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Zhang Q, Wang Y, Tao J, Xia R, Zhang Y, Liu Z, Cheng J. Sex-biased single-cell genetic landscape in mice with autism spectrum disorder. J Genet Genomics 2024; 51:338-351. [PMID: 37703921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2023.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a male-biased, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that affects approximately 1%-2% of the population. Prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) is a recognized risk factor for ASD, but the cellular and molecular basis of VPA-induced ASD at the single-cell resolution is unclear. Here, we aim to compare the cellular and molecular differences in the hippocampus between male and female prenatal mice with ASD at the single-cell transcriptomic level. The transcriptomes of more than 45,000 cells are assigned to 12 major cell types, including neurons, glial cells, vascular cells, and immune cells. Cell type-specific genes with altered expression after prenatal VPA exposure are analyzed, and the largest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are found in neurons, choroid plexus epithelial cells, and microglia. In microglia, several pathways related to inflammation are found in both males and females, including the tumor necrosis factor (TNF), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), toll-like receptor (TLR), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, which are important for the induction of autistic-like behavior. Additionally, we note that several X-linked genes, including Bex1, Bex3, and Gria3, were among the male-specific DEGs of neurons. This pioneering study describes the landscape of the transcriptome in the hippocampus of autistic mice. The elucidation of sexual differences could provide innovative strategies for the prevention and treatment of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Department of Neurology and Central Laboratory, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Yongjie Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311121, China
| | - Jie Tao
- Department of Neurology and Central Laboratory, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Ruixue Xia
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Henan University Huaihe Hospital, Kaifeng, Henan 475099, China
| | - Yijie Zhang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Henan University Huaihe Hospital, Kaifeng, Henan 475099, China
| | - Zhirui Liu
- Department of Neurology and Central Laboratory, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200062, China.
| | - Jiwei Cheng
- Department of Neurology and Central Laboratory, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200062, China.
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2
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Lesh TA, Iosif AM, Tanase C, Vlasova RM, Ryan AM, Bennett J, Hogrefe CE, Maddock RJ, Geschwind DH, Van de Water J, McAllister AK, Styner MA, Bauman MD, Carter CS. Extracellular free water elevations are associated with brain volume and maternal cytokine response in a longitudinal nonhuman primate maternal immune activation model. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4185-4194. [PMID: 37582858 PMCID: PMC10867284 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02213-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Maternal infection has emerged as an important environmental risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. Animal model systems of maternal immune activation (MIA) suggest that the maternal immune response plays a significant role in the offspring's neurodevelopment and behavioral outcomes. Extracellular free water is a measure of freely diffusing water in the brain that may be associated with neuroinflammation and impacted by MIA. The present study evaluates the brain diffusion characteristics of male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) born to MIA-exposed dams (n = 14) treated with a modified form of the viral mimic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid at the end of the first trimester. Control dams received saline injections at the end of the first trimester (n = 10) or were untreated (n = 4). Offspring underwent diffusion MRI scans at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 45 months. Offspring born to MIA-exposed dams showed significantly increased extracellular free water in cingulate cortex gray matter starting as early as 6 months of age and persisting through 45 months. In addition, offspring gray matter free water in this region was significantly correlated with the magnitude of the maternal IL-6 response in the MIA-exposed dams. Significant correlations between brain volume and extracellular free water in the MIA-exposed offspring also indicate converging, multimodal evidence of the impact of MIA on brain development. These findings provide strong evidence for the construct validity of the nonhuman primate MIA model as a system of relevance for investigating the pathophysiology of human neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. Elevated free water in individuals exposed to immune activation in utero could represent an early marker of a perturbed or vulnerable neurodevelopmental trajectory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler A Lesh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Ana-Maria Iosif
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Costin Tanase
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Roza M Vlasova
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Amy M Ryan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Bennett
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Richard J Maddock
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Neurogenetics Program, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Judy Van de Water
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Rheumatology/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - A Kimberley McAllister
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Melissa D Bauman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Cameron S Carter
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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3
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Anderson RC, O'Keeffe GW, McDermott KW. Characterisation of the consequences of maternal immune activation on distinct cell populations in the developing rat spinal cord. J Anat 2022; 241:938-950. [PMID: 35808977 PMCID: PMC9482694 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) during gestation has been implicated in the development of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Epidemiological studies have suggested that the effect of MIA may depend on the gestational timing of the immune challenge and the region of the central nervous system (CNS) in question. This study investigated the effects of MIA with 100 μg/kg lipopolysaccharide at either Embryonic days (E)12 or E16 on the oligodendrocytes, microglia and astrocytes of the offspring spinal cord. At E16, MIA decreased the number of olig2+ and Iba‐1+ cells in multiple grey and white matter regions of the developing spinal cord 5 h after injection. These decreases were not observed at postnatal day 14. In contrast, MIA at E12 did not alter Olig2+ or Iba‐1+ cell number in the developing spinal cord 5 h after injection, however, Olig2+ cell number was decreased in the ventral grey matter of the P14 spinal cord. No changes were observed in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression at P14 following MIA at either E12 or E16. These data suggest that E16 may be a window of immediate vulnerability to MIA during spinal cord development, however, the findings also suggest that the developmental process may be capable of compensation over time. Potential changes in P14 animals following the challenge at E12 are indicative of the complexity of the effects of MIA during the developmental process.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerard W O'Keeffe
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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4
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Froggatt HM, Heaton NS. Nonrespiratory sites of influenza-associated disease: mechanisms and experimental systems for continued study. FEBS J 2022; 289:4038-4060. [PMID: 35060315 PMCID: PMC9300775 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The productive replication of human influenza viruses is almost exclusively restricted to cells in the respiratory tract. However, a key aspect of the host response to viral infection is the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that are not similarly tissue restricted. As such, circulating inflammatory mediators, as well as the resulting activated immune cells, can induce damage throughout the body, particularly in individuals with underlying conditions. As a result, more holistic experimental approaches are required to fully understand the pathogenesis and scope of influenza virus-induced disease. This review summarizes what is known about some of the most well-appreciated nonrespiratory tract sites of influenza virus-induced disease, including neurological, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, muscular and fetal developmental phenotypes. In the context of this discussion, we describe the in vivo experimental systems currently being used to study nonrespiratory symptoms. Finally, we highlight important future questions and potential models that can be used for a more complete understanding of influenza virus-induced disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M. Froggatt
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Nicholas S. Heaton
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- To whom correspondence should be addressed: Nicholas S. Heaton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (MGM),
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5
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Disruption of Alternative Splicing in the Amygdala of Pigs Exposed to Maternal Immune Activation. IMMUNO 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/immuno1040035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The inflammatory response of gestating females to infection or stress can disrupt gene expression in the offspring’s amygdala, resulting in lasting neurodevelopmental, physiological, and behavioral disorders. The effects of maternal immune activation (MIA) can be impacted by the offspring’s sex and exposure to additional stressors later in life. The objectives of this study were to investigate the disruption of alternative splicing patterns associated with MIA in the offspring’s amygdala and characterize this disruption in the context of the second stress of weaning and sex. Differential alternative splicing was tested on the RNA-seq profiles of a pig model of viral-induced MIA. Compared to controls, MIA was associated with the differential alternative splicing (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.1) of 292 and 240 genes in weaned females and males, respectively, whereas 132 and 176 genes were differentially spliced in control nursed female and male, respectively. The majority of the differentially spliced (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.001) genes (e.g., SHANK1, ZNF672, KCNA6) and many associated enriched pathways (e.g., Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cGMP-PKG signaling) have been reported in MIA-related disorders including autism and schizophrenia in humans. Differential alternative splicing associated with MIA was detected in the gene MAG across all sex-stress groups except for unstressed males and SLC2A11 across all groups except unstressed females. Precise understanding of the effect of MIA across second stressors and sexes necessitates the consideration of splicing isoform profiles.
