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Longhi MS, Zhang L, Mieli-Vergani G, Vergani D. B and T cells: (Still) the dominant orchestrators in autoimmune hepatitis. Autoimmun Rev 2024; 23:103591. [PMID: 39117005 PMCID: PMC11409799 DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2024.103591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2024] [Revised: 08/03/2024] [Accepted: 08/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a severe hepatopathy characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia, presence of serum autoantibodies and histological appearance of interface hepatitis. Liver damage in AIH is initiated by the presentation of a liver autoantigen to uncommitted Th0 lymphocytes, followed by a cascade of effector immune responses culminating with the production of inflammatory cytokines, activation of cytotoxic cells and subsequent hepatocyte injury. B cells actively participate in AIH liver damage by presenting autoantigens to uncommitted T lymphocytes. B cells also undergo maturation into plasma cells that are responsible for production of immunoglobulin G and autoantibodies, which mediate antibody dependent cell cytotoxicity. Perpetuation of effector immunity with consequent progression of liver damage is permitted by impairment in regulatory T cells (Tregs), a lymphocyte subset central to the maintenance of immune homeostasis. Treg impairment in AIH is multifactorial, deriving from numerical decrease, reduced suppressive function, poor response to IL-2 and less stable phenotype. In this review, we discuss the role of B and T lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of AIH. Immunotherapeutic strategies that could limit inflammation and halt disease progression while reconstituting tolerance to liver autoantigens are also reviewed and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Serena Longhi
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Lina Zhang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA; School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - Giorgina Mieli-Vergani
- Institute of Liver Studies, MowatLabs, Department of Inflammation Biology, School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, Faculty of Liver Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Diego Vergani
- Institute of Liver Studies, MowatLabs, Department of Inflammation Biology, School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, Faculty of Liver Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Król M, Skowron P, Skowron K, Gil K. The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders-An Overview of Experimental Models, Therapeutic Strategies, and Future Research Directions. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:531. [PMID: 38790526 PMCID: PMC11120554 DOI: 10.3390/children11050531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Since the establishment of a clear link between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and certain birth defects, the research into the treatment of FASD has become increasingly sophisticated. The field has begun to explore the possibility of intervening at different levels, and animal studies have provided valuable insights into the pathophysiology of the disease, forming the basis for implementing potential therapies with increasingly precise mechanisms. The recent reports suggest that compounds that reduce the severity of neurodevelopmental deficits, including glial cell function and myelination, and/or target oxidative stress and inflammation may be effective in treating FASD. Our goal in writing this article was to analyze and synthesize current experimental therapeutic interventions for FASD, elucidating their potential mechanisms of action, translational relevance, and implications for clinical application. This review exclusively focuses on animal models and the interventions used in these models to outline the current direction of research. We conclude that given the complexity of the underlying mechanisms, a multifactorial approach combining nutritional supplementation, pharmacotherapy, and behavioral techniques tailored to the stage and severity of the disease may be a promising avenue for further research in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Król
- Department of Pathophysiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Czysta St. 18, 31-121 Krakow, Poland; (M.K.); (K.S.)
| | - Paweł Skowron
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Wroclaw Medical University, T. Chalubinskiego St. 10, 50-368 Wrocław, Poland;
| | - Kamil Skowron
- Department of Pathophysiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Czysta St. 18, 31-121 Krakow, Poland; (M.K.); (K.S.)
| | - Krzysztof Gil
- Department of Pathophysiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Czysta St. 18, 31-121 Krakow, Poland; (M.K.); (K.S.)
