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Li X, Hao S, Zou S, Tu X, Kong W, Jiang T, Chen JG. Cortex-restricted deletion of Foxp1 impairs barrel formation and induces aberrant tactile responses in a mouse model of autism. Mol Autism 2023; 14:34. [PMID: 37691105 PMCID: PMC10494400 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-023-00567-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many children and young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display touch defensiveness or avoidance (hypersensitivity), or engage in sensory seeking by touching people or objects (hyposensitivity). Abnormal sensory responses have also been noticed in mice lacking ASD-associated genes. Tactile sensory information is normally processed by the somatosensory system that travels along the thalamus to the primary somatosensory cortex. The neurobiology behind tactile sensory abnormalities, however, is not fully understood. METHODS We employed cortex-specific Foxp1 knockout (Foxp1-cKO) mice as a model of autism in this study. Tactile sensory deficits were measured by the adhesive removal test. The mice's behavior and neural activity were further evaluated by the whisker nuisance test and c-Fos immunofluorescence, respectively. We also studied the dendritic spines and barrel formation in the primary somatosensory cortex by Golgi staining and immunofluorescence. RESULTS Foxp1-cKO mice had a deferred response to the tactile environment. However, the mice exhibited avoidance behavior and hyper-reaction following repeated whisker stimulation, similar to a fight-or-flight response. In contrast to the wild-type, c-Fos was activated in the basolateral amygdala but not in layer IV of the primary somatosensory cortex of the cKO mice. Moreover, Foxp1 deficiency in cortical neurons altered the dendrite development, reduced the number of dendritic spines, and disrupted barrel formation in the somatosensory cortex, suggesting impaired somatosensory processing may underlie the aberrant tactile responses. LIMITATIONS It is still unclear how the defective thalamocortical connection gives rise to the hyper-reactive response. Future experiments with electrophysiological recording are needed to analyze the role of thalamo-cortical-amygdala circuits in the disinhibiting amygdala and enhanced fearful responses in the mouse model of autism. CONCLUSIONS Foxp1-cKO mice have tactile sensory deficits while exhibit hyper-reactivity, which may represent fearful and emotional responses controlled by the amygdala. This study presents anatomical evidence for reduced thalamocortical connectivity in a genetic mouse model of ASD and demonstrates that the cerebral cortex can be the origin of atypical sensory behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China
| | - Shishuai Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China
| | - Shimin Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaomeng Tu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China
| | - Weixi Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China
| | - Tian Jiang
- Research Center for Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Wenling Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenling, 317500, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie-Guang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Visual Science, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, 270 Xueyuan Road, Wenzhou, 325027, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, People's Republic of China.
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Ma Y, Fan C, Wang Y, Li W, Jiang H, Yang W. Comprehensive analysis of mRNAs in the cerebral cortex in APP/PS1 double-transgenic mice with Alzheimer's disease based on high-throughput sequencing of N4-acetylcytidine. Funct Integr Genomics 2023; 23:267. [PMID: 37548859 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01192-z] [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: 02/11/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C), a significant modified nucleoside, participates in the development of many diseases. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) contain most of the information of the genome and are the molecules that transmit information from genes to proteins. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease in which fibrillar amyloid plaques are present. However, it remains unknown how mRNA ac4C modification affects the development of AD. In the current study, ac4C-modified mRNAs were comprehensively analyzed in AD mice by ac4C-RIP-seq and RNA-seq. Next, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to examine the relationships between the genes with differential ac4C modification levels and their RNA expression levels. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) acquired above were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis to further analyze the molecular mechanisms in AD. In total, 3312 significant ac4C peaks were found on 2512 mRNAs, 1241 of which were hyperacetylated and 1271 of which were hypoacetylated. In addition, 956 mRNAs with differential expression were found, including 520 upregulated mRNAs and 436 downregulated mRNAs. Overall, 134 mRNAs with simultaneous changes at the ac4C levels as well as RNA expression levels were identified via joint analysis. Then, through PPI network construction and functional enrichment analysis, 37 key mRNAs were screened, which were predominantly enriched in GABAergic synapses and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The significant difference in the abundance of mRNA ac4C modification indicates that this modification is associated with AD progression, which may provide insight for more investigations of the potential mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanzhen Ma
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China
| | - Chang Fan
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China
| | - Yongzhong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China
| | - Weizu Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medicine College, Key Laboratory of Anti-Inflammatory and Immunopharmacology, Ministry of Education, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Hui Jiang
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China.