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6
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Bordeleau M, Fernández de Cossío L, Lacabanne C, Savage JC, Vernoux N, Chakravarty M, Tremblay MÈ. Maternal high-fat diet modifies myelin organization, microglial interactions, and results in social memory and sensorimotor gating deficits in adolescent mouse offspring. Brain Behav Immun Health 2021; 15:100281. [PMID: 34589781 PMCID: PMC8474164 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to maternal high-fat diet (mHFD) acts as a risk factor for various neurodevelopmental alterations in the progeny. Recent studies in mice revealed that mHFD results in both neuroinflammation and hypomyelination in the exposed offspring. Microglia, the brain-resident macrophages, play crucial roles during brain development, notably by modulating oligodendrocyte populations and performing phagocytosis of myelin sheaths. Previously, we reported that mHFD modifies microglial phenotype (i.e., morphology, interactions with their microenvironment, transcripts) in the hippocampus of male and female offspring. In the current study, we further explored whether mHFD may induce myelination changes among the hippocampal-corpus callosum-prefrontal cortex pathway, and result in behavioral outcomes in adolescent offspring of the two sexes. To this end, female mice were fed with control chow or HFD for 4 weeks before mating, during gestation, and until weaning of their litter. Histological and ultrastructural analyses revealed an increased density of myelin associated with a reduced area of cytosolic myelin channels in the corpus callosum of mHFD-exposed male compared to female offspring. Transcripts of myelination-associated genes including Igf1 -a growth factor released by microglia- were also lower, specifically in the hippocampus (without changes in the prefrontal cortex) of adolescent male mouse offspring. These changes in myelin were not related to an altered density, distribution, or maturation of oligodendrocytes, instead we found that microglia within the corpus callosum of mHFD-exposed offspring showed reduced numbers of mature lysosomes and increased synaptic contacts, suggesting microglial implication in the modified myelination. At the behavioral level, both male and female mHFD-exposed adolescent offspring presented loss of social memory and sensorimotor gating deficits. These results together highlight the importance of studying oligodendrocyte-microglia crosstalk and its involvement in the long-term brain alterations that result from prenatal mHFD in offspring across sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maude Bordeleau
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Axe Neurosciences, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | | | - Chloé Lacabanne
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Julie C Savage
- Axe Neurosciences, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Nathalie Vernoux
- Axe Neurosciences, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Mallar Chakravarty
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Cerebral Imaging Center, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-Ève Tremblay
- Axe Neurosciences, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.,Département de Médecine Moléculaire, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.,Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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7
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Laighneach A, Desbonnet L, Kelly JP, Donohoe G, Morris DW. Meta-Analysis of Brain Gene Expression Data from Mouse Model Studies of Maternal Immune Activation Using Poly(I:C). Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12091363. [PMID: 34573345 PMCID: PMC8471627 DOI: 10.3390/genes12091363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (MIA) is a known risk factor for schizophrenia (SCZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is often modelled in animal studies in order to study the effect of prenatal infection on brain function including behaviour and gene expression. Although the effect of MIA on gene expression are highly heterogeneous, combining data from multiple gene expression studies in a robust method may shed light on the true underlying biological effects caused by MIA and this could inform studies of SCZ and ASD. This study combined four RNA-seq and microarray datasets in an overlap analysis and ranked meta-analysis in order to investigate genes, pathways and cell types dysregulated in the MIA mouse models. Genes linked to SCZ and ASD and crucial in neurodevelopmental processes including neural tube folding, regulation of cellular stress and neuronal/glial cell differentiation were among the most consistently dysregulated in these ranked analyses. Gene ontologies including K+ ion channel function, neuron and glial cell differentiation, synaptic structure, axonal outgrowth, cilia function and lipid metabolism were also strongly implicated. Single-cell analysis identified excitatory and inhibitory cell types in the cortex, hippocampus and striatum that may be affected by MIA and are also enriched for genes associated with SCZ, ASD and cognitive phenotypes. This points to the cellular location of molecular mechanisms that may be consistent between the MIA model and neurodevelopmental disease, improving our understanding of its utility to study prenatal infection as an environmental stressor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aodán Laighneach
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics, Discipline of Biochemistry and School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland; (A.L.); (G.D.)
| | - Lieve Desbonnet
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland; (L.D.); (J.P.K.)
| | - John P. Kelly
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland; (L.D.); (J.P.K.)
| | - Gary Donohoe
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics, Discipline of Biochemistry and School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland; (A.L.); (G.D.)
| | - Derek W. Morris
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics, Discipline of Biochemistry and School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland; (A.L.); (G.D.)
- Correspondence:
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8
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Woods RM, Lorusso JM, Potter HG, Neill JC, Glazier JD, Hager R. Maternal immune activation in rodent models: A systematic review of neurodevelopmental changes in gene expression and epigenetic modulation in the offspring brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 129:389-421. [PMID: 34280428 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Maternal immune activation (mIA) during pregnancy is hypothesised to disrupt offspring neurodevelopment and predispose offspring to neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia. Rodent models of mIA have explored possible mechanisms underlying this paradigm and provide a vital tool for preclinical research. However, a comprehensive analysis of the molecular changes that occur in mIA-models is lacking, hindering identification of robust clinical targets. This systematic review assesses mIA-driven transcriptomic and epigenomic alterations in specific offspring brain regions. Across 118 studies, we focus on 88 candidate genes and show replicated changes in expression in critical functional areas, including elevated inflammatory markers, and reduced myelin and GABAergic signalling proteins. Further, disturbed epigenetic markers at nine of these genes support mIA-driven epigenetic modulation of transcription. Overall, our results demonstrate that current outcome measures have direct relevance for the hypothesised pathology of schizophrenia and emphasise the importance of mIA-models in contributing to the understanding of biological pathways impacted by mIA and the discovery of new drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M Woods
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom.
| | - Jarred M Lorusso
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Harry G Potter
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Joanna C Neill
- Division of Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Jocelyn D Glazier
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom
| | - Reinmar Hager
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Center, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom
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9
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Nolvi S, Tuulari JJ, Lavonius T, Scheinin NM, Lehtola SJ, Lavonius M, Merisaari H, Saunavaara J, Korja R, Kataja EL, Pelto J, Parkkola R, Karlsson L, Karlsson H. Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 15:649-660. [PMID: 32577747 PMCID: PMC7393309 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal postpartum depression is a prominent risk factor for aberrant child socioemotional development, but there is little understanding about the neural phenotypes that underlie infant sensitivity to maternal depression. We examined whether newborn white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter maturity, moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity at 6 months. Participants were 80 mother–infant dyads participating in a prospective population-based cohort, and included families whose newborns underwent a magnetic resonance/diffusion tensor imaging scan at 2–5 weeks of age and whose mothers reported their own depressive symptoms at 3 and 6 months postpartum and infant negative emotional reactivity at 6 months. The whole-brain FA moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and mother-reported infant negative reactivity at 6 months after adjusting for the covariates. Maternal depressive symptoms were positively related to infant negative reactivity among infants with high or average FA in the whole brain and in corpus callosum and cingulum, but not among those with low FA. The link between maternal depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity was moderated by newborn FA. The variation in white matter microstructure might play a role in child susceptibility to parental distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saara Nolvi
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Medical Psychology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Jetro J Tuulari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tuomas Lavonius
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Noora M Scheinin
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Satu J Lehtola
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Maria Lavonius
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Harri Merisaari
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Future Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jani Saunavaara
- Department of Medical Physics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Riikka Korja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Juho Pelto
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Riitta Parkkola
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Radiology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
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10
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research has examined the relationship between advanced parental age at conception and the incidence of autism, and has noted strong relationships between advanced parental age and other developmental disabilities. AIM The purpose of this study was to confirm that and extend that knowledge to the association between advanced parental age and severity of autism symptoms as measured by a parental report of ASD symptom severity. METHODS The current study included 252 participants between the ages of 2-17 years and their parents. RESULTS Child's gender and paternal age were found to be significant predictors of autism severity with males and children with older fathers at conception showing the highest severity. Interestingly, maternal age was not found to be a significant predictor of autism risk or severity of symptoms in this sample. CONCLUSION Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, as well as future directions for research in this area.
