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Laighneach A, Kelly JP, Desbonnet L, Holleran L, Kerr DM, McKernan D, Donohoe G, Morris DW. Social isolation-induced transcriptomic changes in mouse hippocampus impact the synapse and show convergence with human genetic risk for neurodevelopmental phenotypes. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295855. [PMID: 38127959 PMCID: PMC10735045 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295855] [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: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Early life stress (ELS) can impact brain development and is a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia. Post-weaning social isolation (SI) is used to model ELS in animals, using isolation stress to disrupt a normal developmental trajectory. We aimed to investigate how SI affects the expression of genes in mouse hippocampus and to investigate how these changes related to the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental phenotypes. BL/6J mice were exposed to post-weaning SI (PD21-25) or treated as group-housed controls (n = 7-8 per group). RNA sequencing was performed on tissue samples from the hippocampus of adult male and female mice. Four hundred and 1,215 differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) at a false discovery rate of < 0.05 were detected between SI and control samples for males and females respectively. DEGS for both males and females were significantly overrepresented in gene ontologies related to synaptic structure and function, especially the post-synapse. DEGs were enriched for common variant (SNP) heritability in humans that contributes to risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) and to cognitive function. DEGs were also enriched for genes harbouring rare de novo variants that contribute to autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders. Finally, cell type analysis revealed populations of hippocampal astrocytes that were enriched for DEGs, indicating effects in these cell types as well as neurons. Overall, these data suggest a convergence between genes dysregulated by the SI stressor in the mouse and genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and cognitive phenotypes in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aodán Laighneach
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - John P. Kelly
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Lieve Desbonnet
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Laurena Holleran
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Daniel M. Kerr
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Declan McKernan
- Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Gary Donohoe
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Derek W. Morris
- Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
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Nikolaienko O, Klymenko M, Isaeva E. Consequences of adolescent social isolation on behavior and synaptic plasticity in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus in male Wistar rats. Neurol Res 2023; 45:1152-1160. [PMID: 37698124 DOI: 10.1080/01616412.2023.2257444] [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: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Social interaction at a young age plays a critical role in the normal maturation of the brain and neuroendocrine system. Deprivation of social contacts has been associated with numerous cognitive and emotional abnormalities. However, neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie these effects remain poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the effect of 4-6-week social isolation during the adolescent period on rat spatial memory and emotional responses and investigated synaptic plasticity in the dorsal (DH) and ventral hippocampus (VH), which are known to be differently involved in these behaviors. METHODS Male Wistar rats were housed individually or in groups of four for 4-6 weeks immediately after weaning. At the end of the isolation period, rats were subjected to behavioral testing or electrophysiological studies. Behavioral tests included behavioral excitability, sucrose preference, open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM), Morris water maze (MWM), and Y-maze test. For plasticity experiments, long-term potentiation (LTP) in Schaffer collateral/СA1 synapses was induced using high-frequency stimulation (HFS) on transverse hippocampal slices. RESULTS Social isolation induced hyperexcitability, increased anxiety- and anhedonia-like behaviors, while no significant changes were observed in cognitive tasks. Electrophysiological recordings revealed enhanced short-term potentiation (STP) in the VH and suppressed LTP in the DH of isolated animals compared to group-housed controls. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that adolescent social isolation has distinct effects on synaptic plasticity in the VH and DH and leads to emotional dysregulation rather than impairments in cognitive performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Nikolaienko
- Department of Cellular Membranology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Mariia Klymenko
- Department of Cellular Membranology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Elena Isaeva
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
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Shi MM, Xu XF, Sun QM, Luo M, Liu DD, Guo DM, Chen L, Zhong XL, Xu Y, Cao WY. Betaine prevents cognitive dysfunction by suppressing hippocampal microglial activation in chronic social isolated male mice. Phytother Res 2023; 37:4755-4770. [PMID: 37846157 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.7944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Chronic social isolation (SI) stress, which became more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributes to abnormal behavior, including mood changes and cognitive impairment. Known as a functional nutrient, betaine has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in vivo. However, whether betaine can alleviate the abnormal behavior induced by chronic SI in mice remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of betaine in the treatment of behavioral changes and its underlying mechanism. Three-week-old male mice were randomly housed for 8 weeks in either group housing (GH) or SI. The animals were divided into normal saline-treated GH, normal saline-treated SI, and betaine-treated SI groups in the sixth week. The cognitive and depression-like behavior was determined in the eighth week. We found that long-term betaine administration improved cognitive behavior in SI mice but failed to prevent depression-like behavior. Moreover, long-term betaine administration inhibited hippocampal microglia over-activation and polarized microglia toward the M2 phenotype, which effectively inhibited the expression of inflammatory factors in SI mice. Finally, the protective effect of betaine treatment in SI mice might not be due to altered activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Collectively, our findings reveal that betaine can improve SI-induced cognitive impairment, thus providing an alternative natural source for the prevention of memory loss caused by SI or loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Meng Shi
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Xiao Fan Xu
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Qiu Min Sun
- Department of Nursing, Yiyang Medical College, Yiyang, Hunan, China
| | - Mingying Luo
- Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Dan Dan Liu
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Dong Min Guo
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Ling Chen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Xiao Lin Zhong
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of the University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Yang Xu
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
| | - Wen Yu Cao
- Clinical Anatomy and Reproductive Medicine Application Institute, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, China
