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Yan W, Li Y, Louis EJ, Kyriacou CP, Hu Y, Cordell RL, Xie X. Quantitative genetic analysis of attractiveness of yeast products to Drosophila. Genetics 2024; 227:iyae048. [PMID: 38560786 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae048] [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: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
An attractive perfume is a complex mixture of compounds, some of which may be unpleasant on their own. This is also true for the volatile combinations from yeast fermentation products in vineyards and orchards when assessed by Drosophila. Here, we used crosses between a yeast strain with an attractive fermentation profile and another strain with a repulsive one and tested fly responses using a T-maze. QTL analysis reveals allelic variation in four yeast genes, namely PTC6, SAT4, YFL040W, and ARI1, that modulated expression levels of volatile compounds [assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)] and in different combinations, generated various levels of attractiveness. The parent strain that is more attractive to Drosophila has repulsive alleles at two of the loci, while the least attractive parent has attractive alleles. Behavioral assays using artificial mixtures mimicking the composition of odors from fermentation validated the results of GC-MS and QTL mapping, thereby directly connecting genetic variation in yeast to attractiveness in flies. This study can be used as a basis for dissecting the combination of olfactory receptors that mediate the attractiveness/repulsion of flies to yeast volatiles and may also serve as a model for testing the attractiveness of pest species such as Drosophila suzukii to their host fruit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiru Yan
- Institute of Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Yishen Li
- Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Edward J Louis
- Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | | | - Yue Hu
- Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Rebecca L Cordell
- School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Xiaodong Xie
- Institute of Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
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2
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Pottmeier P, Nikolantonaki D, Lanner F, Peuckert C, Jazin E. Sex-biased gene expression during neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1341373. [PMID: 38764741 PMCID: PMC11101176 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1341373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in the developing human brain are primarily attributed to hormonal influence. Recently however, genetic differences and their impact on the developing nervous system have attracted increased attention. To understand genetically driven sexual dimorphisms in neurodevelopment, we investigated genome-wide gene expression in an in vitro differentiation model of male and female human embryonic stem cell lines (hESC), independent of the effects of human sex hormones. Four male and four female-derived hESC lines were differentiated into a population of mixed neurons over 37 days. Differential gene expression and gene set enrichment analyses were conducted on bulk RNA sequencing data. While similar differentiation tendencies in all cell lines demonstrated the robustness and reproducibility of our differentiation protocol, we found sex-biased gene expression already in undifferentiated ESCs at day 0, but most profoundly after 37 days of differentiation. Male and female cell lines exhibited sex-biased expression of genes involved in neurodevelopment, suggesting that sex influences the differentiation trajectory. Interestingly, the highest contribution to sex differences was found to arise from the male transcriptome, involving both Y chromosome and autosomal genes. We propose 13 sex-biased candidate genes (10 upregulated in male cell lines and 3 in female lines) that are likely to affect neuronal development. Additionally, we confirmed gene dosage compensation of X/Y homologs escaping X chromosome inactivation through their Y homologs and identified a significant overexpression of the Y-linked demethylase UTY and KDM5D in male hESC during neuron development, confirming previous results in neural stem cells. Our results suggest that genetic sex differences affect neuronal differentiation trajectories, which could ultimately contribute to sex biases during human brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Pottmeier
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Danai Nikolantonaki
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Lanner
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christiane Peuckert
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- The Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elena Jazin
- Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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3
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Aghamohammadi-Sereshki A, Pietrasik W, Malykhin NV. Aging, cingulate cortex, and cognition: insights from structural MRI, emotional recognition, and theory of mind. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-023-02753-5. [PMID: 38305874 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02753-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
The cingulate cortex is a limbic structure involved in multiple functions, including emotional processing, pain, cognition, memory, and spatial orientation. The main goal of this structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study was to investigate whether age affects the cingulate cortex uniformly across its anteroposterior dimensions and determine if the effects of age differ based on sex, hemisphere, and regional cingulate anatomy, in a large cohort of healthy individuals across the adult lifespan. The second objective aimed to explore whether the decline in emotional recognition accuracy and Theory of Mind (ToM) is linked to the potential age-related reductions in the pregenual anterior cingulate (ACC) and anterior midcingulate (MCC) cortices. We recruited 126 healthy participants (18-85 years) for this study. MRI datasets were acquired on a 4.7 T system. The cingulate cortex was manually segmented into the pregenual ACC, anterior MCC, posterior MCC, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). We observed negative relationships between the presence and length of the superior cingulate gyrus and bilateral volumes of pregenual ACC and anterior MCC. Age showed negative effects on the volume of all cingulate cortical subregions bilaterally except for the right anterior MCC. Most of the associations between age and the cingulate subregional volumes were linear. We did not find a significant effect of sex on cingulate cortical volumes. However, stronger effects of age were observed in men compared to women. This study also demonstrated that performance on an emotional recognition task was linked to pregenual ACC volume, whist the ToM capabilities were related to the size of pregenual ACC and anterior MCC. These results suggest that the cingulate cortex contributes to emotional recognition ability and ToM across the adult lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wojciech Pietrasik
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Nikolai V Malykhin
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V2, Canada.
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Wuestefeld A, Baumeister H, Adams JN, de Flores R, Hodgetts C, Mazloum-Farzaghi N, Olsen RK, Puliyadi V, Tran TT, Bakker A, Canada KL, Dalton MA, Daugherty AM, Joie RL, Wang L, Bedard M, Buendia E, Chung E, Denning A, Arroyo-Jiménez MDM, Artacho-Pérula E, Irwin DJ, Ittyerah R, Lee EB, Lim S, Marcos-Rabal MDP, Martin MMIDO, Lopez MM, Prieto CDLR, Schuck T, Trotman W, Vela A, Yushkevich P, Amunts K, Augustinack JC, Ding SL, Insausti R, Kedo O, Berron D, Wisse LEM. Comparison of histological delineations of medial temporal lobe cortices by four independent neuroanatomy laboratories. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.05.24.542054. [PMID: 37292729 PMCID: PMC10245880 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.24.542054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The medial temporal lobe (MTL) cortex, located adjacent to the hippocampus, is crucial for memory and prone to the accumulation of certain neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease neurofibrillary tau tangles. The MTL cortex is composed of several subregions which differ in their functional and cytoarchitectonic features. As neuroanatomical schools rely on different cytoarchitectonic definitions of these subregions, it is unclear to what extent their delineations of MTL cortex subregions overlap. Here, we provide an overview of cytoarchitectonic definitions of the cortices that make up the parahippocampal gyrus (entorhinal and parahippocampal cortices) and the adjacent Brodmann areas (BA) 35 and 36, as provided by four neuroanatomists from different laboratories, aiming to identify the rationale for overlapping and diverging delineations. Nissl-stained series were acquired from the temporal lobes of three human specimens (two right and one left hemisphere). Slices (50 µm thick) were prepared perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus spanning the entire longitudinal extent of the MTL cortex. Four neuroanatomists annotated MTL cortex subregions on digitized (20X resolution) slices with 5 mm spacing. Parcellations, terminology, and border placement were compared among neuroanatomists. Cytoarchitectonic features of each subregion are described in detail. Qualitative analysis of the annotations showed higher agreement in the definitions of the entorhinal cortex and BA35, while definitions of BA36 and the parahippocampal cortex exhibited less overlap among neuroanatomists. The degree of overlap of cytoarchitectonic definitions was partially reflected in the neuroanatomists' agreement on the respective delineations. Lower agreement in annotations was observed in transitional zones between structures where seminal cytoarchitectonic features are expressed more gradually. The results highlight that definitions and parcellations of the MTL cortex differ among neuroanatomical schools and thereby increase understanding of why these differences may arise. This work sets a crucial foundation to further advance anatomically-informed human neuroimaging research on the MTL cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anika Wuestefeld
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö, Lund University, Sweden
| | - Hannah Baumeister
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jenna N Adams
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Robin de Flores
- INSERM UMR-S U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain, Caen-Normandie University, Caen-Normandie, France
| | | | - Negar Mazloum-Farzaghi
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, North York, ON, Canada
| | - Rosanna K Olsen
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, North York, ON, Canada
| | - Vyash Puliyadi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Tammy T Tran
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Arnold Bakker
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kelsey L Canada
- Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | | | - Ana M Daugherty
- Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Renaud La Joie
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco USA
| | - Lei Wang
- The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Madigan Bedard
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Eunice Chung
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Edward B Lee
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sydney Lim
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alicia Vela
- University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | | | - Katrin Amunts
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Olga Kedo
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - David Berron
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany
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5
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Maxwell DL, Orian JM. Cerebellar pathology in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: current status and future directions. J Cent Nerv Syst Dis 2023; 15:11795735231211508. [PMID: 37942276 PMCID: PMC10629308 DOI: 10.1177/11795735231211508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed significant progress in understanding mechanisms driving neurodegeneration and disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS), but with a focus on the cerebrum. In contrast, there have been limited studies of cerebellar disease, despite the common occurrence of cerebellar symptoms in this disorder. These rare studies, however, highlight the early cerebellar involvement in disease development and an association between the early occurrence of cerebellar lesions and risk of worse prognosis. In parallel developments, it has become evident that far from being a region specialized in movement control, the cerebellum plays a crucial role in cognitive function, via circuitry connecting the cerebellum to association areas of the cerebrum. This complexity, coupled with challenges in imaging of the cerebellum have been major obstacles in the appreciation of the spatio-temporal evolution of cerebellar damage in MS and correlation with disability and progression. MS studies based on animal models have relied on an induced neuroinflammatory disease known as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), in rodents and non-human primates (NHP). EAE has played a critical role in elucidating mechanisms underpinning tissue damage and been validated for the generation of proof-of-concept for cerebellar pathological processes relevant to MS. Additionally, rodent and NHP studies have formed the cornerstone of current knowledge of functional anatomy and cognitive processes. Here, we propose that improved insight into consequences of cerebellar damage in MS at the functional, cellular and molecular levels would be gained by more extensive characterization of EAE cerebellar pathology combined with the power of experimental paradigms in the field of cognition. Such combinatorial approaches would lead to improved potential for the development of MS sensitive markers and evaluation of candidate therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dain L. Maxwell
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jacqueline M. Orian
- Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
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6
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Kim SR, Eom Y, Lee SH. Comprehensive analysis of sex differences in the function and ultrastructure of hippocampal presynaptic terminals. Neurochem Int 2023; 169:105570. [PMID: 37451344 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2023.105570] [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: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences in the brain, encompassing variations in specific brain structures, size, cognitive function, and synaptic connections, have been identified across numerous species. While previous research has explored sex differences in postsynaptic structures, synaptic plasticity, and hippocampus-dependent functions, the hippocampal presynaptic terminals remain largely uninvestigated. The hippocampus is a critical structure responsible for multiple brain functions. This study examined presynaptic differences in cultured hippocampal neurons derived from male and female mice using a combination of biochemical assays, functional analyses measuring exocytosis and endocytosis of synaptic vesicle proteins, ultrastructural analyses via electron microscopy, and presynaptic Ca2+-specific optical probes. Our findings revealed that female neurons exhibited a higher number of synaptic vesicles at presynaptic terminals compared to male neurons. However, no significant differences were observed in presynaptic protein expression, presynaptic terminal ultrastructure, synaptic vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis, or presynaptic Ca2+ alterations between male and female neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung Rae Kim
- College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea; Brain Research Core Facilities of Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI), Daegu 41068, Republic of Korea.