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11
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Zhang XF, Chen T, Yan A, Xiao J, Xie YL, Yuan J, Chen P, Wong AOL, Zhang Y, Wong NK. Poly(I:C) Challenge Alters Brain Expression of Oligodendroglia-Related Genes of Adult Progeny in a Mouse Model of Maternal Immune Activation. Front Mol Neurosci 2020; 13:115. [PMID: 32714147 PMCID: PMC7340146 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2020.00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Altered white matter connectivity, as evidenced by pervasive microstructural changes in myelination and axonal integrity in neuroimaging studies, has been implicated in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related neurodevelopmental conditions such as schizophrenia. Despite an increasing appreciation that such white matter disconnectivity is linked to social behavior deficits, virtually no etiologically meaningful myelin-related genes have been identified in oligodendrocytes, the key myelinating cells in the CNS, to furnish an account on the causes. The impact of neurodevelopmental perturbations during pregnancy such as maternal immune activation (MIA) on these genes in memory-related neural networks has not been experimentally scrutinized. Methods: In this study, a mouse model of MIA by the viral dsRNA analog poly(I:C) was employed to mimic the effects of inflammation during pregnancy. Transcriptional expression levels of selected myelin- or oligodendroglia-related genes implicated in schizophrenia or ASD development were analyzed by in situ hybridization (ISH) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) with brain samples from MIA and control groups. The analysis focused on SOX-10 (SRY-related HMG-box 10), MAG (myelin-associated glycoprotein), and Tf (transferrin) expression in the hippocampus and the surrounding memory-related cortical regions in either hemisphere. Results: Specifically, ISH reveals that in the brain of prenatal poly(I:C)-exposed mouse offspring in the MIA model (gestation day 9), mRNA expression of the genes SOX10, MAG and Tf were generally reduced in the limbic system including the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex and parahippocampal gyrus on either side of the hemispheres. qRT-PCR further confirms the reduction of SOX10, MAG, and Tf expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, sensory cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Conclusions: Our present results provide direct evidence that prenatal exposure to poly(I:C) elicits profound and long-term changes in transcript level and spatial distribution of myelin-related genes in multiple neocortical and limbic regions, notably the hippocampus and its surrounding memory-related neural networks. Our work demonstrates the potential utility of oligodendroglia-related genes as biomarkers for modeling neurodevelopmental disorders, in agreement with the hypothesis that MIA during pregnancy could lead to compromised white matter connectivity in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Fan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ting Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology (LMB), Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology of Guangdong Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (LAMB), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Aifen Yan
- School of Stomatology and Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Jia Xiao
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yong-Li Xie
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jing Yuan
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pin Chen
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Yang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology (LMB), Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology of Guangdong Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (LAMB), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nai-Kei Wong
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
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12
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Kępińska AP, Iyegbe CO, Vernon AC, Yolken R, Murray RM, Pollak TA. Schizophrenia and Influenza at the Centenary of the 1918-1919 Spanish Influenza Pandemic: Mechanisms of Psychosis Risk. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:72. [PMID: 32174851 PMCID: PMC7054463 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Associations between influenza infection and psychosis have been reported since the eighteenth century, with acute "psychoses of influenza" documented during multiple pandemics. In the late 20th century, reports of a season-of-birth effect in schizophrenia were supported by large-scale ecological and sero-epidemiological studies suggesting that maternal influenza infection increases the risk of psychosis in offspring. We examine the evidence for the association between influenza infection and schizophrenia risk, before reviewing possible mechanisms via which this risk may be conferred. Maternal immune activation models implicate placental dysfunction, disruption of cytokine networks, and subsequent microglial activation as potentially important pathogenic processes. More recent neuroimmunological advances focusing on neuronal autoimmunity following infection provide the basis for a model of infection-induced psychosis, potentially implicating autoimmunity to schizophrenia-relevant protein targets including the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Finally, we outline areas for future research and relevant experimental approaches and consider whether the current evidence provides a basis for the rational development of strategies to prevent schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrianna P. Kępińska
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Conrad O. Iyegbe
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony C. Vernon
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Yolken
- Stanley Laboratory of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Robin M. Murray
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas A. Pollak
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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13
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Friedrich P, Fraenz C, Schlüter C, Ocklenburg S, Mädler B, Güntürkün O, Genç E. The Relationship Between Axon Density, Myelination, and Fractional Anisotropy in the Human Corpus Callosum. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:2042-2056. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The corpus callosum serves the functional integration and interaction between the two hemispheres. Many studies investigate callosal microstructure via diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fractional anisotropy (FA) in geometrically parcellated segments. However, FA is influenced by several different microstructural properties such as myelination and axon density, hindering a neurobiological interpretation. This study explores the relationship between FA and more specific measures of microstructure within the corpus callosum in a sample of 271 healthy participants. DTI tractography was used to assess 11 callosal segments and gain estimates of FA. We quantified axon density and myelination via neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to assess intra-neurite volume fraction and a multiecho gradient spin-echo sequence estimating myelin water fraction. The results indicate three common factors in the distribution of FA, myelin content and axon density, indicating potentially shared rules of topographical distribution. Moreover, the relationship between measures varied across the corpus callosum, suggesting that FA should not be interpreted uniformly. More specific magnetic resonance imaging-based quantification techniques, such as NODDI and multiecho myelin water imaging, may thus play a key role in future studies of clinical trials and individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Friedrich
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
- Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Laboratory (BCBLab), Sorbonne Universities, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Christoph Fraenz
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Caroline Schlüter
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Burkhard Mädler
- Health Systems Department, Philips GmBH, 22335 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
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14
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The role of maternal immune activation in altering the neurodevelopmental trajectories of offspring: A translational review of neuroimaging studies with implications for autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 104:141-157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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15
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Cisneros-Mejorado AJ, Garay E, Ortiz-Retana J, Concha L, Moctezuma JP, Romero S, Arellano RO. Demyelination-Remyelination of the Rat Caudal Cerebellar Peduncle Evaluated with Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Neuroscience 2019; 439:255-267. [PMID: 31299350 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.06.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Remyelination is common under physiological conditions and usually occurs as a response to a pathological demyelinating event. Its potentiation is an important goal for the development of therapies against pathologies such as multiple sclerosis and white matter injury. Visualization and quantification in vivo of demyelination and remyelination processes are essential for longitudinal studies that will allow the testing and development of pro-myelinating strategies. In this study, ethidium bromide (EB) was stereotaxically injected into the caudal cerebellar peduncle (c.c.p.) in rats to produce demyelination; the resulting lesion was characterized (i) transversally through histology using Black-Gold II (BGII) staining, and (ii) longitudinally through diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), by computing fractional anisotropy (FA) and diffusivity parameters to detect microstructural changes. Using this characterization, we evaluated, in the lesioned c.c.p., the effect of N-butyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate (β-CCB), a potentiator of GABAergic signaling in oligodendrocytes. The dMRI analysis revealed significant changes in the anisotropic and diffusivity properties of the c.c.p. A decreased FA and increased radial diffusivity (λ⊥) were evident following c.c.p. lesioning. These changes correlated strongly with an apparent decrease in myelin content as evidenced by BGII. Daily systemic β-CCB administration for 2 weeks in lesioned animals increased FA and decreased λ⊥, suggesting an improvement in myelination, which was supported by histological analysis. This study shows that structural changes in the demyelination-remyelination of the caudal cerebellar peduncle (DRCCP) model can be monitored longitudinally by MRI, and it suggests that remyelination is enhanced by β-CCB treatment. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Honoring Ricardo Miledi - outstanding neuroscientist of XX-XXI centuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abraham J Cisneros-Mejorado
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Edith Garay
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Juan Ortiz-Retana
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Luis Concha
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Juan P Moctezuma
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Samuel Romero
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Rogelio O Arellano
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, Juriquilla Querétaro, CP 76230, Querétaro, Mexico.
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16
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Missault S, Anckaerts C, Ahmadoun S, Blockx I, Barbier M, Bielen K, Shah D, Kumar-Singh S, De Vos WH, Van der Linden A, Dedeurwaerdere S, Verhoye M. Hypersynchronicity in the default mode-like network in a neurodevelopmental animal model with relevance for schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:303-316. [PMID: 30807809 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immune activation during pregnancy is an important risk factor for schizophrenia. Brain dysconnectivity and NMDA receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction have been postulated to be central to schizophrenia pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to investigate resting-state functional connectivity (resting-state functional MRI-rsfMRI), microstructure (diffusion tension imaging-DTI) and response to NMDAR antagonist (pharmacological fMRI-phMRI) using multimodal MRI in offspring of pregnant dams exposed to immune challenge (maternal immune activation-MIA model), and determine whether these neuroimaging readouts correlate with schizophrenia-related behaviour. METHODS Pregnant rats were injected with Poly I:C or saline on gestational day 15. The maternal weight response was assessed. Since previous research has shown behavioural deficits can differ between MIA offspring dependent on the maternal response to immune stimulus, offspring were divided into three groups: controls (saline, n = 11), offspring of dams that gained weight (Poly I:C WG, n = 12) and offspring of dams that lost weight post-MIA (Poly I:C WL, n = 16). Male adult offspring were subjected to rsfMRI, DTI, phMRI with NMDAR antagonist, behavioural testing and histological assessment. RESULTS Poly I:C WL offspring exhibited increased functional connectivity in default mode-like network (DMN). Poly I:C WG offspring showed the most pronounced attenuation in NMDAR antagonist response versus controls. DTI revealed no differences in Poly I:C offspring versus controls. Poly I:C offspring exhibited anxiety. CONCLUSIONS MIA offspring displayed a differential pathophysiology depending on the maternal response to immune challenge. While Poly I:C WL offspring displayed hypersynchronicity in the DMN, altered NMDAR antagonist response was most pronounced in Poly I:C WG offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Missault
