thalamus. In this regard, the greatest attention has been given to ionotropic NMDA receptor hypofunction. However, converging data indicates metabotropic glutamate receptors as crucial for cognitive and psychomotor function. The distribution of these receptors in the brain regions related to schizophrenia and their regulatory role in glutamate release make them promising molecular targets for novel antipsychotics. This article reviews the progress in the research on the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors in schizophrenia etiopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waldemar Kryszkowski
- General Psychiatric Ward, Babinski Memorial Hospital in Lodz, 91229 Lodz, Poland;
| | - Tomasz Boczek
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland
- Correspondence:
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Jankowska A, Satała G, Partyka A, Wesołowska A, Bojarski AJ, Pawłowski M, Chłoń-Rzepa G. Discovery and Development of Non-Dopaminergic Agents for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Overview of the Preclinical and Early Clinical Studies. Curr Med Chem 2019; 26:4885-4913. [PMID: 31291870 DOI: 10.2174/0929867326666190710172002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people around the world and results in persistent emotional and cognitive impairments. Untreated schizophrenia leads to deterioration in quality of life and premature death. Although the clinical efficacy of dopamine D2 receptor antagonists against positive symptoms of schizophrenia supports the dopamine hypothesis of the disease, the resistance of negative and cognitive symptoms to these drugs implicates other systems in its pathophysiology. Many studies suggest that abnormalities in glutamate homeostasis may contribute to all three groups of schizophrenia symptoms. Scientific considerations also include disorders of gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic and serotonergic neurotransmissions as well as the role of the immune system. The purpose of this review is to update the most recent reports on the discovery and development of non-dopaminergic agents that may reduce positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, and may be alternative to currently used antipsychotics. This review collects the chemical structures of representative compounds targeting metabotropic glutamate receptor, gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor, alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, glycine transporter type 1 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 as well as results of in vitro and in vivo studies indicating their efficacy in schizophrenia. Results of clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of the tested compounds have also been presented. Finally, attention has been paid to multifunctional ligands with serotonin receptor affinity or phosphodiesterase inhibitory activity as novel strategies in the search for dedicated medicines for patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Jankowska
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Grzegorz Satała
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smetna Street, 31-343 Krakow, Poland
| | - Anna Partyka
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Anna Wesołowska
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Andrzej J Bojarski
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 12 Smetna Street, 31-343 Krakow, Poland
| | - Maciej Pawłowski
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Grażyna Chłoń-Rzepa
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow, Poland
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Li ML, Gulchina Y, Monaco SA, Xing B, Ferguson BR, Li YC, Li F, Hu XQ, Gao WJ. Juvenile treatment with a novel mGluR2 agonist/mGluR3 antagonist compound, LY395756, reverses learning deficits and cognitive flexibility impairments in adults in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 140:52-61. [PMID: 28213064 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Revised: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder, in which cognitive function becomes disrupted at early stages of the disease. Although the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairments remain unclear, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) hypofunctioning in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated. Moreover, cognitive symptoms in SCZ are usually unresponsive to treatment with current antipsychotics and by onset, disruption of the dopamine system, not NMDAR hypofunctioning, dominates the symptoms. Therefore, treating cognitive deficits at an early stage is a realistic approach. In this study, we tested whether an early treatment targeting mGluR2 would be effective in ameliorating cognitive impairments in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) model of SCZ. We investigated the effects of an mGluR2 agonist/mGluR3 antagonist, LY395756 (LY39), on the NMDAR expression and function in juveniles, as well as cognitive deficits in adult rats after juvenile treatment. We found that gestational MAM exposure induced a significant decrease in total protein levels of the NMDAR subunit, NR2B, and a significant increase of pNR2BTyr1472 in the juvenile rat PFC. Treatment with LY39 in juvenile MAM-exposed rats effectively recovered the disrupted NMDAR expression. Furthermore, a subchronic LY39 treatment in juvenile MAM-exposed rats also alleviated the learning deficits and cognitive flexibility impairments when tested with a cross-maze based set-shifting task in adults. Therefore, our study demonstrates that targeting dysfunctional NMDARs with an mGluR2 agonist during the early stage of SCZ could be an effective strategy in preventing the development and progression in addition to ameliorating cognitive impairments of SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Lin Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China; Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA; Department of Rehabilitation, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Yelena Gulchina
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
| | - Sarah A Monaco
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
| | - Bo Xing
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
| | - Brielle R Ferguson
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
| | - Yan-Chun Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA
| | - Feng Li
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, 510275 Guangzhou, China.
| | - Xi-Quan Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
| | - Wen-Jun Gao
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA.
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