| | - Yunkyung Eom
- College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.
| | - Sung Hoon Lee
- College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea.
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7
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Jeanne PV, McLamb F, Feng Z, Griffin L, Gong S, Shea D, Szuch MA, Scott S, Gersberg RM, Bozinovic G. Locomotion and brain gene expression exhibit sex-specific non-monotonic dose-response to HFPO-DA during Drosophila melanogaster lifespan. Neurotoxicology 2023; 96:207-221. [PMID: 37156305 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known for their environmental persistence and bio-accumulative properties, have been phased out in the U.S. due to public health concerns. A newer polymerization aid used in the manufacture of some fluoropolymers, hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), has lower reported bioaccumulation and toxicity, but is a potential neurotoxicant implicated in dopaminergic neurodegeneration. OBJECTIVE We investigated HFPO-DA's bio-accumulative potential and sex-specific effects on lifespan, locomotion, and brain gene expression in fruit flies. METHODS We quantified bioaccumulation of HFPO-DA in fruit flies exposed to 8.7×104µg/L of HFPO-DA in the fly media for 14 days via UHPLC-MS. Long-term effect on lifespan was determined by exposing both sexes to 8.7×102 - 8.7×105µg/L of HFPO-DA in media. Locomotion was measured following 3, 7, and 14 days of exposures at 8.7×101 - 8.7×105µg/L of HFPO-DA in media, and high-throughput 3'-end RNA-sequencing was used to quantify gene expression in fly brains across the same time points. RESULTS Bioaccumulation of HFPO-DA in fruit flies was not detected. HFPO-DA-induced effects on lifespan, locomotion, and brain gene expression, and lowest adverse effect level (LOAEL) showed sexually dimorphic patterns. Locomotion scores significantly decreased in at least one dose at all time points for females and only at 3-day exposure for males, while brain gene expression exhibited non-monotonic dose-response. Differentially expressed genes correlated to locomotion scores revealed sex-specific numbers of positively and negatively correlated genes per functional category. CONCLUSION Although HFPO-DA effects on locomotion and survival were significant at doses higher than the US EPA reference dose, the brain transcriptomic profiling reveals sex-specific changes and neurological molecular targets; gene enrichments highlight disproportionately affected categories, including immune response: female-specific co-upregulation suggests potential neuroinflammation. Consistent sex-specific exposure effects necessitate blocking for sex in experimental design during HFPO-DA risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Vu Jeanne
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Flannery McLamb
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Zuying Feng
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Lindsey Griffin
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sylvia Gong
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Mary A Szuch
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Savannah Scott
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Richard M Gersberg
- San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Goran Bozinovic
- Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, School of Biological Sciences, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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8
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Schecter RW, Jensen CM, Gavornik JP. Sex and estrous cycle affect experience-dependent plasticity in mouse primary visual cortex. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282349. [PMID: 37068089 PMCID: PMC10109517 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex hormones can affect cellular physiology and modulate synaptic plasticity, but it is not always clear whether or how sex-dependent differences identified in vitro express themselves as functional dimorphisms in the brain. Historically, most experimental neuroscience has been conducted using only male animals and the literature is largely mute about whether including female mice in will introduce variability due to inherent sex differences or endogenous estrous cycles. Though this is beginning to change following an NIH directive that sex should be included as a factor in vertebrate research, the lack of information raises practical issues around how to design experimental controls and apply existing knowledge to more heterogeneous populations. Various lines of research suggest that visual processing can be affected by sex and estrous cycle stage. For these reasons, we performed a series of in vivo electrophysiological experiments to characterize baseline visual function and experience-dependent plasticity in the primary visual cortex (V1) of male and female mice. We find that sex and estrous stage have no statistically significant effect on baseline acuity measurements, but that both sex and estrous stage have can modulate two mechanistically distinct forms of experience dependent cortical plasticity. We also demonstrate that resulting variability can be largely controlled with appropriate normalizations. These findings suggest that V1 plasticity can be used for mechanistic studies focusing on how sex hormones effect experience dependent plasticity in the mammalian cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel W. Schecter
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Cambria M. Jensen
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey P. Gavornik
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
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Male and female mice display consistent lifelong ability to address potential life-threatening cues using different post-threat coping strategies. BMC Biol 2022; 20:281. [PMID: 36522765 PMCID: PMC9753375 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01486-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex differences ranging from physiological functions to pathological disorders are developmentally hard-wired in a broad range of animals, from invertebrates to humans. These differences ensure that animals can display appropriate behaviors under a variety of circumstances, such as aggression, hunting, sleep, mating, and parental care, which are often thought to be important in the acquisition of resources, including territory, food, and mates. Although there are reports of an absence of sexual dimorphism in the context of innate fear, the question of whether there is sexual dimorphism of innate defensive behavior is still an open question. Therefore, an in-depth investigation to determine whether there are sex differences in developmentally hard-wired innate defensive behaviors in life-threatening circumstances is warranted. RESULTS We found that innate defensive behavioral responses to potentially life-threatening stimuli between males and females were indistinguishable over their lifespan. However, by using 3 dimensional (3D)-motion learning framework analysis, we found that males and females showed different behavioral patterns after escaping to the refuge. Specifically, the defensive "freezing" occurred primarily in males, whereas females were more likely to return directly to exploration. Moreover, there were also no estrous phase differences in innate defensive behavioral responses after looming stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that visually-evoked innate fear behavior is highly conserved throughout the lifespan in both males and females, while specific post-threat coping strategies depend on sex. These findings indicate that innate fear behavior is essential to both sexes and as such, there are no evolutionary-driven sex differences in defensive ability.