- Experimental Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience and Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Cynthia Anckaerts
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Soumaya Ahmadoun
- Experimental Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience and Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Ines Blockx
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Michaël Barbier
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Kenny Bielen
- Molecular Pathology Group, Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Disha Shah
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Samir Kumar-Singh
- Molecular Pathology Group, Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Winnok H De Vos
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Cell Systems & Imaging, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Ghent, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Annemie Van der Linden
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Stefanie Dedeurwaerdere
- Experimental Laboratory of Hematology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Marleen Verhoye
- Bio-Imaging Lab, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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17
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Kim JH, Yu JE, Chang BJ, Nahm SS. Neonatal influenza virus infection affects myelination in influenza-recovered mouse brain. J Vet Sci 2019; 19:750-758. [PMID: 30173495 PMCID: PMC6265592 DOI: 10.4142/jvs.2018.19.6.750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza virus infection is a zoonosis that has great socioeconomic effects worldwide. Influenza infection induces respiratory symptoms, while the influenza virus can infect brain and leave central nervous system sequelae. As children are more vulnerable to infection, they are at risk of long-term neurological effects once their brains are infected. We previously demonstrated that functional changes in hippocampal neurons were observed in mice recovered from neonatal influenza infection. In this study, we investigated changes in myelination properties that could affect neural dysfunction. Mice were infected with the influenza virus on postnatal day 5. Tissues were harvested from recovered mice 21-days post-infection. The expression levels for myelin basic protein (MBP) were determined, and immunohistochemical staining and transmission electron microscopy were performed. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses showed that mRNA and protein expressions increased in the hippocampus and cerebellum of recovered mice. Increased MBP-staining signal was observed in the recovered mouse brain. By calculating the relative thickness of myelin sheath in relation to nerve fiber diameter (G-ratio) from electron photomicrographs, an increased G-ratio was observed in both the hippocampus and cerebellum of recovered mice. Influenza infection in oligodendrocyte-enriched primary brain cell cultures showed that proinflammatory cytokines may induce MBP upregulation. These results suggested that increased MBP expression could be a compensatory change related to hypomyelination, which may underlie neural dysfunction in recovered mice. In summary, the present results demonstrate that influenza infection during the neonatal period affects myelination and further induces functional changes in influenza-recovered mouse brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Hee Kim
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
| | - Ji Eun Yu
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
| | - Byung-Joon Chang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
| | - Sang-Soep Nahm
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
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18
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Richetto J, Chesters R, Cattaneo A, Labouesse MA, Gutierrez AMC, Wood TC, Luoni A, Meyer U, Vernon A, Riva MA. Genome-Wide Transcriptional Profiling and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Maternal Immune Activation Model of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:3397-3413. [PMID: 27797829 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to maternal infection increases the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia and autism. The molecular processes underlying this pathological association, however, are only partially understood. Here, we combined unbiased genome-wide transcriptional profiling with follow-up epigenetic analyses and structural magnetic resonance imaging to explore convergent molecular and neuromorphological alterations in corticostriatal areas of adult offspring exposed to prenatal immune activation. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling revealed that prenatal immune activation caused a differential expression of 116 and 251 genes in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, respectively. A large part of genes that were commonly affected in both brain areas were related to myelin functionality and stability. Subsequent epigenetic analyses indicated that altered DNA methylation of promoter regions might contribute to the differential expression of myelin-related genes. Quantitative relaxometry comparing T1, T2, and myelin water fraction revealed sparse increases in T1 relaxation times and consistent reductions in T2 relaxation times. Together, our multi-system approach demonstrates that prenatal viral-like immune activation causes myelin-related transcriptional and epigenetic changes in corticostriatal areas. Even though these abnormalities do not seem to be associated with overt white matter reduction, they may provide a molecular mechanism whereby prenatal infection can impair myelin functionality and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Richetto
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert Chesters
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Annamaria Cattaneo
- Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Fatebenefratelli San Giovanni di Dio, Brescia, Italy.,Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Marie A Labouesse
- Physiology and Behavior Laboratory, ETH Zurich, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
| | - Ana Maria Carrillo Gutierrez
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Tobias C Wood
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Alessia Luoni
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Urs Meyer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anthony Vernon
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Marco A Riva
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
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19
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Zhang J, Jing Y, Zhang H, Bilkey DK, Liu P. Maternal immune activation leads to increased nNOS immunoreactivity in the brain of postnatal day 2 rat offspring. Synapse 2017; 72. [PMID: 28921679 DOI: 10.1002/syn.22011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is a key arginine metabolising enzyme in the brain, and nNOS-derived nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in regulating glutamatergic neurotransmission. NO and its related molecules are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and human genetic studies have identified schizophrenia risk genes encoding nNOS. This study systematically investigated how maternal immune activation (MIA; a risk factor for schizophrenia) induced by polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid affected nNOS-immunoreactivity in the brain of the resulting male and female offspring at the age of postnatal day (PND) 2. Immunohistochemistry revealed a markedly increased intensity of nNOS-positive cells in the CA3 and dentate gyrus subregions of the hippocampus, the somatosensory cortex, and the striatum, but not the frontal cortex and hippocampal CA1 region, in the MIA offspring when compared to control group animals. There were no sex differences in the effect. Given the role of nNOS in glutamatergic neurotransmission and its functional relationship with glutamate NMDA receptors, increased nNOS immunoreactivity may indicate the up-regulation of NMDA receptor function in MIA rat offspring at an early postnatal age. Future research is required to determine whether these changes contribute to the neuronal and behavioral dysfunction observed in both juvenile and adult MIA rat offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxian Zhang
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Yu Jing
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Hu Zhang
- Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - David K Bilkey
- Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Ping Liu
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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20
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Palaniyappan L, Das T, Dempster K. The neurobiology of transition to psychosis: clearing the cache. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2017; 42:294-299. [PMID: 28834527 PMCID: PMC5573571 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.170137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The prepsychotic phase of schizophrenia is not only important for indicated prevention strategies, but also crucial for developing mechanistic models of the emergence of frank psychosis (transition). This commentary highlights the work of Dukart and colleagues, published in this issue of the Journal of Psychiatry and Neurosicence, who sought to identify MRI-based anatomic endophenotypes of psychosis in a well-characterized sample of patients with at-risk mental state (ARMS) and first-episode psychosis (FEP). Conceptual and translational challenges in clarifying the neurobiology of transitional prepsychotic states are discussed. A role of intracortical myelin in the neurobiology of transition is proposed. Transition may not be an outcome of "progressive structural deficits"; it may occur due to inadequate compensatory responses in the predisposed. The need to revise our current "deficit-oriented" models of neurobiology of psychosis in the wake of burgeoning evidence indicating a dynamic process of cortical reorganization is emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Palaniyappan
- Correspondence to: L. Palaniyappan, Prevention & Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP), A2-636, LHSC-VH, 800 Commissioners Road, London, Ont., Canada N6A 5W9;
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21
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Oxidative stress, prefrontal cortex hypomyelination and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1171. [PMID: 28934193 PMCID: PMC5538118 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a broad symptomatology, including cognitive symptoms that are thought to arise from the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The neurobiological aetiology of these symptoms remains elusive, yet both impaired redox control and PFC dysconnectivity have been recently implicated. PFC dysconnectivity has been linked to white matter, oligodendrocyte (OL) and myelin abnormalities in SZ patients. Myelin is produced by mature OLs, and OL precursor cells (OPCs) are exceptionally susceptible to oxidative stress. Here we propose a hypothesis for the aetiology of cognitive symptomatology in SZ: the redox-induced prefrontal OPC-dysfunctioning hypothesis. We pose that the combination of genetic and environmental factors causes oxidative stress marked by a build-up of reactive oxygen species that, during late adolescence, impair OPC signal transduction processes that are necessary for OPC proliferation and differentiation, and involve AMP-activated protein kinase, Akt-mTOR-P70S6K and peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha signalling. OPC dysfunctioning coincides with the relatively late onset of PFC myelination, causing hypomyelination and disruption of connectivity in this brain area. The resulting cognitive deficits arise in parallel with SZ onset. Hence, our hypothesis provides a novel neurobiological framework for the aetiology of SZ cognitive symptoms. Future research addressing our hypothesis could have important implications for the development of new (combined) antioxidant- and promyelination-based strategies to treat the cognitive symptoms in SZ.