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Bird CW, Mayfield SS, Lopez KM, Dunn BR, Feng A, Roberts BT, Almeida RN, Chavez GJ, Valenzuela CF. Binge-like ethanol exposure during the brain growth spurt disrupts the function of retrosplenial cortex-projecting anterior thalamic neurons in adolescent mice. Neuropharmacology 2023; 241:109738. [PMID: 37778437 PMCID: PMC10842955 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Ethanol (EtOH) exposure during late pregnancy leads to enduring impairments in learning and memory that may stem from damage to components of the posterior limbic memory system, including the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN). In rodents, binge-like EtOH exposure during the first week of life (equivalent to the third trimester of human pregnancy) triggers apoptosis in these brain regions. We hypothesized that this effect induces long-lasting alterations in the function of RSC-projecting ATN neurons. To test this hypothesis, vesicular GABA transporter-Venus mice (expressing fluorescently tagged GABAergic interneurons) were subjected to binge-like EtOH vapor exposure on postnatal day (P) 7. This paradigm activated caspase 3 in the anterodorsal (AD), anteroventral (AV), and reticular thalamic nuclei at P7 but did not reduce neuronal density in these areas at P60-70. At P40-60, we injected red retrobeads into the RSC and performed patch-clamp slice electrophysiological recordings from retrogradely labeled neurons in the AD and AV nuclei 3-4 days later. We found significant effects of treatment on instantaneous action potential (AP) frequency and AP overshoot, as well as sex × treatment interactions for AP threshold and overshoot in AD neurons. A sex × treatment interaction was detected for AP number in AV neurons. EtOH exposure also reduced the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents and increased the charge transfer of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents. These results highlight a novel cellular mechanism that could contribute to the lasting learning and memory deficits associated with developmental EtOH exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clark W Bird
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Stefanie S Mayfield
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Katalina M Lopez
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Brooke R Dunn
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Angela Feng
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Bryce T Roberts
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Roberto N Almeida
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Glenna J Chavez
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - C Fernando Valenzuela
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
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DuBois DW, Murchison DA, Mahnke AH, Bang E, Winzer-Serhan U, Griffith WH, Souza KA. Maintenance of optogenetic channel rhodopsin (ChR2) function in aging mice: Implications for pharmacological studies of inhibitory synaptic transmission, quantal content, and calcium homeostasis. Neuropharmacology 2023:109651. [PMID: 37414332 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Disruption of synaptic function is believed to represent a common pathway contributing to cognitive decline during aging. Optogenetics is a prodigious tool for studying relationships between function and synaptic circuitry but models utilizing viral vectors present limitations. Careful characterization of the functionality of channel rhodopsin in transgenic models is crucial for determining whether they can be used across aging. This includes verifying the light sensitivity of the protein and confirming its ability to generate action potentials in response to light stimulation. We combined in vitro optogenetic methodology and a reduced synaptic preparation of acutely isolated neurons to determine if the ChR2(H134R)-eYFP vGAT mouse model is well-suited for aging studies. We used neurons from young (2-6 mo), middle-aged (10-14 mo) and aged (17-25 mo) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mouse line with stable expression of the channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) variant H134R in GABAergic cell populations. Cellular physiology and calcium dynamics were assessed in basal forebrain (BF) neurons using patch-clamp recording and fura-2 microfluorimetry, alongside 470 nm light stimulation of the transgenic ChR2 channel to characterize a wide array of physiological functions known to decline with age. We found ChR2 expression is functionally maintained across aging, while spontaneous and optically evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents, and quantal content were decreased. Aged mice also showed an increase in intracellular calcium buffering. These results, which are on par with previous observations, demonstrate that the optogenetic vGAT BAC mouse model is well-suited for investigating age-related changes in calcium signaling and synaptic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dustin W DuBois
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - David A Murchison
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Amanda H Mahnke
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Eunyoung Bang
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Ursula Winzer-Serhan
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - William H Griffith
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Karienn A Souza
- Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University School of Medicine, USA.
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Pinheiro-da-Silva J, Agues-Barbosa T, Luchiari AC. Embryonic Exposure to Ethanol Increases Anxiety-Like Behavior in Fry Zebrafish. Alcohol Alcohol 2021; 55:581-590. [PMID: 32886092 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term to describe the effects of ethanol (Eth) exposure during embryonic development, including several conditions from malformation to cognitive deficits. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a translational model popularly applied in brain disorders and drug screening studies due to its genetic and physiology homology to humans added to its transparent eggs and fast development. In this study, we investigated how early ethanol exposure affects zebrafish behavior during the initial growth phase. METHODS Fish eggs were exposed to 0.0 (control), 0.25 and 0.5% ethanol at 24 h post-fertilization. Later, fry zebrafish (10 days old) were tested in a novel tank task and an inhibitory avoidance protocol to inquire about morphology and behavioral alterations. RESULTS Analysis of variance showed that ethanol doses of 0.25 and 0.5% do not cause morphological malformations and did not impair associative learning but increased anxiety-like behavior responses and lower exploratory behavior when compared to the control. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrate that one can detect behavioral abnormalities in the zebrafish induced by embryonic ethanol as early as 10 days post-fertilization and that alcohol increases anxious behavior during young development in zebrafish.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thais Agues-Barbosa
- Department of Physiology and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina Luchiari
- Department of Physiology and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
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