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10
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Schmidt MH, Bassetti CLA. Gender differences in narcolepsy: What are recent findings telling us? Sleep 2022; 45:6595348. [PMID: 35640640 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Three papers currently published in SLEEP using two different mouse models of narcolepsy, including either Hcrt-tTa;TetO diptheria toxin-A (DTA) or Hypocretin knock-out (Hcrt-KO) mice, suggest important gender differences in narcolepsy expression. Specifically, these recent data corroborate previous findings in mice demonstrating that females show more cataplexy events and more total cataplexy expression than males. Moreover, in the neurotoxic DTA mouse model, females show earlier onset of cataplexy expression than males during active Hcrt cell loss. Finally, females show a doubling of cataplexy during estrous compared to other phases of the estrous cycle. These findings are reviewed in the broader context of prior published literature, including reported gender differences in Hcrt expression and hormonal influences on sleep and wakefulness. Although similar findings have not been reported in humans, a systematic evaluation of gender differences in human narcolepsy has yet to be performed. Taken together, these animal data suggest that more research exploring gender differences in human narcolepsy is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus H Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, Switzerland.,Ohio Sleep Medicine Institute, 4975 Bradenton Ave., Dublin, Ohio, 43017, Switzerland
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11
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Liu Y, Zhang X, Zhang L, Zhu H, Chen J, Lin Z, Zhou B, Liu S, Wang H, Sun H. Sex Differences in Protein Expression and Their Perturbations in Amniotic Fluid Cells of Down Syndrome Fetuses. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:35981-35992. [PMID: 36249375 PMCID: PMC9558608 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c05152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal condition associated with intellectual disability and is characterized by a variety of additional clinical findings. The pathogenesis of DS and the differences between the sexes are not clear. In order to identify differentially expressed proteins that might be employed as potential biological markers and elucidate the difference in pathogenesis between different genders of T21 fetuses, providing clues for individualized detection and treatment is essential. Amniocyte samples of T21 males, T21 females, CN males, and CN females were collected by amniocentesis. The quantitative value of the peptide corresponding to each sample was determined through quantitative analysis by mass spectrometry. We identified many differentially expressed proteins between T21 fetuses and CN fetuses/T21 males and CN males/T21 females and CN females/and T21 males and T21 females. These differential proteins are associated with many important biological processes and affect the development of multiple systems, including the heart, hematopoietic, immune, reproductive, and nervous systems. Our results show sex-specific modulation of protein expression and biological processes and provide new insights into sex-specific differences in the pathogenesis of DS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyan Liu
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xuan Zhang
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lili Zhang
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongmei Zhu
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiurong Chen
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ziyuan Lin
- SCU-CUHK
Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine, Key Laboratory of Birth
Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University),
Ministry of Education, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second
University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bin Zhou
- Laboratory
of Molecular Translational Medicine, Center for Translational Medicine,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects
and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry
of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic
of China
| | - Shanling Liu
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - He Wang
- Prenatal
Diagnosis Center, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecologic, Key
Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children
(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second University
Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huaqin Sun
- SCU-CUHK
Joint Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine, Key Laboratory of Birth
Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University),
Ministry of Education, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second
University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People’s Republic of China
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12
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Qiu K, Mao M, Hu Y, Yi X, Zheng Y, Ying Z, Cheng D, Rao Y, Zhang J, Mu X, Ren C, Xu Y, Zhang W, Xu W, Zhao Y, Ren J. Gender-specific association between obstructive sleep apnea and cognitive impairment among adults. Sleep Med 2022; 98:158-166. [PMID: 35870305 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aims to explore the gender-specific association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cognitive impairment. METHODS Participants from UK biobank who have completed at least one of the five baseline cognitive tests (visuospatial memory, prospective memory, fluid intelligence, short numeric memory and reaction time) were included, which were initially divided into two groups based on gender and were further categorized into three subgroups: (1) OSA, (2) self-reported snoring but without OSA, and (3) healthy controls (without OSA or snoring). Multivariable regression analysis was performed to examine the associations among snoring, OSA and performance of each of the five cognitive domains. RESULTS A total of 267,889 participants (47% male, mean age: 57 years old) were included in our study. In the multivariable regression analysis, female participants in the OSA group had a higher risk of having poor prospective memory (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.02~1.50, p = 0.03). Meanwhile, among female participants, OSA were inversely associated with the performances of fluid intelligence (β: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.46~-0.13, p < 0.001) and short-numeric memory (β: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.35~0.08, p = 0.02). Besides, age-related subgroup analyses showed that these associations were largely reserved in younger (<65 years old) female participants rather than older (≥65 years old) female participants. In contrast, among male participants, no significant association was observed between OSA and impairment of the five cognitive domains. CONCLUSIONS OSA was significantly associated with cognitive impairment at certain dimensions in female participants rather than in male participants, indicating that more special attention and timely interventions should be given to younger female OSA patients to prevent further cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Qiu
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
| | - Minzi Mao
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yao Hu
- West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaowei Yi
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yongbo Zheng
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhiye Ying
- West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Danni Cheng
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yufang Rao
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Lang Zhong People's Hospital, Lang Zhong, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaosong Mu
- Lang Zhong People's Hospital, Lang Zhong, Sichuan, China
| | - Chuanming Ren
- Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China
| | - Yanhong Xu
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Yaan People's Hospital, Yaan, Sichuan, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Wei Xu
- Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Yu Zhao
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
| | - Jianjun Ren
- Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
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13
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The doublesex gene regulates dimorphic sexual and aggressive behaviors in Drosophila. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2201513119. [PMID: 36067320 PMCID: PMC9477402 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201513119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Most animal species display dimorphic sexual behaviors and male-biased aggressiveness. Current models have focused on the male-specific product from the fruitless (fruM) gene, which controls male courtship and male-specific aggression patterns in fruit flies, and describe a male-specific mechanism underlying sexually dimorphic behaviors. Here we show that the doublesex (dsx) gene, which expresses male-specific DsxM and female-specific DsxF transcription factors, functions in the nervous system to control both male and female sexual and aggressive behaviors. We find that Dsx is not only required in central brain neurons for male and female sexual behaviors, but also functions in approximately eight pairs of male-specific neurons to promote male aggressiveness and approximately two pairs of female-specific neurons to inhibit female aggressiveness. DsxF knockdown females fight more frequently, even with males. Our findings reveal crucial roles of dsx, which is broadly conserved from worms to humans, in a small number of neurons in both sexes to establish dimorphic sexual and aggressive behaviors.
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14
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Jett S, Schelbaum E, Jang G, Boneu Yepez C, Dyke JP, Pahlajani S, Diaz Brinton R, Mosconi L. Ovarian steroid hormones: A long overlooked but critical contributor to brain aging and Alzheimer's disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:948219. [PMID: 35928995 PMCID: PMC9344010 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.948219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Ovarian hormones, particularly 17β-estradiol, are involved in numerous neurophysiological and neurochemical processes, including those subserving cognitive function. Estradiol plays a key role in the neurobiology of aging, in part due to extensive interconnectivity of the neural and endocrine system. This aspect of aging is fundamental for women's brains as all women experience a drop in circulating estradiol levels in midlife, after menopause. Given the importance of estradiol for brain function, it is not surprising that up to 80% of peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women report neurological symptoms including changes in thermoregulation (vasomotor symptoms), mood, sleep, and cognitive performance. Preclinical evidence for neuroprotective effects of 17β-estradiol also indicate associations between menopause, cognitive aging, and Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia affecting nearly twice more women than men. Brain imaging studies demonstrated that middle-aged women exhibit increased indicators of AD endophenotype as compared to men of the same age, with onset in perimenopause. Herein, we take a translational approach to illustrate the contribution of ovarian hormones in maintaining cognition in women, with evidence implicating menopause-related declines in 17β-estradiol in cognitive aging and AD risk. We will review research focused on the role of endogenous and exogenous estrogen exposure as a key underlying mechanism to neuropathological aging in women, with a focus on whether brain structure, function and neurochemistry respond to hormone treatment. While still in development, this research area offers a new sex-based perspective on brain aging and risk of AD, while also highlighting an urgent need for better integration between neurology, psychiatry, and women's health practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Jett
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Eva Schelbaum
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Grace Jang
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Camila Boneu Yepez
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jonathan P. Dyke
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Silky Pahlajani
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Roberta Diaz Brinton
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Lisa Mosconi
- Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
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15
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Jiao W, Spreemann G, Ruchti E, Banerjee S, Vernon S, Shi Y, Stowers RS, Hess K, McCabe BD. Intact Drosophila central nervous system cellular quantitation reveals sexual dimorphism. eLife 2022; 11:74968. [PMID: 35801638 PMCID: PMC9270032 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Establishing with precision the quantity and identity of the cell types of the brain is a prerequisite for a detailed compendium of gene and protein expression in the central nervous system (CNS). Currently, however, strict quantitation of cell numbers has been achieved only for the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we describe the development of a synergistic pipeline of molecular genetic, imaging, and computational technologies designed to allow high-throughput, precise quantitation with cellular resolution of reporters of gene expression in intact whole tissues with complex cellular constitutions such as the brain. We have deployed the approach to determine with exactitude the number of functional neurons and glia in the entire intact larval Drosophila CNS, revealing fewer neurons and more glial cells than previously predicted. We also discover an unexpected divergence between the sexes at this juvenile developmental stage, with the female CNS having significantly more neurons than that of males. Topological analysis of our data establishes that this sexual dimorphism extends to deeper features of CNS organisation. We additionally extended our analysis to quantitate the expression of voltage-gated potassium channel family genes throughout the CNS and uncover substantial differences in abundance. Our methodology enables robust and accurate quantification of the number and positioning of cells within intact organs, facilitating sophisticated analysis of cellular identity, diversity, and gene expression characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Jiao
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Gard Spreemann
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Evelyne Ruchti
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Soumya Banerjee
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Samuel Vernon
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Ying Shi
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - R Steven Stowers
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University
| | - Kathryn Hess
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
| | - Brian D McCabe
- Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
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16
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The neural substrates of sex differences in balanced time perspective: A unique role for the precuneus. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:2239-2247. [PMID: 35670932 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00694-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Sex differences in various aspects of behaviour and cognition have been widely observed. Few studies, however, have explored potential sex differences in maintaining a balanced time perspective or their underlying neural correlates. To address these questions, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, time perspective was assessed in 1913 college students (796 males and 1117 females), revealing that females had a significantly more balanced time perspective relative to males. In Study 2, 58 males and 47 females underwent an assessment of time perspective and structural brain imaging. Voxel-based morphometry analysis and cortical thickness analysis were conducted to explore associations between the structural imaging data and balanced time perspective. Compared with males, females demonstrated a more balanced time perspective in the context of lower grey matter volume in the bilateral precuneus, right cerebellum, right putamen and left supplementary motor area. Analysis of cortical thickness failed to reveal any significant sex differences. Furthermore, lower grey matter volume of bilateral precuneus was associated with more balanced time perspective among all participants. Our findings point to a critical role for the precuneus in modulating a balanced time perspective, and extend our understanding of sex differences in human cognition. Future studies are required to determine whether sex differences in balanced time perspective are predictive of functional outcomes in daily life.