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Fatemi SH, Folsom TD, Liesch SB, Kneeland RE, Karkhane Yousefi M, Thuras PD. The effects of prenatal H1N1 infection at E16 on FMRP, glutamate, GABA, and reelin signaling systems in developing murine cerebellum. J Neurosci Res 2016; 95:1110-1122. [PMID: 27735078 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal viral infection has been identified as a potential risk factor for the development of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Additionally, dysfunction in gamma-aminobutyric acid, Reelin, and fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP)-metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 signaling systems has also been demonstrated in these two disorders. In the current report, we have characterized the developmental profiles of selected markers for these systems in cerebella of mice born to pregnant mice infected with human influenza (H1N1) virus on embryonic day 16 or sham-infected controls using SDS-PAGE and Western blotting techniques and evaluated the presence of abnormalities in the above-mentioned markers during brain development. The cerebellum was selected in light of emerging evidence that it plays roles in learning, memory, and emotional processing-all of which are disrupted in autism and schizophrenia. We identified unique patterns of gene and protein expression at birth (postnatal day 0 [P0]), childhood (P14), adolescence (P35), and young adulthood (P56) in both exposed and control mouse progeny. We also identified significant differences in protein expression for FMRP, very-low-density lipoprotein receptor, and glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 and 67 kDa proteins at specific postnatal time points in cerebella of the offspring of exposed mice. Our results provide evidence of disrupted FMRP, glutamatergic, and Reelin signaling in the exposed mouse offspring that explains the multiple brain abnormalities observed in this animal model. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Hossein Fatemi
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Timothy D Folsom
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Stephanie B Liesch
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Rachel E Kneeland
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Mahtab Karkhane Yousefi
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Paul D Thuras
- VA Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Wei H, Ma Y, Liu J, Ding C, Hu F, Yu L. Proteomic analysis of cortical brain tissue from the BTBR mouse model of autism: Evidence for changes in STOP and myelin-related proteins. Neuroscience 2016; 312:26-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2015] [Revised: 11/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Patrich E, Piontkewitz Y, Peretz A, Weiner I, Attali B. Maturation- and sex-sensitive depression of hippocampal excitatory transmission in a rat schizophrenia model. Brain Behav Immun 2016; 51:240-251. [PMID: 26327125 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2015.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2015] [Revised: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with behavioral and brain structural abnormalities, of which the hippocampus appears to be one of the most consistent region affected. Previous studies performed on the poly I:C model of schizophrenia suggest that alterations in hippocampal synaptic transmission and plasticity take place in the offspring. However, these investigations yielded conflicting results and the neurophysiological alterations responsible for these deficits are still unclear. Here we performed for the first time a longitudinal study examining the impact of prenatal poly I:C treatment and of gender on hippocampal excitatory neurotransmission. In addition, we examined the potential preventive/curative effects of risperidone (RIS) treatment during the peri-adolescence period. Excitatory synaptic transmission was determined by stimulating Schaffer collaterals and monitoring fiber volley amplitude and slope of field-EPSP (fEPSP) in CA1 pyramidal neurons in male and female offspring hippocampal slices from postnatal days (PNDs) 18-20, 34, 70 and 90. Depression of hippocampal excitatory transmission appeared at juvenile age in male offspring of the poly I:C group, while it expressed with a delay in female, manifesting at adulthood. In addition, a reduced hippocampal size was found in both adult male and female offspring of poly I:C treated dams. Treatment with RIS at the peri-adolescence period fully restored in males but partly repaired in females these deficiencies. A maturation- and sex-dependent decrease in hippocampal excitatory transmission occurs in the offspring of poly I:C treated pregnant mothers. Pharmacological intervention with RIS during peri-adolescence can cure in a gender-sensitive fashion early occurring hippocampal synaptic deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eti Patrich
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Department of Psychology, Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Yael Piontkewitz
- Strauss Center for Computational Neuroimaging, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Asher Peretz
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Ina Weiner
- Department of Psychology, Gordon Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Bernard Attali
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
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Dietary supplementation with n-3 fatty acids from weaning limits brain biochemistry and behavioural changes elicited by prenatal exposure to maternal inflammation in the mouse model. Transl Psychiatry 2015; 5:e641. [PMID: 26393487 PMCID: PMC5068805 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA) increases the risk of schizophrenia and autism in the offspring. The MIA rodent model provides a valuable tool to directly test the postnatal consequences of exposure to an early inflammatory insult; and examine novel preventative strategies. Here we tested the hypotheses that behavioural differences in the MIA mouse model are accompanied by in vivo and ex vivo alterations in brain biochemistry; and that these can be prevented by a post-weaning diet enriched with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). The viral analogue PolyI:C (POL) or saline (SAL) was administered to pregnant mice on gestation day 9. Half the resulting male offspring (POL=21; SAL=17) were weaned onto a conventional lab diet (n-6 PUFA); half were weaned onto n-3 PUFA-enriched diet. In vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures were acquired prior to behavioural tests; glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) and tyrosine hydroxylase protein levels were measured ex vivo. The main findings were: (i) Adult MIA-exposed mice fed a standard diet had greater N-acetylaspartate/creatine (Cr) and lower myo-inositol/Cr levels in the cingulate cortex in vivo. (ii) The extent of these metabolite differences was correlated with impairment in prepulse inhibition. (iii) MIA-exposed mice on the control diet also had higher levels of anxiety and altered levels of GAD67 ex vivo. (iv) An n-3 PUFA diet prevented all the in vivo and ex vivo effects of MIA observed. Thus, n-3 PUFA dietary enrichment from early life may offer a relatively safe and non-toxic approach to limit the otherwise persistent behavioural and biochemical consequences of prenatal exposure to inflammation. This result may have translational importance.
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Park H, Yu JE, Kim S, Nahm SS, Chung C. Decreased Na(+) influx lowers hippocampal neuronal excitability in a mouse model of neonatal influenza infection. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13440. [PMID: 26310542 PMCID: PMC4550875 DOI: 10.1038/srep13440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Influenza virus infection is one of common infectious diseases occurring worldwide. The human influenza virus can infect the central nervous system and cause brain dysfunctions affecting cognition and spatial memory. It has been previously shown that infection with the influenza viral protein within the hippocampus decreases Ca(2+) influx and reduces excitatory postsynaptic currents. However, the neuronal properties of animals surviving neonatal infection have not been investigated. Using a mouse model of neonatal influenza infection, we performed thorough electrophysiological analyses of hippocampal neurotransmission. We found that animals surviving the infection exhibited reduced spontaneous transmission with no significant defects in evoked neurotransmission. Interestingly, the hippocampus of the infected group conducted synaptic transmission with less fidelity upon repeated stimulations and failed to generate action potentials faithfully upon step current injections primarily due to reduced Na(+) influx. The reversal potential for the Na(+) current was hyperpolarized and the activation of Na(+) channels was slower in the infected group while the inactivation process was minimally disturbed. Taken together, our observations suggest that neonatally infected offsprings exhibit noticeable deficits at rest and severe failures when higher activity is required. This study provides insight into understanding the cellular mechanisms of influenza infection-associated functional changes in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoyong Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea
| | - Ji Eun Yu
- Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea
| | - Sungmin Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea
| | - Sang-Soep Nahm
- Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea
| | - ChiHye Chung
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, South Korea
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Wischhof L, Irrsack E, Osorio C, Koch M. Prenatal LPS-exposure--a neurodevelopmental rat model of schizophrenia--differentially affects cognitive functions, myelination and parvalbumin expression in male and female offspring. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2015; 57:17-30. [PMID: 25455585 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Maternal infection during pregnancy increases the risk for the offspring to develop schizophrenia. Gender differences can be seen in various features of the illness and sex steroid hormones (e.g. estrogen) have strongly been implicated in the disease pathology. In the present study, we evaluated sex differences in the effects of prenatal exposure to a bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) in rats. Pregnant dams received LPS-injections (100 μg/kg) at gestational day 15 and 16. The offspring was then tested for prepulse inhibition (PPI), locomotor activity, anxiety-like behavior and object recognition memory at various developmental time points. At postnatal day (PD) 33 and 60, prenatally LPS-exposed rats showed locomotor hyperactivity which was similar in male and female offspring. Moreover, prenatal LPS-treatment caused PPI deficits in pubertal (PD45) and adult (PD90) males while PPI impairments were found only at PD45 in prenatally LPS-treated females. Following prenatal LPS-administration, recognition memory for objects was impaired in both sexes with males being more severely affected. Additionally, we assessed prenatal infection-induced alterations of parvalbumin (Parv) expression and myelin fiber density. Male offspring born to LPS-challenged mothers showed decreased myelination in cortical and limbic brain regions as well as reduced numbers of Parv-expressing cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. In contrast, LPS-exposed female rats showed only a modest decrease in myelination and Parv immunoreactivity. Collectively, our data indicate that some of the prenatal immune activation effects are sex dependent and further strengthen the importance of taking into account gender differences in animal models of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Wischhof
- Brain Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, University of Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
| | - Ellen Irrsack
- Brain Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, University of Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Carmen Osorio
- Brain Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, University of Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Michael Koch
- Brain Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, University of Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359 Bremen, Germany
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Deoni SCL, Zinkstok JR, Daly E, Ecker C, Williams SCR, Murphy DGM. White-matter relaxation time and myelin water fraction differences in young adults with autism. Psychol Med 2015; 45:795-805. [PMID: 25111948 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714001858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing evidence suggests that autism is associated with abnormal white-matter (WM) anatomy and impaired brain 'connectivity'. While myelin plays a critical role in synchronized brain communication, its aetiological role in autistic symptoms has only been indirectly addressed by WM volumetric, relaxometry and diffusion tensor imaging studies. A potentially more specific measure of myelin content, termed myelin water fraction (MWF), could provide improved sensitivity to myelin alteration in autism. METHOD We performed a cross-sectional imaging study that compared 14 individuals with autism and 14 age- and IQ-matched controls. T 1 relaxation times (T 1), T 2 relaxation times (T 2) and MWF values were compared between autistic subjects, diagnosed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R), with current symptoms assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and typical healthy controls. Correlations between T 1, T 2 and MWF values with clinical measures [ADI-R, ADOS, and the Autism Quotient (AQ)] were also assessed. RESULTS Individuals with autism showed widespread WM T 1 and MWF differences compared to typical controls. Within autistic individuals, worse current social interaction skill as measured by the ADOS was related to reduced MWF although not T 1. No significant differences or correlations with symptoms were observed with respect to T 2. CONCLUSIONS Autistic individuals have significantly lower global MWF and higher T 1, suggesting widespread alteration in tissue microstructure and biochemistry. Areas of difference, including thalamic projections, cerebellum and cingulum, have previously been implicated in the disorder; however, this is the first study to specifically indicate myelin alteration in these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S C L Deoni
- Advanced Baby Imaging Laboratory,School of Engineering, Brown University,Providence, RI,USA
| | - J R Zinkstok
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,London,UK
| | - E Daly
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,London,UK
| | - C Ecker
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,London,UK
| | - S C R Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,London,UK
| | - D G M Murphy
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,London,UK
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Mattei D, Schweibold R, Wolf SA. Brain in flames - animal models of psychosis: utility and limitations. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2015; 11:1313-29. [PMID: 26064050 PMCID: PMC4455860 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s65564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that schizophrenia is a psychopathological condition resulting from aberrations in neurodevelopmental processes caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors which proceed long before the onset of clinical symptoms. Many studies discuss an immunological component in the onset and progression of schizophrenia. We here review studies utilizing animal models of schizophrenia with manipulations of genetic, pharmacologic, and immunological origin. We focus on the immunological component to bridge the studies in terms of evaluation and treatment options of negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms. Throughout the review we link certain aspects of each model to the situation in human schizophrenic patients. In conclusion we suggest a combination of existing models to better represent the human situation. Moreover, we emphasize that animal models represent defined single or multiple symptoms or hallmarks of a given disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Mattei
- Department of Cellular Neuroscience, Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Regina Schweibold
- Department of Cellular Neuroscience, Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany ; Department of Neurosurgery, Helios Clinics, Berlin, Germany
| | - Susanne A Wolf
- Department of Cellular Neuroscience, Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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Contribution of Oxidative Stress to the Pathophysiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Impact of Genetic and Environmental Factors. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0440-2_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
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Altered microstructural connectivity of the superior cerebellar peduncle is related to motor dysfunction in children with autistic spectrum disorders. THE CEREBELLUM 2014; 12:645-56. [PMID: 23564050 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-013-0475-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have reported motor impairments in autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the brain mechanism underlying motor impairment in ASD remains unclear. Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that underconnectivity between the cerebellum and other brain regions contributes to the features of ASD. In this study, we investigated the microstructural integrity of the cerebellar pathways, including the superior, middle, and inferior cerebellar peduncles, of children with and without ASD by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography to determine whether the microstructural integrity of the cerebellar pathways is related to motor function in children with ASD. Thirteen children with ASD and 11 age-, gender-, handedness-, and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) controls were enrolled in this study. DTI outcome measurements, such as fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD), for the cerebellar pathways were calculated. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (M-ABC 2) was used for assessing motor functions. There were no significant differences between the two groups in RD. However, compared to the TD subjects, patients with ASD had a significantly lower FA in the right superior cerebellar peduncle and lower AD in the left superior cerebellar peduncle, in addition to a significantly lower score in ball skills and the total test score of M-ABC 2. There was a significant positive correlation between the total test score of M-ABC 2 and FA in the right superior cerebellar peduncle in the ASD group. These findings suggest that the altered microstructural integrity of the superior cerebellar peduncle may be related to motor impairment in ASD.