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He LN, Chen S, Yang Q, Wu Z, Lao ZK, Tang CF, Song JJ, Liu XD, Lu J, Xu XH, Chen JJ, Xu TL, Sun S, Xu NJ. EphB2-dependent prefrontal cortex activation promotes long-range social approach and partner responsiveness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219952120. [PMID: 36802416 PMCID: PMC9992767 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219952120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behavior starts with dynamic approach prior to the final consummation. The flexible processes ensure mutual feedback across social brains to transmit signals. However, how the brain responds to the initial social stimuli precisely to elicit timed behaviors remains elusive. Here, by using real-time calcium recording, we identify the abnormalities of EphB2 mutant with autism-associated Q858X mutation in processing long-range approach and accurate activity of prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). The EphB2-dependent dmPFC activation precedes the behavioral onset and is actively associated with subsequent social action with the partner. Furthermore, we find that partner dmPFC activity is responsive coordinately to the approaching WT mouse rather than Q858X mutant mouse, and the social defects caused by the mutation are rescued by synchro-optogenetic activation in dmPFC of paired social partners. These results thus reveal that EphB2 sustains neuronal activation in the dmPFC that is essential for the proactive modulation of social approach to initial social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Na He
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Si Chen
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Qi Yang
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Zheng Wu
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
| | - Zheng-Kai Lao
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Chang-Fei Tang
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Jiao-Jiao Song
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
| | - Xian-Dong Liu
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology, Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200025, China
| | - Jiangteng Lu
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Xiao-Hong Xu
- Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai200031, China
| | - Jin-Jin Chen
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
| | - Tian-Le Xu
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
| | - Suya Sun
- Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology, Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200025, China
| | - Nan-Jie Xu
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200062, China
- Songjiang Institute, Songjiang District Central Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai201699, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200025, China
- Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai200025, China
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Matta J, Dobrino D, Howard S, Yeboah D, Kopel J, El-Manzalawy Y, Obafemi-Ajayi T. A PheWAS Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2021; 2021:2110-2114. [PMID: 34891705 DOI: 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9629533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit a wide diversity in type, number, and severity of social deficits as well as communicative and cognitive difficulties. It is a challenge to categorize the phenotypes of a particular ASD patient with their unique genetic variants. There is a need for a better understanding of the connections between genotype information and the phenotypes to sort out the heterogeneity of ASD. In this study, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and phenotype data obtained from a simplex ASD sample are combined using a PheWAS-inspired approach to construct a phenotype-phenotype network. The network is clustered, yielding groups of etiologically related phenotypes. These clusters are analyzed to identify relevant genes associated with each set of phenotypes. The results identified multiple discriminant SNPs associated with varied phenotype clusters such as ASD aberrant behavior (self-injury, compulsiveness and hyperactivity), as well as IQ and language skills. Overall, these SNPs were linked to 22 significant genes. An extensive literature search revealed that eight of these are known to have strong evidence of association with ASD. The others have been linked to related disorders such as mental conditions, cognition, and social functioning.Clinical relevance- This study further informs on connections between certain groups of ASD phenotypes and their unique genetic variants. Such insight regarding the heterogeneity of ASD would support clinicians to advance more tailored interventions and improve outcomes for ASD patients.
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Beacher NJ, Washington KA, Werner CT, Zhang Y, Barbera G, Li Y, Lin DT. Circuit Investigation of Social Interaction and Substance Use Disorder Using Miniscopes. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:762441. [PMID: 34675782 PMCID: PMC8523886 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.762441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorder (SUD) is comorbid with devastating health issues, social withdrawal, and isolation. Successful clinical treatments for SUD have used social interventions. Neurons can encode drug cues, and drug cues can trigger relapse. It is important to study how the activity in circuits and embedded cell types that encode drug cues develop in SUD. Exploring shared neurobiology between social interaction (SI) and SUD may explain why humans with access to social treatments still experience relapse. However, circuitry remains poorly characterized due to technical challenges in studying the complicated nature of SI and SUD. To understand the neural correlates of SI and SUD, it is important to: (1) identify cell types and circuits associated with SI and SUD, (2) record and manipulate neural activity encoding drug and social rewards over time, (3) monitor unrestrained animal behavior that allows reliable drug self-administration (SA) and SI. Miniaturized fluorescence microscopes (miniscopes) are ideally suited to meet these requirements. They can be used with gradient index (GRIN) lenses to image from deep brain structures implicated in SUD. Miniscopes can be combined with genetically encoded reporters to extract cell-type specific information. In this mini-review, we explore how miniscopes can be leveraged to uncover neural components of SI and SUD and advance potential therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J. Beacher
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Kayden A. Washington
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Craig T. Werner
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, United States
| | - Yan Zhang
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Giovanni Barbera
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
| | - Da-Ting Lin
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Lee CR, Chen A, Tye KM. The neural circuitry of social homeostasis: Consequences of acute versus chronic social isolation. Cell 2021; 184:1500-1516. [PMID: 33691140 PMCID: PMC8580010 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Social homeostasis is the ability of individuals to detect the quantity and quality of social contact, compare it to an established set-point in a command center, and adjust the effort expended to seek the optimal social contact expressed via an effector system. Social contact becomes a positive or negative valence stimulus when it is deficient or in excess, respectively. Chronic deficits lead to set-point adaptations such that reintroduction to the previous optimum is experienced as a surplus. Here, we build upon previous models for social homeostasis to include adaptations to lasting changes in environmental conditions, such as with chronic isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Lee
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Kay M Tye
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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