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17
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Jimenez Chavez CL, Van Doren E, Matalon J, Ogele N, Kharwa A, Madory L, Kazerani I, Herbert J, Torres-Gonzalez J, Rivera E, Szumlinski KK. Alcohol-Drinking Under Limited-Access Procedures During Mature Adulthood Accelerates the Onset of Cognitive Impairment in Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:732375. [PMID: 35685271 PMCID: PMC9171112 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.732375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A history of heavy drinking increases vulnerability to, and the severity of, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, with alcohol use disorder identified as the strongest modifiable risk factor for early-onset dementia. Heavy drinking has increased markedly in women over the past 10 years, particularly in mature adult women during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is concerning as women are more sensitive to many alcohol-related disease states, including AD and related dementias. Herein, we conducted two studies to determine if a 1-month period of binge drinking during mature adulthood (i.e., 5–9 months of age) impairs spatial and working memory to a greater extent in female vs. male C57BL/6J (B6J) mice. The anxiogenic and cognitive-impairing effects of binge drinking were also compared between mature adult and old B6J mice (18 months of age) in a third study. Throughout, females consumed more alcohol than males, indicating that a sex difference in binge drinking persists into old age. Despite the sex difference in intake, we detected no consistent sex difference in our measures of alcohol withdrawal-induced anxiety during a behavioral test battery. Although mature adult females exhibited more cognitive deficits than males, the precise outcome exhibiting a female-selective effect varied across studies. Old mice drank lower amounts of alcohol than mature adult mice, yet their blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) were within error of the 80 mg/dl criterion for binge drinking, indicative of an age-related slowing of alcohol metabolism. As expected, 18-month-old controls exhibited more signs of cognitive impairment than their 6-month-old counterparts, and binge drinking history impaired the Morris water maze performance of mice of both ages. In contrast, binge drinking history impaired the radial arm maze performance of 6-month-old mice only, and the extent of the impairment was comparable to the behavior exhibited by the older mice. We conclude from our studies that: (1) both biological sex and the age of drinking onset are subject factors that impact voluntary alcohol consumption by mice into old age; (2) binge drinking during later life elicits a negative affective state that is relatively sex-independent; (3) binge drinking during both mature adulthood and old age impairs spatial learning and memory; (4) binge drinking during mature adulthood accelerates deficits in working memory; and (5) mature adult females tend to exhibit more alcohol-induced cognitive impairments than males. If relevant to humans, these findings suggest that binge-like drinking by older adult men and women induces a negative affective state and cognitive decline, but that mature adult women, in particular, may be more sensitive to both the immediate and persistent cognitive-impairing effects of heavy drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Leonardo Jimenez Chavez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Eliyana Van Doren
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jacob Matalon
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Nneoma Ogele
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Aadithya Kharwa
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Lauren Madory
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Ida Kazerani
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jessica Herbert
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Jose Torres-Gonzalez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Emely Rivera
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Karen K. Szumlinski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Karen K. Szumlinski
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18
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Zhang Y, Ke J, Zhou Y, Liu X, Huang T, Wang F. Sex-specific characteristics of cells expressing the cannabinoid 1 receptor in the dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:2451-2473. [PMID: 35580011 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
It is becoming increasingly clear that robust sex differences exist in the processing of acute and chronic pain in both rodents and humans. However, the underlying mechanism has not been well characterized. The dorsal horn of the lumbar spinal cord is the fundamental building block of ascending and descending pain pathways. It has been shown that numerous neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems in the spinal cord, including the endocannabinoid system and its main receptor, the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1 R), play vital roles in processing nociceptive information. Our previous findings have shown that CB1 R mRNA is widely expressed in the brain in sex-dependent patterns. However, the sex-, lamina-, and cell-type-specific characteristics of CB1 R expression in the spinal cord have not been fully described. In this study, the CB1 R-iCre-EGFP mouse strain was generated to label and identify CB1 R-positive (CB1 RGFP ) cells. We reported no sex difference in CB1 R expression in the lumbar dorsal horn of the spinal cord, but a dynamic distribution within superficial laminae II and III in female mice between estrus and nonestrus phases. Furthermore, the cell-type-specific CB1 R expression pattern in the dorsal horn was similar in both sexes. Over 50% of CB1 RGFP cells were GABAergic neurons, and approximately 25% were glycinergic and 20-30% were glutamatergic neurons. The CB1 R-expressing cells also represented a subset of spinal projection neurons. Overall, our work indicates a highly consistent distribution pattern of CB1 RGFP cells in the dorsal horn of lumbar spinal cord in males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulin Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Ke
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xue Liu
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tianwen Huang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Shenzhen Key Lab of Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Shenzhen Key Lab of Drug Addiction, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
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19
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Lee CW, Hsu LF, Wu IL, Wang YL, Chen WC, Liu YJ, Yang LT, Tan CL, Luo YH, Wang CC, Chiu HW, Yang TCK, Lin YY, Chang HA, Chiang YC, Chen CH, Lee MH, Peng KT, Huang CCY. Exposure to polystyrene microplastics impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in mice. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 430:128431. [PMID: 35150991 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a serious environmental issue worldwide, but its potential effects on health remain unknown. The administration of polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) to mice for eight weeks impaired learning and memory behavior. PS-MPs were detected in the brain especially in the hippocampus of these mice. Concurrently, the hippocampus had decreased levels of immediate-early genes, aberrantly enhanced synaptic glutamate AMPA receptors, and elevated neuroinflammation, all of which are critical for synaptic plasticity and memory. Interestingly, ablation of the vagus nerve, a modulator of the gut-brain axis, improved the memory function of PS-MPs mice. These results indicate that exposure to PS-MPs in mice alters the expression of neuronal activity-dependent genes and synaptic proteins, and increases neuroinflammation in the hippocampus, subsequently causing behavioral changes through the vagus nerve-dependent pathway. Our findings shed light on the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the brain and hippocampal learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiang-Wen Lee
- Department of Nursing, Division of Basic Medical Sciences, and Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Research Center, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Puzi City, Chiayi County 61363, Taiwan; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Puzi City, Chiayi County 61363, Taiwan; Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243303, Taiwan
| | - Lee-Fen Hsu
- Department of Respiratory Care, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Puzi City, Chiayi County 613, Taiwan; Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Puzi City, Chiayi County 613, Taiwan
| | - I-Lin Wu
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Li Wang
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Chen Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Jun Liu
- Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Lu-Tang Yang
- Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chong-Lun Tan
- Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yueh-Hsia Luo
- Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | | | - Hui-Wen Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
| | - Thomas Chung-Kuang Yang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Yue Lin
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Life Sciences, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-An Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chang Chiang
- Department of Nursing, Division of Basic Medical Sciences, and Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Research Center, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Puzi City, Chiayi County 61363, Taiwan
| | | | - Ming-Hsueh Lee
- Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Puzi City, Chiayi County 613, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Ti Peng
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Puzi City, Chiayi County 61363, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Guishan Dist., Taoyuan City 33303, Taiwan
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20
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Piilgaard L, Rose L, Hviid CG, Kohlmeier KA, Kornum BR. Sex-related differences within sleep-wake dynamics, cataplexy, and EEG fast-delta power in a narcolepsy mouse model. Sleep 2022; 45:6546341. [PMID: 35266540 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a sleep-wake disorder caused by selective loss of hypocretin (HCRT, also called orexin) neurons. Although the prevalence of NT1 is equal in men and women, sex differences in NT1 symptomatology have been reported in humans and other species. Yet, most preclinical studies fail to include females, resulting in gender bias within translational drug development. We used hcrt-tTA;TetO DTA mice (NT1 mice) that lose their HCRT neurons upon dietary doxycycline removal to examine in detail the effect of sex on NT1 symptoms and sleep-wake characteristics. We recorded 24-h electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and video in adult male and female NT1 mice for behavioural state quantification. While conducting this study, we recognized another type of behavioural arrest different from cataplexy: shorter lasting and with high δ power. We termed these delta attacks and propose a set of criteria for quantifying these in future research. Our findings show that both sexes exhibit high behavioural state instability, which was markedly higher in females with more behavioural arrests interrupting the wake episodes. Females exhibited increased wake at the expense of sleep during the dark phase, and decreased rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep during the 24-h day. During the dark phase, fast-δ (2.5-4 Hz) in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep and θ (6-10 Hz) EEG spectral power in REM sleep were lower in females compared to males. We demonstrate that biologically driven sex-related differences exist in the symptomatology of NT1 mice which calls for including both sexes in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Piilgaard
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laura Rose
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Camille Gylling Hviid
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristi A Kohlmeier
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Rahbek Kornum
- Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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21
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Ponticorvo S, Prinster A, Cantone E, Di Salle F, Esposito F, Canna A. Sex differences in the taste-evoked functional connectivity network. Chem Senses 2022; 47:6617558. [PMID: 35749468 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The central gustatory pathway encompasses multiple subcortical and cortical regions whose neural functional connectivity can be modulated by taste stimulation. While gustatory perception has been previously linked to sex, whether and how the gustatory network differently responds to basic tastes between men and women is unclear. Here, we defined the regions of the central gustatory network by a meta-analysis of 35 fMRI taste activation studies and then analyzed the taste-evoked functional connectivity between these regions in 44 subjects (19 women) in a separate 3 Tesla activation study where sweet and bitter solutions, at five concentrations each, were administered during scanning. From the meta-analysis, a network model was set up, including bilateral anterior, middle and inferior insula, thalamus, precentral gyrus, left amygdala, caudate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Higher functional connectivity than in women was observed in men between the right middle insula and bilateral thalami for bitter taste. Men exhibited higher connectivity than women at low bitter concentrations and middle-high sweet concentrations between bilateral thalamus and insula. A graph-based analysis expressed similar results in terms of nodal characteristics of strength and centrality. Our findings add new insights into the mechanisms of taste processing by highlighting sex differences in the functional connectivity of the gustatory network as modulated by the perception of sweet and bitter tastes. These results shed more light on the neural origin of sex-related differences in gustatory perception and may guide future research on the pathophysiology of taste perception in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Ponticorvo
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy
| | - Anna Prinster
- Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute, National Research Council, Naples, Italy
| | - Elena Cantone
- Section of ENT, Department of Neuroscience, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Di Salle
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy.,University Hospital "San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D'Aragona", Scuola Medica Salernitana, Salerno, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Esposito
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Napoli, Italy
| | - Antonietta Canna
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Napoli, Italy
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22
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Fuss T. Mate Choice, Sex Roles and Sexual Cognition: Neuronal Prerequisites Supporting Cognitive Mate Choice. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.749499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Across taxa, mate choice is a highly selective process involving both intra- and intersexual selection processes aiming to pass on one’s genes, making mate choice a pivotal tool of sexual selection. Individuals adapt mate choice behavior dynamically in response to environmental and social changes. These changes are perceived sensorily and integrated on a neuronal level, which ultimately leads to an adequate behavioral response. Along with perception and prior to an appropriate behavioral response, the choosing sex has (1) to recognize and discriminate between the prospective mates and (2) to be able to assess and compare their performance in order to make an informed decision. To do so, cognitive processes allow for the simultaneous processing of multiple information from the (in-) animate environment as well as from a variety of both sexual and social (but non-sexual) conspecific cues. Although many behavioral aspects of cognition on one side and of mate choice displays on the other are well understood, the interplay of neuronal mechanisms governing both determinants, i.e., governing cognitive mate choice have been described only vaguely. This review aimed to throw a spotlight on neuronal prerequisites, networks and processes supporting the interaction between mate choice, sex roles and sexual cognition, hence, supporting cognitive mate choice. How does neuronal activity differ between males and females regarding social cognition? Does sex or the respective sex role within the prevailing mating system mirror at a neuronal level? How does cognitive competence affect mate choice? Conversely, how does mate choice affect the cognitive abilities of both sexes? Benefitting from studies using different neuroanatomical techniques such as neuronal activity markers, differential coexpression or candidate gene analyses, modulatory effects of neurotransmitters and hormones, or imaging techniques such as fMRI, there is ample evidence pointing to a reflection of sex and the respective sex role at the neuronal level, at least in individual brain regions. Moreover, this review aims to summarize evidence for cognitive abilities influencing mate choice and vice versa. At the same time, new questions arise centering the complex relationship between neurobiology, cognition and mate choice, which we will perhaps be able to answer with new experimental techniques.