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Lucchese G, Capone G, Kanduc D. Peptide sharing between influenza A H1N1 hemagglutinin and human axon guidance proteins. Schizophr Bull 2014; 40:362-75. [PMID: 23378012 PMCID: PMC3932078 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbs197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiologic data suggest that maternal microbial infections may cause fetal neurodevelopmental disorders, potentially increasing susceptibility to heavy psychopathologies such as schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, autism, pervasive developmental disorders, bipolar disorders, psychosis, epilepsy, language and speech disorders, and cognitive impairment in adult offspring. However, the molecular pathomechanisms underlying such a relationship are not clear. Here we analyze the potential role of the maternal immune response to viral infection in determining fetal brain injuries that increase the risk of neurological disorders in the adult. We use influenza infection as a disease model and human axon guidance pathway, a key process in the formation of neural network during midgestation, as a potential fetal target of immune insults. Specifically, we examined influenza A H1N1 hemagglutinin (HA), an antigenic viral protein, for amino acid sequence similarity to a random library of 188 axon guidance proteins. We obtain the results that (1) contrary to any theoretical expectations, 45 viral pentapeptide matches are distributed throughout a subset of 36 guidance molecules; (2) in 24 guidance proteins, the peptide sharing with HA antigen involves already experimentally validated influenza HA epitopes; and (3) most of the axon guidance vs HA peptide overlap is conserved among influenza A viral strains and subsets. Taken together, our data indicate that immune cross-reactivity between influenza HA and axon guidance molecules is possible and may well represent a pathologic mechanism capable of determining neurodevelopmental disruption in the fetus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guglielmo Lucchese
- To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +39.080.544.3321, fax: +39.080.544.3317, e-mail:
| | - Giovanni Capone
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Darja Kanduc
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +39.080.544.3321, fax: +39.080.544.3317, e-mail:
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Shevelkin AV, Ihenatu C, Pletnikov MV. Pre-clinical models of neurodevelopmental disorders: focus on the cerebellum. Rev Neurosci 2014; 25:177-94. [PMID: 24523305 PMCID: PMC4052755 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2013-0049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/31/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have advanced our understanding of the role of the cerebellum in non-motor behaviors. Abnormalities in the cerebellar structure have been demonstrated to produce changes in emotional, cognitive, and social behaviors resembling clinical manifestations observed in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia. Several animal models have been used to evaluate the effects of relevant environmental and genetic risk factors on the cerebellum development and function. However, very few models of ASD and schizophrenia selectively target the cerebellum and/or specific cell types within this structure. In this review, we critically evaluate the strength and weaknesses of these models. We will propose that the future progress in this field will require time- and cell type-specific manipulations of disease-relevant genes, not only selectively in the cerebellum, but also in frontal brain areas connected with the cerebellum. Such information can advance our knowledge of the cerebellar contribution to non-motor behaviors in mental health and disease.
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Giezendanner S, Walther S, Razavi N, Van Swam C, Fisler MS, Soravia LM, Andreotti J, Schwab S, Jann K, Wiest R, Horn H, Müller TJ, Dierks T, Federspiel A. Alterations of white matter integrity related to the season of birth in schizophrenia: a DTI study. PLoS One 2013; 8:e75508. [PMID: 24086548 PMCID: PMC3785501 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 08/12/2013] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In schizophrenia there is a consistent epidemiological finding of a birth excess in winter and spring. Season of birth is thought to act as a proxy indicator for harmful environmental factors during foetal maturation. There is evidence that prenatal exposure to harmful environmental factors may trigger pathologic processes in the neurodevelopment, which subsequently increase the risk of schizophrenia. Since brain white matter alterations have repeatedly been found in schizophrenia, the objective of this study was to investigate whether white matter integrity was related to the season of birth in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-four patients with schizophrenia and 33 healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Differences in the fractional anisotropy maps of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls born in different seasons were analysed with tract-based spatial statistics. A significant main effect of season of birth and an interaction of group and season of birth showed that patients born in summer had significantly lower fractional anisotropy in widespread white matter regions than those born in the remainder of the year. Additionally, later age of schizophrenia onset was found in patients born in winter months. The current findings indicate a relationship of season of birth and white matter alterations in schizophrenia and consequently support the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of early pathological mechanisms in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Giezendanner
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (SG); (AF)
| | - Sebastian Walther
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nadja Razavi
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Van Swam
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Melanie Sarah Fisler
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Leila Maria Soravia
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jennifer Andreotti
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Simon Schwab
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Kay Jann
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- University Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Helge Horn
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Jörg Müller
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Dierks
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (SG); (AF)
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Carter CJ. Susceptibility genes are enriched in those of the herpes simplex virus 1/host interactome in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Pathog Dis 2013; 69:240-61. [PMID: 23913659 DOI: 10.1111/2049-632x.12077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2013] [Revised: 07/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can promote beta-amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation, demyelination or cognitive deficits relevant to Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis and to many neuropsychiatric disorders with which it has been implicated. A seroprevalence much higher than disease incidence has called into question any primary causal role. However, as also the case with risk-promoting polymorphisms (also present in control populations), any causal effects are likely to be conditional. During its life cycle, the virus binds to many proteins and modifies the expression of multiple genes creating a host/pathogen interactome involving 1347 host genes. This data set is heavily enriched in the susceptibility genes for multiple sclerosis (P = 1.3E-99) > Alzheimer's disease > schizophrenia > Parkinsonism > depression > bipolar disorder > childhood obesity > chronic fatigue > autism > and anorexia (P = 0.047) but not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a relationship maintained for genome-wide association study data sets in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Overlapping susceptibility gene/interactome data sets disrupt signalling networks relevant to each disease, suggesting that disease susceptibility genes may filter the attentions of the pathogen towards particular pathways and pathologies. In this way, the same pathogen could contribute to multiple diseases in a gene-dependent manner and condition the risk-promoting effects of the genes whose function it disrupts.