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.
| | - Wenming Yang
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.
- Encephalopathy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Anhui, China.
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Ma Y, Li W, Fan C, Wang Y, Jiang H, Yang W. Comprehensive Analysis of Long Non-Coding RNAs N4-Acetylcytidine in Alzheimer's Disease Mice Model Using High-Throughput Sequencing. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 90:1659-1675. [PMID: 36314201 DOI: 10.3233/jad-220564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C), an important posttranscriptional modification, is involved in various disease processes. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression mainly through epigenetic modification, transcription, and posttranscriptional modification. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by amyloidosis of the brain. However, the role of lncRNA ac4C modification in AD remains unclear. OBJECTIVE In this study, we investigated the association between ac4C modification and AD, and the underlying mechanisms of ac4C modification in AD. METHODS The male 9-month-old APP/PS1 double transgenic mice, age- and sex-matched wild type (WT) mice were used in this study. Then, ac4C-RIP-seq and RNA-seq were used to comprehensively analyze lncRNA ac4C modification in AD mice. The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks using Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses showed the regulatory relationships among these three lncRNAs and AD. RESULTS The results showed that there were 120 significantly different ac4C peaks located on 102 lncRNAs in AD, of which 55 were hyperacetylated and 47 were hypoacetylated. Simultaneously, 231 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified, including 138 upregulated lncRNAs and 93 downregulated lncRNAs. Moreover, 3 lncRNAs, lncRNA Gm26508, lncRNA A430046D13Rik, and lncRNA 9530059O14Rik, showed significant changes in both the ac4C and RNA levels using conjoint analysis. CONCLUSION The abundance of lncRNA ac4C modification is significantly different in AD and indicates that lncRNA ac4C is associated with the occurrence and development of AD, which could provide a basis for further exploration of the related regulatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanzhen Ma
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Weizu Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medicine College, Key Laboratory of Anti-inflammatory and Immunopharmacology, Ministry of Education, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Chang Fan
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Yongzhong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Hui Jiang
- Experimental Center of Clinical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Wenming Yang
- Key Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China.,Encephalopathy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, China
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Silveira JS, Júnior OVR, Schmitz F, Ferreira FS, Rodrigues FC, Deon M, Ribas G, Coutinho-Silva R, Vargas CR, Savio LEB, Wyse AT. High-protein nutrition during pregnancy increases neuroinflammation and homocysteine levels and impairs behavior in male adolescent rats offspring. Life Sci 2022; 310:121084. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2022.121084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Ayuso-Jimeno IP, Ronchi P, Wang T, Gallori CE, Gross CT. Identifying long-range synaptic inputs using genetically encoded labels and volume electron microscopy. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10213. [PMID: 35715545 PMCID: PMC9205864 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14309-4] [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: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Enzymes that facilitate the local deposition of electron dense reaction products have been widely used as labels in electron microscopy (EM) for the identification of synaptic contacts in neural tissue. Peroxidases, in particular, can efficiently metabolize 3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride hydrate (DAB) to produce precipitates with high contrast under EM following heavy metal staining, and can be genetically encoded to facilitate the labeling of specific cell-types or organelles. Nevertheless, the peroxidase/DAB method has so far not been reported to work in a multiplexed manner in combination with 3D volume EM techniques (e.g. Serial blockface electron microscopy, SBEM; Focused ion beam electron microscopy, FIBSEM) that are favored for the large-scale ultrastructural assessment of synaptic architecture However, a recently described peroxidase with enhanced enzymatic activity (dAPEX2) can efficienty deposit EM-visible DAB products in thick tissue without detergent treatment opening the possibility for the multiplex labeling of genetically defined cell-types in combination with volume EM methods. Here we demonstrate that multiplexed dAPEX2/DAB tagging is compatible with both FIBSEM and SBEM volume EM approaches and use them to map long-range genetically identified synaptic inputs from the anterior cingulate cortex to the periaqueductal gray in the mouse brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene P Ayuso-Jimeno
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy
| | - Paolo Ronchi
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMCF), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117, Meyerhofstr, Germany
| | - Tianzi Wang
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy
| | - Catherine E Gallori
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy
| | - Cornelius T Gross
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Via Ramarini 32, 00015, Monterotondo, RM, Italy.
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