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23
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Goodwin SF, Hobert O. Molecular Mechanisms of Sexually Dimorphic Nervous System Patterning in Flies and Worms. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2021; 37:519-547. [PMID: 34613817 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-120319-115237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Male and female brains display anatomical and functional differences. Such differences are observed in species across the animal kingdom, including humans, but have been particularly well-studied in two classic animal model systems, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we summarize recent advances in understanding how the worm and fly brain acquire sexually dimorphic features during development. We highlight the advantages of each system, illustrating how the precise anatomical delineation of sexual dimorphisms in worms has enabled recent analysis into how these dimorphisms become specified during development, and how focusing on sexually dimorphic neurons in the fly has enabled an increasingly detailed understanding of sex-specific behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F Goodwin
- Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SR, United Kingdom;
| | - Oliver Hobert
- Department of Biological Sciences and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA;
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24
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Mank JE, Rideout EJ. Developmental mechanisms of sex differences: from cells to organisms. Development 2021; 148:272484. [PMID: 34647574 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Male-female differences in many developmental mechanisms lead to the formation of two morphologically and physiologically distinct sexes. Although this is expected for traits with prominent differences between the sexes, such as the gonads, sex-specific processes also contribute to traits without obvious male-female differences, such as the intestine. Here, we review sex differences in developmental mechanisms that operate at several levels of biological complexity - molecular, cellular, organ and organismal - and discuss how these differences influence organ formation, function and whole-body physiology. Together, the examples we highlight show that one simple way to gain a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of animal development is to include both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith E Mank
- Department of Zoology, Biodiversity Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.,Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Elizabeth J Rideout
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
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25
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Haase J, Jones AKC, Mc Veigh CJ, Brown E, Clarke G, Ahnert-Hilger G. Sex and brain region-specific regulation of serotonin transporter activity in synaptosomes in guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(q) alpha knockout mice. J Neurochem 2021; 159:156-171. [PMID: 34309872 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The regulation of the serotonin transporter (SERT) by guanine nucleotide-binding protein alpha (Gα) q was investigated using Gαq knockout mice. In the absence of Gαq, SERT-mediated uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) was enhanced in midbrain and frontal cortex synaptosomes, but only in female mice. The mechanisms underlying this sexual dimorphism were investigated using quantitative western blot analysis revealing brain region-specific differences. In the frontal cortex, SERT protein expression was decreased in male knockout mice, seemingly explaining the sex-dependent variation in SERT activity. The differential expression of Gαi1 in female mice contributes to the sex differences in the midbrain. In fact, Gαi1 levels inversely correlate with 5HT uptake rates across both sexes and genotypes. Likely due to differential SERT regulation as well as sex differences in the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase 2, Gαq knockout mice also displayed sex- and genotype-dependent alterations in total 5HT tissue levels as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Gαq inhibitors, YM-254890 and BIM-46187, differentially affected SERT activity in both, synaptosomes and cultured cells. YM-254890 treatment mimicked the effect of Gαq knockout in the frontal cortex. BIM-46187, which promotes the nucleotide-free form of Gα proteins, substantially inhibited 5HT uptake, prompting us to hypothesise that Gαq interacts with SERT similarly as with G-protein-coupled receptors and inhibits SERT activity by modulating transport-associated conformational changes. Taken together, our findings reveal a novel mechanism of SERT regulation and impact our understanding of sex differences in diseases associated with dysregulation of serotonin transmission, such as depression and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Haase
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aimée K C Jones
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Conor J Mc Veigh
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Eric Brown
- UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gerard Clarke
- APC Microbiome Ireland and Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioural Science, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Gudrun Ahnert-Hilger
- Institute of Integrative Neuroanatomy, Charité University Medicine Berlin and Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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26
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Sharifi S, Caracciolo G, Pozzi D, Digiacomo L, Swann J, Daldrup-Link HE, Mahmoudi M. The role of sex as a biological variable in the efficacy and toxicity of therapeutic nanomedicine. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2021; 174:337-347. [PMID: 33957181 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2021.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Males and females have physiological, hormonal, and genetic differences that can cause different responses to medicinal treatments. The role of sex in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs is well established in the literature. However, researchers have yet to robustly and consistently consider the impact of sex differences on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of nanomedicine formulations when designing nanomedicine therapeutics and/or constructing clinical trials. In this review, we highlight the physiological and anatomical differences between sexes and discuss how these differences can influence the therapeutic efficacy, side effects, and drug delivery safety of nanomedicine products. A deep understanding of the effects of sex on nano-based drug delivery agents will robustly improve the risk assessment process, resulting in safer formulations, successful clinical translation, and improved therapeutic efficacies for both sexes.
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27
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Input-selective adenosine A 1 receptor-mediated synaptic depression of excitatory transmission in dorsal striatum. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6345. [PMID: 33737568 PMCID: PMC7973535 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85513-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The medial (DMS) and lateral (DLS) dorsal striatum differentially drive goal-directed and habitual/compulsive behaviors, respectively, and are implicated in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. These subregions receive distinct inputs from cortical and thalamic regions which uniquely determine dorsal striatal activity and function. Adenosine A1 receptors (A1Rs) are prolific within striatum and regulate excitatory glutamate transmission. Thus, A1Rs may have regionally-specific effects on neuroadaptive processes which may ultimately influence striatally-mediated behaviors. The occurrence of A1R-driven plasticity at specific excitatory inputs to dorsal striatum is currently unknown. To better understand how A1Rs may influence these behaviors, we first sought to understand how A1Rs modulate these distinct inputs. We evaluated A1R-mediated inhibition of cortico- and thalamostriatal transmission using in vitro whole-cell, patch clamp slice electrophysiology recordings in medium spiny neurons from both the DLS and DMS of C57BL/6J mice in conjunction with optogenetic approaches. In addition, conditional A1R KO mice lacking A1Rs at specific striatal inputs to DMS and DLS were generated to directly determine the role of these presynaptic A1Rs on the measured electrophysiological responses. Activation of presynaptic A1Rs produced significant and prolonged synaptic depression (A1R-SD) of excitatory transmission in the both the DLS and DMS of male and female animals. Our findings indicate that A1R-SD at corticostriatal and thalamostriatal inputs to DLS can be additive and that A1R-SD in DMS occurs primarily at thalamostriatal inputs. These findings advance the field's understanding of the functional roles of A1Rs in striatum and implicate their potential contribution to neuropsychiatric diseases.
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28
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Dump the "dimorphism": Comprehensive synthesis of human brain studies reveals few male-female differences beyond size. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 125:667-697. [PMID: 33621637 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 01/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
With the explosion of neuroimaging, differences between male and female brains have been exhaustively analyzed. Here we synthesize three decades of human MRI and postmortem data, emphasizing meta-analyses and other large studies, which collectively reveal few reliable sex/gender differences and a history of unreplicated claims. Males' brains are larger than females' from birth, stabilizing around 11 % in adults. This size difference accounts for other reproducible findings: higher white/gray matter ratio, intra- versus interhemispheric connectivity, and regional cortical and subcortical volumes in males. But when structural and lateralization differences are present independent of size, sex/gender explains only about 1% of total variance. Connectome differences and multivariate sex/gender prediction are largely based on brain size, and perform poorly across diverse populations. Task-based fMRI has especially failed to find reproducible activation differences between men and women in verbal, spatial or emotion processing due to high rates of false discovery. Overall, male/female brain differences appear trivial and population-specific. The human brain is not "sexually dimorphic."
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29
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Comprehensive somatosensory and neurological phenotyping of NCS1 knockout mice. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2372. [PMID: 33504822 PMCID: PMC7840744 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81650-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal calcium sensor 1 (NCS1) regulates a wide range of cellular functions throughout the mammalian nervous systems. Altered NCS1 expression is associated with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies focused on affective and cognitive behaviors in NCS1 knockout (KO) mice, but little is known about the physiological and pathological states associated with the loss of NCS1 in the peripheral nervous system. We previously reported that NCS1 expression was reduced following paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. Here, we comprehensively investigated the phenotypes of NCS1-KO mice through a battery of behavioral tests examining both central and peripheral nervous systems. Generally, only mild differences were observed in thermal sensation and memory acquisition between NCS1-WT and -KO male mice, but not in female mice. No differences were observed in motor performance, affective behaviors, and hearing in both sexes. These results suggest that NCS1 plays a modulatory role in sensory perceptions and cognition, particularly in male mice. NCS1 has been proposed as a pharmacological target for various diseases. Therefore, the sex-specific effects of NCS1 loss may be of clinical interest. As we examined a constitutive KO model, future studies focusing on various conditional KO models will further elucidate the precise physiological significance of NCS1.