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Budin F, Hoogstoel M, Reynolds P, Grauer M, O'Leary-Moore SK, Oguz I. Fully automated rodent brain MR image processing pipeline on a Midas server: from acquired images to region-based statistics. Front Neuroinform 2013; 7:15. [PMID: 23964234 PMCID: PMC3741535 DOI: 10.3389/fninf.2013.00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2012] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of rodent brains enables study of the development and the integrity of the brain under certain conditions (alcohol, drugs etc.). However, these images are difficult to analyze for biomedical researchers with limited image processing experience. In this paper we present an image processing pipeline running on a Midas server, a web-based data storage system. It is composed of the following steps: rigid registration, skull-stripping, average computation, average parcellation, parcellation propagation to individual subjects, and computation of region-based statistics on each image. The pipeline is easy to configure and requires very little image processing knowledge. We present results obtained by processing a data set using this pipeline and demonstrate how this pipeline can be used to find differences between populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francois Budin
- Neuro Image Research and Analysis Laboratories, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Rogers TD, McKimm E, Dickson PE, Goldowitz D, Blaha CD, Mittleman G. Is autism a disease of the cerebellum? An integration of clinical and pre-clinical research. Front Syst Neurosci 2013; 7:15. [PMID: 23717269 PMCID: PMC3650713 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2013.00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2012] [Accepted: 04/23/2013] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social skills and communication, stereotyped and repetitive behavior, and a range of deficits in cognitive function. While the etiology of autism is unknown, current research indicates that abnormalities of the cerebellum, now believed to be involved in cognitive function and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), are associated with autism. The current paper proposes that impaired cerebello-cortical circuitry could, at least in part, underlie autistic symptoms. The use of animal models that allow for manipulation of genetic and environmental influences are an effective means of elucidating both distal and proximal etiological factors in autism and their potential impact on cerebello-cortical circuitry. Some existing rodent models of autism, as well as some models not previously applied to the study of the disorder, display cerebellar and behavioral abnormalities that parallel those commonly seen in autistic patients. The novel findings produced from research utilizing rodent models could provide a better understanding of the neurochemical and behavioral impact of changes in cerebello-cortical circuitry in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany D Rogers
- Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis Memphis, TN, USA
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38
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Kneeland RE, Fatemi SH. Viral infection, inflammation and schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013; 42:35-48. [PMID: 22349576 PMCID: PMC3408569 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2011] [Revised: 01/06/2012] [Accepted: 02/02/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with genetic and environmental etiologies. Prenatal viral/bacterial infections and inflammation play major roles in the genesis of schizophrenia. In this review, we describe a viral model of schizophrenia tested in mice whereby the offspring of mice prenatally infected with influenza at E7, E9, E16, and E18 show significant gene, protein, and brain structural abnormalities postnatally. Similarly, we describe data on rodents exposed to bacterial infection or injected with a synthetic viral mimic (PolyI:C) also demonstrating brain structural and behavioral abnormalities. Moreover, human serologic data has been indispensible in supporting the viral theory of schizophrenia. Individuals born seropositive for bacterial and viral agents are at a significantly elevated risk of developing schizophrenia. While the specific mechanisms of prenatal viral/bacterial infections and brain disorder are unclear, recent findings suggest that the maternal inflammatory response may be associated with fetal brain injury. Preventive and therapeutic treatment options are also proposed. This review presents data related to epidemiology, human serology, and experimental animal models which support the viral model of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel E. Kneeland
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, 420 Delaware St. SE, MMC 392, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
| | - S. Hossein Fatemi
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, 420 Delaware St. SE, MMC 392, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States,Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 310 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States and Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, 310 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States,Corresponding author at: 420 Delaware Street SE, MMC 392, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Tel.: +1 612 626 3633; fax: +1 612 624 8935. (R.E. Kneeland), (S.H. Fatemi)
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Developmental neuroinflammation and schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013; 42:20-34. [PMID: 22122877 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2011] [Revised: 10/18/2011] [Accepted: 11/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing interest in and evidence for altered immune factors in the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Stimulated by various epidemiological findings reporting elevated risk of schizophrenia following prenatal exposure to infection, one line of current research aims to explore the potential contribution of immune-mediated disruption of early brain development in the precipitation of long-term psychotic disease. Since the initial formulation of the "prenatal cytokine hypothesis" more than a decade ago, extensive epidemiological research and remarkable advances in modeling prenatal immune activation effects in animal models have provided strong support for this hypothesis by underscoring the critical role of cytokine-associated inflammatory events, together with downstream pathophysiological processes such as oxidative stress, hypoferremia and zinc deficiency, in mediating the short- and long-term neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal infection. Longitudinal studies in animal models further indicate that infection-induced developmental neuroinflammation may be pathologically relevant beyond the antenatal and neonatal periods, and may contribute to disease progression associated with the gradual development of full-blown schizophrenic disease. According to this scenario, exposure to prenatal immune challenge primes early pre- and postnatal alterations in peripheral and central inflammatory response systems, which in turn may disrupt the normal development and maturation of neuronal systems from juvenile to adult stages of life. Such developmental neuroinflammation may adversely affect processes that are pivotal for normal brain maturation, including myelination, synaptic pruning, and neuronal remodeling, all of which occur to a great extent during postnatal brain maturation. Undoubtedly, our understanding of the role of developmental neuroinflammation in progressive brain changes relevant to schizophrenia is still in infancy. Identification of these mechanisms would be highly warranted because they may represent a valuable target to attenuate or even prevent the emergence of full-blown brain and behavioral pathology, especially in individuals with a history of prenatal complications such as in-utero exposure to infection and/or inflammation.
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Reading SAJ, Oishi K, Redgrave GW, McEntee J, Shanahan M, Yoritomo N, Younes L, Mori S, Miller MI, van Zijl P, Margolis RL, Ross CA. Diffuse abnormality of low to moderately organized white matter in schizophrenia. Brain Connect 2013; 1:511-9. [PMID: 22500774 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2011.0041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that abnormal white matter is central to the pathophysiology and, potentially, the pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SCZ). The spatial distribution of observed abnormalities and the type of white matter involved remain to be elucidated. Seventeen chronically ill individuals with SCZ and 17 age- and gender-matched controls were studied using a 3T magnetic resonance imaging diffusion tensor imaging protocol designed to examine the abnormalities of white matter by region and by level of architectural infrastructure as assessed by fractional anisotropy (FA) in native space. After assessing whole-brain FA, FA was divided into quartiles, capturing all brain regions with FA values from 0 to 0.25, 0.25 to 0.5, 0.5 to 0.75, and 0.75 to 1.0. Mean whole-brain FA was 4.6% smaller in the SCZ group than in healthy controls. This difference was largely accounted for by FA values from the second quartile (between 0.25 and 0.5). Second quartile FA was decreased in all 130 brain regions of the template in the SCZ group, with the difference reaching statistical significance in 41 regions. Correspondingly, the amount of brain tissue with an FA of ∼0.4 was significantly reduced in the SCZ group, while the amount of brain tissue falling in the lowest quartile of FA was increased. These findings strongly imply a diffuse loss of white matter integrity in SCZ. Our finding that the loss of integrity disproportionately involves white matter of low to moderate organization suggests an approach to the specificity of white matter abnormalities in SCZ based on microstructure rather than spatial distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A J Reading
- Division of Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
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Michel M, Schmidt MJ, Mirnics K. Immune system gene dysregulation in autism and schizophrenia. Dev Neurobiol 2012; 72:1277-87. [PMID: 22753382 PMCID: PMC3435446 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2012] [Revised: 06/14/2012] [Accepted: 06/19/2012] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Gene*environment interactions play critical roles in the emergence of autism and schizophrenia pathophysiology. In both disorders, recent genetic association studies have provided evidence for disease-linked variation in immune system genes and postmortem gene expression studies have shown extensive chronic immune abnormalities in brains of diseased subjects. Furthermore, peripheral biomarker studies revealed that both innate and adaptive immune systems are dysregulated. In both disorders symptoms of the disease correlate with the immune system dysfunction; yet, in autism this process appears to be chronic and sustained, while in schizophrenia it is exacerbated during acute episodes. Furthermore, since immune abnormalities endure into adulthood and anti-inflammatory agents appear to be beneficial, it is likely that these immune changes actively contribute to disease symptoms. Modeling these changes in animals provided further evidence that prenatal maternal immune activation alters neurodevelopment and leads to behavioral changes that are relevant for autism and schizophrenia. The converging evidence strongly argues that neurodevelopmental immune insults and genetic background critically interact and result in increased risk for either autism or schizophrenia. Further research in these areas may improve prenatal health screening in genetically at-risk families and may also lead to new preventive and/or therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Michel
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Martin J Schmidt
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Vanderbilt University, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Karoly Mirnics
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
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42
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Harvey L, Boksa P. Prenatal and postnatal animal models of immune activation: Relevance to a range of neurodevelopmental disorders. Dev Neurobiol 2012; 72:1335-48. [DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2012] [Accepted: 06/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Oguz I, McMurray MS, Styner M, Johns JM. The translational role of diffusion tensor image analysis in animal models of developmental pathologies. Dev Neurosci 2012; 34:5-19. [PMID: 22627095 DOI: 10.1159/000336825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2011] [Accepted: 01/24/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) has proven itself a powerful technique for clinical investigation of the neurobiological targets and mechanisms underlying developmental pathologies. The success of DTI in clinical studies has demonstrated its great potential for understanding translational animal models of clinical disorders, and preclinical animal researchers are beginning to embrace this new technology to study developmental pathologies. In animal models, genetics can be effectively controlled, drugs consistently administered, subject compliance ensured, and image acquisition times dramatically increased to reduce between-subject variability and improve image quality. When pairing these strengths with the many positive attributes of DTI, such as the ability to investigate microstructural brain organization and connectivity, it becomes possible to delve deeper into the study of both normal and abnormal development. The purpose of this review is to provide new preclinical investigators with an introductory source of information about the analysis of data resulting from small animal DTI studies to facilitate the translation of these studies to clinical data. In addition to an in-depth review of translational analysis techniques, we present a number of relevant clinical and animal studies using DTI to investigate developmental insults in order to further illustrate techniques and to highlight where small animal DTI could potentially provide a wealth of translational data to inform clinical researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek Oguz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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44
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Revisiting thyroid hormones in schizophrenia. J Thyroid Res 2012; 2012:569147. [PMID: 22545225 PMCID: PMC3321576 DOI: 10.1155/2012/569147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2011] [Revised: 01/04/2012] [Accepted: 01/05/2012] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Thyroid hormones are crucial during development and in the adult brain. Of interest, fluctuations in the levels of thyroid hormones at various times during development and throughout life can impact on psychiatric disease manifestation and response to treatment. Here we review research on thyroid function assessment in schizophrenia, relating interrelations between the pituitary-thyroid axis and major neurosignaling systems involved in schizophrenia's pathophysiology. These include the serotonergic, dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic networks, as well as myelination and inflammatory processes. The available evidence supports that thyroid hormones deregulation is a common feature in schizophrenia and that the implications of thyroid hormones homeostasis in the fine-tuning of crucial brain networks warrants further research.