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30
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Pottmeier P, Doszyn O, Peuckert C, Jazin E. Increased Expression of Y-Encoded Demethylases During Differentiation of Human Male Neural Stem Cells. Stem Cells Dev 2020; 29:1497-1509. [PMID: 33040644 DOI: 10.1089/scd.2020.0138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human neural stem cells (hNSCs) have long been used as an in vitro model to study neurogenesis and as candidates for nervous system therapy. Many parameters have been considered when evaluating the success of transplantation, but sex of donor and recipients is often not discussed. We investigated two commercial NSC lines, the female hNSC-H9 and male hNSC-H14, and we observed faster growth rates in the male cells. At 4 days of differentiation, male cells presented a significant increase in expression of DCX, an immature neuronal marker, while female cells showed a significant increase in RMST, a long noncoding RNA, which is indispensable during neurogenesis. In addition, expression of neural markers MAP2, PSD95, SYP, DCX, and TUJ1 at day 14 of differentiation suggested a similar differentiation potential in both lines. The most significant differences at day 14 of differentiation were the expression levels of RELN, with almost 100-fold difference between the sexes, and MASH1, with more than 1,000-fold increase in male cells. To evaluate whether some of the observed differences may be sex related, we measured the expression of gametologous genes located on the X- and Y-chromosome. Most noticeable was the increase of Y-encoded demethylases KDM6C (UTY) and KDM5D during differentiation of male cells. Our results indicate that attention should be paid to sex when planning neurogenesis and transplantation experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Pottmeier
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Olga Doszyn
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Christiane Peuckert
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Molecular Biology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elena Jazin
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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31
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Gur RC, Butler ER, Moore TM, Rosen AFG, Ruparel K, Satterthwaite TD, Roalf DR, Gennatas ED, Bilker WB, Shinohara RT, Port A, Elliott MA, Verma R, Davatzikos C, Wolf DH, Detre JA, Gur RE. Structural and Functional Brain Parameters Related to Cognitive Performance Across Development: Replication and Extension of the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory in a Single Sample. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:1444-1463. [PMID: 33119049 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The parieto-frontal integration theory (PFIT) identified a fronto-parietal network of regions where individual differences in brain parameters most strongly relate to cognitive performance. PFIT was supported and extended in adult samples, but not in youths or within single-scanner well-powered multimodal studies. We performed multimodal neuroimaging in 1601 youths age 8-22 on the same 3-Tesla scanner with contemporaneous neurocognitive assessment, measuring volume, gray matter density (GMD), mean diffusivity (MD), cerebral blood flow (CBF), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging measures of the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and regional homogeneity (ReHo), and activation to a working memory and a social cognition task. Across age and sex groups, better performance was associated with higher volumes, greater GMD, lower MD, lower CBF, higher ALFF and ReHo, and greater activation for the working memory task in PFIT regions. However, additional cortical, striatal, limbic, and cerebellar regions showed comparable effects, hence PFIT needs expansion into an extended PFIT (ExtPFIT) network incorporating nodes that support motivation and affect. Associations of brain parameters became stronger with advancing age group from childhood to adolescence to young adulthood, effects occurring earlier in females. This ExtPFIT network is developmentally fine-tuned, optimizing abundance and integrity of neural tissue while maintaining a low resting energy state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ellyn R Butler
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Tyler M Moore
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Adon F G Rosen
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kosha Ruparel
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Theodore D Satterthwaite
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - David R Roalf
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Efstathios D Gennatas
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Warren B Bilker
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Russell T Shinohara
- Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Allison Port
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mark A Elliott
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ragini Verma
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Christos Davatzikos
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Daniel H Wolf
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - John A Detre
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Raquel E Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and the Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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32
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Sex differences in behavioral and metabolic effects of gene inactivation: The neuropeptide Y and Y receptors in the brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:333-347. [PMID: 33045245 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Brain and gonadal hormones interplay controls metabolic and behavioral functions in a sex-related manner. However, most translational neuroscience research related to animal models of endocrine and psychiatric disorders are often carried out in male animals only. The Neuropeptide Y (NPY) system shows sex-dependent differences and is sensitive to gonadal steroids. Based on published data from our and other laboratories, in this review we will discuss the sex related differences of NPY action on energy balance, bone homeostasis and behavior in rodents with the genetic manipulation of genes encoding NPY and its Y1, Y2 and Y5 cognate receptors. Comparative analyses of the phenotype of transgenic and knockout NPY and Y receptor rodents unravels sex dependent differences in the functions of this neurotransmission system, potentially helping to develop therapeutics for a variety of sex-related disorders including metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis and ethanol addiction.
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33
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Corain L, Grisan E, Graïc JM, Carvajal-Schiaffino R, Cozzi B, Peruffo A. Multi-aspect testing and ranking inference to quantify dimorphism in the cytoarchitecture of cerebellum of male, female and intersex individuals: a model applied to bovine brains. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:2669-2688. [PMID: 32989472 PMCID: PMC7674367 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02147-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The dimorphism among male, female and freemartin intersex bovines, focusing on the vermal lobules VIII and IX, was analyzed using a novel data analytics approach to quantify morphometric differences in the cytoarchitecture of digitalized sections of the cerebellum. This methodology consists of multivariate and multi-aspect testing for cytoarchitecture-ranking, based on neuronal cell complexity among populations defined by factors, such as sex, age or pathology. In this context, we computed a set of shape descriptors of the neural cell morphology, categorized them into three domains named size, regularity and density, respectively. The output and results of our methodology are multivariate in nature, allowing an in-depth analysis of the cytoarchitectonic organization and morphology of cells. Interestingly, the Purkinje neurons and the underlying granule cells revealed the same morphological pattern: female possessed larger, denser and more irregular neurons than males. In the Freemartin, Purkinje neurons showed an intermediate setting between males and females, while the granule cells were the largest, most regular and dense. This methodology could be a powerful instrument to carry out morphometric analysis providing robust bases for objective tissue screening, especially in the field of neurodegenerative pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Corain
- Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, 36100, Vicenza, VI, Italy
| | - E Grisan
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131, Padua, PD, Italy
- School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, SE1 0AA, UK
| | - J-M Graïc
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy.
| | - R Carvajal-Schiaffino
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - B Cozzi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy
| | - A Peruffo
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, PD, Italy
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Salzberg Y, Gat A, Oren-Suissa M. One template, two outcomes: How does the sex-shared nervous system generate sex-specific behaviors? Curr Top Dev Biol 2020; 144:245-268. [PMID: 33992155 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Sex-specific behaviors are common in nature and are crucial for reproductive fitness and species survival. A key question in the field of sex/gender neurobiology is whether and to what degree the sex-shared nervous system differs between the sexes in the anatomy, connectivity and molecular identity of its components. An equally intriguing issue is how does the same sex-shared neuronal template diverge to mediate distinct behavioral outputs in females and males. This chapter aims to present the most up-to-date understanding of how this task is achieved in C. elegans. The vast majority of neurons in C. elegans are shared among the two sexes in terms of their lineage history, anatomical position and neuronal identity. Yet a substantial amount of evidence points to the hermaphrodite-male counterparts of some neurons expressing different genes and forming different synaptic connections. This, in turn, enables the same cells and circuits to transmit discrete signals in the two sexes and ultimately execute different functions. We review the various sex-shared behavioral paradigms that have been shown to be sexually dimorphic in recent years, discuss the mechanisms that underlie these examples, refer to the developmental regulation of neuronal dimorphism and suggest evolutionary concepts that emerge from the data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yehuda Salzberg
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Asaf Gat
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Meital Oren-Suissa
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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35
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Bertocchi I, Oberto A, Longo A, Palanza P, Eva C. Conditional inactivation of Npy1r gene in mice induces sex-related differences of metabolic and behavioral functions. Horm Behav 2020; 125:104824. [PMID: 32755609 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Sex hormone-driven differences in gene expression have been identified in experimental animals, highlighting brain neuronal populations implicated in dimorphism of metabolic and behavioral functions. Neuropeptide Y-Y1 receptor (NPY-Y1R) system is sexually dimorphic and sensitive to gonadal steroids. In the present study we compared the phenotype of male and female conditional knockout mice (Npy1rrfb mice), carrying the inactivation of Npy1r gene in excitatory neurons of the brain limbic system. Compared to their male control (Npy1r2lox) littermates, male Npy1rrfb mice exhibited hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that is associated with anxiety and executive dysfunction, reduced body weight growth, after-fasting refeeding, white adipose tissue (WAT) mass and plasma leptin levels. Conversely, female Npy1rrfb mice displayed an anxious-like behavior but no differences in HPA axis activity, executive function and body weight, compared to control females. Moreover, conditional inactivation of Npy1r gene induced an increase of subcutaneous and gonadal WAT weight and plasma leptin levels and a compensatory decrease of Agouti-related protein immunoreactivity in the hypothalamic arcuate (ARC) nucleus in females, compared to their respective control littermates. Interestingly, Npy1r mRNA expression was reduced in the ARC and in the paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei of female, but not male mice. These results demonstrated that female mice are resilient to hormonal and metabolic effects of limbic Npy1r gene inactivation, suggesting the existence of an estrogen-dependent relay necessary to ensure the maintenance of the homeostasis, that can be mediated by hypothalamic Y1R.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Bertocchi
- Neuroscience Institute of the Cavalieri-Ottolenghi Foundation, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy; Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandra Oberto
- Neuroscience Institute of the Cavalieri-Ottolenghi Foundation, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy; Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Italy
| | - Angela Longo
- Neuroscience Institute of the Cavalieri-Ottolenghi Foundation, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Paola Palanza
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy
| | - Carola Eva
- Neuroscience Institute of the Cavalieri-Ottolenghi Foundation, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy; Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Italy.
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36
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Hawkes S, Buse K. Socially Constructed Determinants of Health: The Case for Synergies to Arrive at Gendered Global Health Law. Public Health Ethics 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/phe/phaa013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Both gender and the law are significant determinants of health and well-being. Here, we put forward evidence to unpack the relationship between gender and outcomes in health and well-being, and explore how legal determinants interact and intersect with gender norms to amplify or reduce health inequities across populations. The paper explores the similarities between legal and health systems in their response to gender—both systems portray gender neutrality but would be better described as gender-blind. We conclude with a set of recommendations to address both law and gender in implementing the work of the Lancet Commission on the legal determinants of health to improve health outcomes for all, irrespective of gender.
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Trejo-Sánchez I, Pérez-Monter C, Huerta-Pacheco S, Gutiérrez-Ospina G. Male Ejaculatory Endophenotypes: Revealing Internal Inconsistencies of the Concept in Heterosexual Copulating Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:90. [PMID: 32670030 PMCID: PMC7332778 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Distinct manifestations of sexual behavior are conceived as separate phenotypes. Each sexual phenotype is assumed to be associated with a characteristic brain. These notions have justified the phenotyping of heterosexual copulator males based upon their ejaculation's latencies (EL) or frequencies (i.e., cumulative ejaculation number; EN). For instance, men and male rats showing premature, normal or retarded ejaculation are assumed to be distinctive endophenotypes. This concept, nonetheless, contradicts past and recent evidence that supports that sexual behavior is highly variable within each sex, and that the brain sexual functional morphology represents an intricate sexual phenotypic mosaic. Hence, for ejaculatory male endophenotypes to be considered as a valid biological concept, it must show internal consistency at various levels of organization (including genetic architectures), after being challenged by intrinsic and/or extrinsic factors. We then judged the internal consistency of the presumed ejaculatory endophenotypes by assessing whether copulatory behavior and the expression of copulation relevant genes and brain limbic structures are specific to each of the presumed EL- or EN-ejaculatory endophenotypes. To do this, copulating male rats were first phenotyped in groups consistently displaying short, average or long ejaculation latencies or very high, high, average, low or very low EN, based in their copulatory performance. Then, the internal consistency of the presumed EL- or EN-endophenotypes was tested by introducing as covariates of phenotyping other copulatory parameters (e.g., number of intromissions) in addition to EL or EN, or by analyzing the expression levels of genes encoding for estrogen receptor alpha, progesterone receptor, androgen receptor, aromatase, DNA methyl-transferase 3a and DNA methyl-transferase 1 in the amygdala, medial preoptic area, ventromedial hypothalamus and olfactory bulb. We found that even though there were group-level differences in all the variables that were studied, these differences did not add-up to create the presumed EL- or EN-ejaculatory endophenotypes. In fact, the extensive overlapping of copulatory parameters and expression levels of copulation relevant genes in limbic structures across EL- or EN-phenotyped copulating male rats, is not consistent with the hypothesis that distinct ejaculatory endophenotypes exist and that they are associated with specific brain characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itztli Trejo-Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Biología de Sistemas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Carlos Pérez-Monter
- Departamento de Gastroenterología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán”, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Sofía Huerta-Pacheco
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Ciencia Forense, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Gabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina
- Laboratorio de Biología de Sistemas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Coordinación de Psicobiología y Neurociencias, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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38
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Reproducibility of animal research in light of biological variation. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:384-393. [PMID: 32488205 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0313-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Context-dependent biological variation presents a unique challenge to the reproducibility of results in experimental animal research, because organisms' responses to experimental treatments can vary with both genotype and environmental conditions. In March 2019, experts in animal biology, experimental design and statistics convened in Blonay, Switzerland, to discuss strategies addressing this challenge. In contrast to the current gold standard of rigorous standardization in experimental animal research, we recommend the use of systematic heterogenization of study samples and conditions by actively incorporating biological variation into study design through diversifying study samples and conditions. Here we provide the scientific rationale for this approach in the hope that researchers, regulators, funders and editors can embrace this paradigm shift. We also present a road map towards better practices in view of improving the reproducibility of animal research.
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Selected microRNAs Increase Synaptic Resilience to the Damaging Binding of the Alzheimer's Disease Amyloid Beta Oligomers. Mol Neurobiol 2020; 57:2232-2243. [PMID: 31997075 PMCID: PMC7170988 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-01868-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is marked by synaptic loss (at early stages) and neuronal death (at late stages). Amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau oligomers can target and disrupt synapses thus driving cognitive decay. Non-demented individuals with Alzheimer’s neuropathology (NDAN) are capable of withstanding Aβ and tau toxicity, thus remaining cognitively intact despite presence of AD neuropathology. Understanding the involved mechanism(s) would lead to development of novel effective therapeutic strategies aimed at promoting synaptic resilience to amyloid toxicity. NDAN have a unique hippocampal post-synaptic proteome when compared with AD and control individuals. Potential upstream modulators of such unique proteomic profile are miRNA-485, miRNA-4723 and miRNA-149, which we found differentially expressed in AD and NDAN vs. control. We thus hypothesized that these miRNAs play an important role in promoting either synaptic resistance or sensitization to Aβ oligomer binding. Using an in vivo mouse model, we found that administration of these miRNAs affected key synaptic genes and significantly decreased Aβ binding to the synapses. Our findings suggest that miRNA regulation and homeostasis are crucial for Aβ interaction with synaptic terminals and support that a unique miRNA regulation could be driving synaptic resistance to Aβ toxicity in NDAN, thus contributing to their preserved cognitive abilities.
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40
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Dechaud C, Volff JN, Schartl M, Naville M. Sex and the TEs: transposable elements in sexual development and function in animals. Mob DNA 2019; 10:42. [PMID: 31700550 PMCID: PMC6825717 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-019-0185-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements are endogenous DNA sequences able to integrate into and multiply within genomes. They constitute a major source of genetic innovations, as they can not only rearrange genomes but also spread ready-to-use regulatory sequences able to modify host gene expression, and even can give birth to new host genes. As their evolutionary success depends on their vertical transmission, transposable elements are intrinsically linked to reproduction. In organisms with sexual reproduction, this implies that transposable elements have to manifest their transpositional activity in germ cells or their progenitors. The control of sexual development and function can be very versatile, and several studies have demonstrated the implication of transposable elements in the evolution of sex. In this review, we report the functional and evolutionary relationships between transposable elements and sexual reproduction in animals. In particular, we highlight how transposable elements can influence expression of sexual development genes, and how, reciprocally, they are tightly controlled in gonads. We also review how transposable elements contribute to the organization, expression and evolution of sexual development genes and sex chromosomes. This underscores the intricate co-evolution between host functions and transposable elements, which regularly shift from a parasitic to a domesticated status useful to the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corentin Dechaud
- Institut de Genomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Univ Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 46 allee d’Italie, F-69364 Lyon, France
| | - Jean-Nicolas Volff
- Institut de Genomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Univ Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 46 allee d’Italie, F-69364 Lyon, France
| | - Manfred Schartl
- Entwicklungsbiochemie, Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- The Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX USA
| | - Magali Naville
- Institut de Genomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Univ Lyon, CNRS UMR 5242, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 46 allee d’Italie, F-69364 Lyon, France
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41
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Johansson MM, Pottmeier P, Suciu P, Ahmad T, Zaghlool A, Halvardson J, Darj E, Feuk L, Peuckert C, Jazin E. Novel Y-Chromosome Long Non-Coding RNAs Expressed in Human Male CNS During Early Development. Front Genet 2019; 10:891. [PMID: 31608120 PMCID: PMC6769107 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Global microarray gene expression analyses previously demonstrated differences in female and male embryos during neurodevelopment. In particular, before sexual maturation of the gonads, the differences seem to concentrate on the expression of genes encoded on the X- and Y-chromosomes. To investigate genome-wide differences in expression during this early developmental window, we combined high-resolution RNA sequencing with qPCR to analyze brain samples from human embryos during the first trimester of development. Our analysis was tailored for maximum sensitivity to discover Y-chromosome gene expression, but at the same time, it was underpowered to detect X-inactivation escapees. Using this approach, we found that 5 out of 13 expressed gametolog pairs showed unbalanced gene dosage, and as a consequence, a male-biased expression. In addition, we found six novel non-annotated long non-coding RNAs on the Y-chromosome with conserved expression patterns in newborn chimpanzee. The tissue specific and time-restricted expression of these long non-coding RNAs strongly suggests important functions during central nervous system development in human males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin M Johansson
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Philipp Pottmeier
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Pascalina Suciu
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tauseef Ahmad
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ammar Zaghlool
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jonatan Halvardson
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Elisabeth Darj
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, International Maternal and Child Health (IMCH), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lars Feuk
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Christiane Peuckert
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Molecular Biology, Stockholms University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elena Jazin
- Department of Organismal Biology, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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42
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Sex-Specific Differences in Fat Storage, Development of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Brain Structure in Juvenile HFD-Induced Obese Ldlr-/-.Leiden Mice. Nutrients 2019; 11:nu11081861. [PMID: 31405127 PMCID: PMC6723313 DOI: 10.3390/nu11081861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex-specific differences play a role in metabolism, fat storage in adipose tissue, and brain structure. At juvenile age, brain function is susceptible to the effects of obesity; little is known about sex-specific differences in juvenile obesity. Therefore, this study examined sex-specific differences in adipose tissue and liver of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, and putative alterations between male and female mice in brain structure in relation to behavioral changes during the development of juvenile obesity. METHODS In six-week-old male and female Ldlr-/-.Leiden mice (n = 48), the impact of 18 weeks of HFD-feeding was examined. Fat distribution, liver pathology and brain structure and function were analyzed imunohisto- and biochemically, in cognitive tasks and with MRI. RESULTS HFD-fed female mice were characterized by an increased perigonadal fat mass, pronounced macrovesicular hepatic steatosis and liver inflammation. Male mice on HFD displayed an increased mesenteric fat mass, pronounced adipose tissue inflammation and microvesicular hepatic steatosis. Only male HFD-fed mice showed decreased cerebral blood flow and reduced white matter integrity. CONCLUSIONS At young age, male mice are more susceptible to the detrimental effects of HFD than female mice. This study emphasizes the importance of sex-specific differences in obesity, liver pathology, and brain function.