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Comparative gene expression study of the chronic exposure to clozapine and haloperidol in rat frontal cortex. Schizophr Res 2012; 134:211-8. [PMID: 22154595 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2011] [Revised: 11/08/2011] [Accepted: 11/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Antipsychotic drugs (APDs) are effective in treating some of the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. APDs take time to achieve a therapeutic effect which suggests that changes in gene expression are involved in their efficacy. We hypothesized that there would be altered expression of specific genes associated with the etiology or treatment of schizophrenia in frontal cortex of rats that received chronic treatment with a typical APD (haloperidol) vs. an atypical APD (clozapine). Rats were administered clozapine, haloperidol, or sterile saline intraperitoneally daily for 21days. Frontal cortices from clozapine-, haloperidol-, and saline-treated rats were dissected and subjected to microarray analysis. We observed a significant (1.5 fold, p<0.05) downregulation of 278 genes and upregulation of 73 genes in the clozapine-treated brains vs. controls and downregulation of 451 genes and upregulation of 115 genes in the haloperidol-treated brains vs. control. A total of 146 genes (130 downregulated and 16 upregulated) were significantly altered by both clozapine and haloperidol. These genes were classified by functional groups. qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) analysis verified the direction and magnitude of change for a group of nine genes significantly altered by clozapine and 11 genes significantly altered by haloperidol. Three genes verified by qRT-PCR were altered by both drugs: Bcl2-like 1 (Bcl2l1), catechol-O-methyltransferase (Comt), and opioid-binding protein/cell adhesion molecule-like (Opcml). Our results show that clozapine and haloperidol cause changes in levels of many important genes that may be involved in etiology and treatment of schizophrenia.
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Walterfang M, Velakoulis D, Whitford TJ, Pantelis C. Understanding aberrant white matter development in schizophrenia: an avenue for therapy? Expert Rev Neurother 2011; 11:971-87. [PMID: 21721915 DOI: 10.1586/ern.11.76] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Although historically gray matter changes have been the focus of neuropathological and neuroradiological studies in schizophrenia, in recent years an increasing body of research has implicated white matter structures and its constituent components (axons, their myelin sheaths and supporting oligodendrocytes). This article summarizes this body of literature, examining neuropathological, neurogenetic and neuroradiological evidence for white matter pathology in schizophrenia. We then look at the possible role that antipsychotic medication may play in these studies, examining both its role as a potential confounder in studies examining neuronal density and brain volume, but also the possible role that these medications may play in promoting myelination through their effects on oligodendrocytes. Finally, the role of potential novel therapies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Walterfang
- Neuropsychiatry Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
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47
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Gerig G, Oguz I, Gouttard S, Lee J, An H, Lin W, McMurray M, Grewen K, Johns J, Styner MA. Synergy of image analysis for animal and human neuroimaging supports translational research on drug abuse. Front Psychiatry 2011; 2:53. [PMID: 22013425 PMCID: PMC3189614 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2011] [Accepted: 09/11/2011] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in animal models of neuropathology is of increasing interest to the neuroscience community. In this work, we present our approach to create optimal translational studies that include both animal and human neuroimaging data within the frameworks of a study of post-natal neuro-development in intra-uterine cocaine-exposure. We propose the use of non-invasive neuroimaging to study developmental brain structural and white matter pathway abnormalities via sMRI and DTI, as advanced MR imaging technology is readily available and automated image analysis methodology have recently been transferred from the human to animal imaging setting. For this purpose, we developed a synergistic, parallel approach to imaging and image analysis for the human and the rodent branch of our study. We propose an equivalent design in both the selection of the developmental assessment stage and the neuroimaging setup. This approach brings significant advantages to study neurobiological features of early brain development that are common to animals and humans but also preserve analysis capabilities only possible in animal research. This paper presents the main framework and individual methods for the proposed cross-species study design, as well as preliminary DTI cross-species comparative results in the intra-uterine cocaine-exposure study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guido Gerig
- Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Ipek Oguz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sylvain Gouttard
- Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Joohwi Lee
- Department of Computer Science, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hongyu An
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Weili Lin
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Matthew McMurray
- Department of Psychology, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Karen Grewen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Josephine Johns
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Martin Andreas Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, NC, USA
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Twohig JP, Cuff SM, Yong AA, Wang ECY. The role of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily members in mammalian brain development, function and homeostasis. Rev Neurosci 2011; 22:509-33. [PMID: 21861782 DOI: 10.1515/rns.2011.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) members were initially identified as immunological mediators, and are still commonly perceived as immunological molecules. However, our understanding of the diversity of TNFRSF members' roles in mammalian physiology has grown significantly since the first discovery of TNFRp55 (TNFRSF1) in 1975. In particular, the last decade has provided evidence for important roles in brain development, function and the emergent field of neuronal homeostasis. Recent evidence suggests that TNFRSF members are expressed in an overlapping regulated pattern during neuronal development, participating in the regulation of neuronal expansion, growth, differentiation and regional pattern development. This review examines evidence for non-immunological roles of TNFRSF members in brain development, function and maintenance under normal physiological conditions. In addition, several aspects of brain function during inflammation will also be described, when illuminating and relevant to the non-immunological role of TNFRSF members. Finally, key questions in the field will be outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason P Twohig
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, Wales, UK
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Brown AC, Mehl-Madrona L. Autoimmune and gastrointestinal dysfunctions: does a subset of children with autism reveal a broader connection? Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2011; 5:465-77. [PMID: 21780894 DOI: 10.1586/egh.11.46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
A large number of autoimmune disorders have a gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction component that may interplay with genetic, hormonal, environmental and/or stress factors. This narrarive review investigates possible links between autism, immune system abnormalities and GI symptoms in a subgroup of children with autism. A literature search on Medline (1950 to September 2010) was conducted to identify relevant articles by using the keywords 'autism and gastrointestinal' (71 publications) and 'autism and immune' (237 publications), cross-referencing and general searching to evaluate the available literature on the immunological and GI aspects of autism. Sufficient evidence exists to support that a subgroup of children with autism may suffer from concomitant immune-related GI symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy C Brown
- Department of Complementary & Alternative Medicine, John A Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
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50
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Prenatal stress: role in psychotic and depressive diseases. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 214:89-106. [PMID: 20949351 PMCID: PMC3050113 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2035-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 180] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2010] [Accepted: 09/26/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The birth of neurons, their migration to appropriate positions in the brain, and their establishment of the proper synaptic contacts happen predominately during the prenatal period. Environmental stressors during gestation can exert a major impact on brain development and thereby contribute to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric illnesses, such as depression and psychotic disorders including schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE The objectives here are to present recent preclinical studies of the impact of prenatal exposure to gestational stressors on the developing fetal brain and discuss their relevance to the neurobiological basis of mental illness. The focus is on maternal immune activation, psychological stresses, and malnutrition, due to the abundant clinical literature supporting their role in the etiology of neuropsychiatric illnesses. RESULTS Prenatal maternal immune activation, viral infection, unpredictable psychological stress, and malnutrition all appear to foster the development of behavioral abnormalities in exposed offspring that may be relevant to the symptom domains of schizophrenia and psychosis, including sensorimotor gating, information processing, cognition, social function, and subcortical hyperdopaminergia. Depression-related phenotypes, such as learned helplessness or anxiety, are also observed in some model systems. These changes appear to be mediated by the presence of proinflammatory cytokines and/or corticosteroids in the fetal compartment that alter the development the neuroanatomical substrates involved in these behaviors. CONCLUSION Prenatal exposure to environmental stressors alters the trajectory of brain development and can be used to generate animal preparations that may be informative in understanding the pathophysiological processes involved in several human neuropsychiatric disorders.
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