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Genario R, de Abreu MS, Giacomini ACVV, Demin KA, Kalueff AV. Sex differences in behavior and neuropharmacology of zebrafish. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 52:2586-2603. [PMID: 31090957 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Sex is an important variable in biomedical research. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly utilized as a powerful new model organism in translational neuroscience and pharmacology. Mounting evidence indicates important sex differences in zebrafish behavioral and neuropharmacological responses. Here, we discuss the role of sex in zebrafish central nervous system (CNS) models, their molecular mechanisms, recent findings and the existing challenges in this field. We also emphasize the growing utility of zebrafish models in translational neuropharmacological research of sex differences, fostering future CNS drug discovery and the search for novel sex-specific therapies. Finally, we highlight the interplay between sex and environment in zebrafish models of sex-environment correlations as an important strategy of CNS disease modeling using this aquatic organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Genario
- Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil
| | - Murilo S de Abreu
- Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil.,The International Zebrafish Neuroscience Research Consortium (ZNRC), Slidell, Louisiana
| | - Ana C V V Giacomini
- Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil.,Postgraduate Program in Environmental Sciences, University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Passo Fundo, Brazil
| | - Konstantin A Demin
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Almazov National Medical Research Center, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia.,Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
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44
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Mahmoudi E, Cairns MJ. Circular RNAs are temporospatially regulated throughout development and ageing in the rat. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2564. [PMID: 30796328 PMCID: PMC6385508 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38860-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed structural isoforms of linear mRNA which have been observed across a broad range of species and tissues. Here, we provide a comprehensive circRNAs expression catalogue for the rat including 8 organs of both sexes during 4 developmental stages using a public RNAseq dataset. These analyses revealed thousands of circular RNA species, many expressed in an organ-specific manner along with their host genes which were enriched with tissue-specific biological functions. A large number of circRNAs also displayed a developmental-dependent expression pattern and are accumulated during ageing. CircRNAs also displayed some sexually dimorphic expression, with gender associated differences observed in various tissues and developmental stages. These observations suggest that circRNAs are dynamically expressed in a spatial-, temporal- and gender-specific manner in mammals, and may have important biological function in differentiation, development and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Mahmoudi
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, the University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.,Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.,Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Australia
| | - M J Cairns
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, the University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. .,Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. .,Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Australia.
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45
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Hajali V, Andersen ML, Negah SS, Sheibani V. Sex differences in sleep and sleep loss-induced cognitive deficits: The influence of gonadal hormones. Horm Behav 2019; 108:50-61. [PMID: 30597139 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Males and females can respond differentially to the same environmental stimuli and experimental conditions. Chronic sleep loss is a frequent and growing problem in many modern societies and has a broad variety of negative outcomes for health and well-being. While much has been done to explore the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation (SD) on cognition in both human and animal studies over the last few decades, very little attention has been paid to the part played by sex differences and gonadal steroids in respect of changes in cognitive functions caused by sleep loss. The effects of gonadal hormones on sleep regulation and cognitive performances are well established. Reduced gonadal function in menopausal women and elderly men is associated with sleep disturbances and cognitive decline as well as dementia, which suggests that sex steroids play a key role in modulating these conditions. Finding out whether there are sex differences in respect of the effect of insufficient sleep on cognition, and how neuroendocrine mediators influence cognitive impairment induced by SD could provide valuable insights into the best therapies for each sex. In this review, we aim to highlight the involvement of sex differences and gonadal hormone status on the severity of cognitive deficits induced by sleep deficiency in both human and animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vahid Hajali
- Department of Neuroscience, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
| | - Monica L Andersen
- Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, Brazil
| | - Sajad Sahab Negah
- Department of Neuroscience, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Vahid Sheibani
- Neuroscience Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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46
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Durán-Carabali L, Arcego D, Sanches E, Odorcyk F, Marques M, Tosta A, Reichert L, Carvalho A, Dalmaz C, Netto C. Preventive and therapeutic effects of environmental enrichment in Wistar rats submitted to neonatal hypoxia-ischemia. Behav Brain Res 2019; 359:485-497. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.11.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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47
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Prager EM, Chambers KE, Plotkin JL, McArthur DL, Bandrowski AE, Bansal N, Martone ME, Bergstrom HC, Bespalov A, Graf C. Improving transparency and scientific rigor in academic publishing. Cancer Rep (Hoboken) 2019; 2:e1150. [PMID: 32721132 PMCID: PMC7941525 DOI: 10.1002/cnr2.1150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in basic and clinical research is slowed when researchers fail to provide a complete and accurate report of how a study was designed, executed, and the results analyzed. Publishing rigorous scientific research involves a full description of the methods, materials, procedures, and outcomes. Investigators may fail to provide a complete description of how their study was designed and executed because they may not know how to accurately report the information or the mechanisms are not in place to facilitate transparent reporting. Here, we provide an overview of how authors can write manuscripts in a transparent and thorough manner. We introduce a set of reporting criteria that can be used for publishing, including recommendations on reporting the experimental design and statistical approaches. We also discuss how to accurately visualize the results and provide recommendations for peer reviewers to enhance rigor and transparency. Incorporating transparency practices into research manuscripts will significantly improve the reproducibility of the results by independent laboratories. SIGNIFICANCE: Failure to replicate research findings often arises from errors in the experimental design and statistical approaches. By providing a full account of the experimental design, procedures, and statistical approaches, researchers can address the reproducibility crisis and improve the sustainability of research outcomes. In this piece, we discuss the key issues leading to irreproducibility and provide general approaches to improving transparency and rigor in reporting, which could assist in making research more reproducible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joshua L. Plotkin
- Department of Neurobiology and BehaviorStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | - David L. McArthur
- Department of NeurosurgeryDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Anita E. Bandrowski
- Center for Research in Biological SystemsUniversity of California at San DiegoSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Maryann E. Martone
- Center for Research in Biological SystemsUniversity of California at San DiegoSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Hadley C. Bergstrom
- Department of Psychological Science, Program in Neuroscience and BehaviorVassar CollegePoughkeepsieNew YorkUSA
| | - Anton Bespalov
- Partnership for Assessment and Accreditation of Scientific PracticeHeidelbergGermany
- Valdman Institute of PharmacologyPavlov First State Medical UniversitySt. PetersburgRussia
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Tsakogiannis A, Manousaki T, Lagnel J, Papanikolaou N, Papandroulakis N, Mylonas CC, Tsigenopoulos CS. The Gene Toolkit Implicated in Functional Sex in Sparidae Hermaphrodites: Inferences From Comparative Transcriptomics. Front Genet 2019; 9:749. [PMID: 30713551 PMCID: PMC6345689 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2018.00749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex-biased gene expression is the mode through which sex dimorphism arises from a nearly identical genome, especially in organisms without genetic sex determination. Teleost fishes show great variations in the way the sex phenotype forms. Among them, Sparidae, that might be considered as a model family displays a remarkable diversity of reproductive modes. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the sex-biased transcriptome in gonads and brain (the tissues with the most profound role in sexual development and reproduction) of two sparids with different reproductive modes: the gonochoristic common dentex, Dentex dentex, and the protandrous hermaphrodite gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata. Through comparative analysis with other protogynous and rudimentary protandrous sparid transcriptomes already available, we put forward common male and female-specific genes and pathways that are probably implicated in sex-maintenance in this fish family. Our results contribute to the understanding of the complex processes behind the establishment of the functional sex, especially in hermaphrodite species and set the groundwork for future experiments by providing a gene toolkit that can improve efforts to control phenotypic sex in finfish in the ever-increasingly important field of aquaculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Tsakogiannis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Tereza Manousaki
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Jacques Lagnel
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
| | | | - Nikos Papandroulakis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Constantinos C. Mylonas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Costas S. Tsigenopoulos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Heraklion, Greece
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Ruszkiewicz JA, Miranda-Vizuete A, Tinkov AA, Skalnaya MG, Skalny AV, Tsatsakis A, Aschner M. Sex-Specific Differences in Redox Homeostasis in Brain Norm and Disease. J Mol Neurosci 2019; 67:312-342. [DOI: 10.1007/s12031-018-1241-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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50
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Prager EM, Chambers KE, Plotkin JL, McArthur DL, Bandrowski AE, Bansal N, Martone ME, Bergstrom HC, Bespalov A, Graf C. Improving transparency and scientific rigor in academic publishing. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01141. [PMID: 30506879 PMCID: PMC6346653 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in basic and clinical research is slowed when researchers fail to provide a complete and accurate report of how a study was designed, executed, and the results analyzed. Publishing rigorous scientific research involves a full description of the methods, materials, procedures, and outcomes. Investigators may fail to provide a complete description of how their study was designed and executed because they may not know how to accurately report the information or the mechanisms are not in place to facilitate transparent reporting. Here, we provide an overview of how authors can write manuscripts in a transparent and thorough manner. We introduce a set of reporting criteria that can be used for publishing, including recommendations on reporting the experimental design and statistical approaches. We also discuss how to accurately visualize the results and provide recommendations for peer reviewers to enhance rigor and transparency. Incorporating transparency practices into research manuscripts will significantly improve the reproducibility of the results by independent laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joshua L. Plotkin
- Department of Neurobiology and BehaviorStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew York
| | - David L. McArthur
- Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLALos AngelesCalifornia
| | - Anita E. Bandrowski
- Center for Research in Biological SystemsUniversity of California at San DiegoSan DiegoCalifornia
| | | | - Maryann E. Martone
- Center for Research in Biological SystemsUniversity of California at San DiegoSan DiegoCalifornia
| | - Hadley C. Bergstrom
- Department of Psychological Science, Program in Neuroscience and BehaviorVassar CollegePoughkeepsieNew York
| | - Anton Bespalov
- Partnership for Assessment and Accreditation of Scientific PracticeHeidelbergGermany
- Valdman Institute of Pharmacology, Pavlov First State Medical UniversitySt. PetersburgRussia
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