1
|
Blocking Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Subtype 7 via the Venus Flytrap Domain Promotes a Chronic Stress-Resilient Phenotype in Mice. Cells 2022; 11:cells11111817. [PMID: 35681512 PMCID: PMC9180111 DOI: 10.3390/cells11111817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic psychosocial stress participates prominently in the etiology of various psychiatric conditions and comorbid somatic pathologies; however, suitable pharmacotherapy of these disorders is still of high medical need. During the last few decades, research on mGlu receptors advanced remarkably and much attention was given to the mGlu7 subtype. Here, genetic mGlu7 ablation, short-term pharmacological mGlu7 blockade, as well as siRNA-mediated knockdown of mGlu7 were shown to result in an acute anti-stress, antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like phenotype in mice. Moreover, we recently revealed a prominent stress-protective effect of genetic mGlu7 ablation also with respect to chronic psychosocial stress. In addition, we are able to demonstrate in the present study that the chronic pharmacological blockade of mGlu7 interferes with various chronic stress-induced alterations. For this, we used the chronic subordinate colony housing (CSC), a mouse model of chronic male subordination, in combination with chronic treatment with the mGlu7-selective orthosteric-like antagonist XAP044 (7-hydroxy-3-(4-iodophenoxy)-4H-chromen-4-one). Interestingly, XAP044 dose-dependently ameliorates hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunctions, thymus atrophy, as well as the CSC-induced increase in innate anxiety. Taken together, our findings provide further evidence for the role of mGlu7 in chronic psychosocial stress-induced alterations and suggests the pharmacological blockade of mGlu7 as a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of chronic stress-related pathologies in men.
Collapse
|
2
|
Okino E, Morita S, Hoshikawa Y, Tsukahara S. The glutamatergic system in the preoptic area is involved in the retention of maternal behavior in maternally experienced female rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 120:104792. [PMID: 32653768 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Maternally experienced female rats show high maternal behavior performance for a long time after acquisition of maternal experience, although the mechanisms responsible for the retention of maternal behavior are not well understood. The medial preoptic area (MPOA) plays an important role in the onset and maintenance of maternal behavior in female rats. We aimed to determine whether maternal experience affects the glutamatergic system in the MPOA for the retention of maternal behavior in female rats. First, to determine the effects of maternal experience in the postpartum period on dendritic spines, which are the postsynaptic component of excitatory glutamatergic neurotransmission, we examined the number of dendritic spines on MPOA neurons of primiparous mothers that had experienced mothering until weaning (sufficiently experienced mothers) and of primiparous mothers that were separated from their pups on the day of parturition (insufficiently experienced mothers). The number of mushroom spines, but not other types of spine, was significantly greater in the sufficiently experienced mothers compared with that in the insufficiently experienced mothers. Next, to determine the effects of maternal experience in the postpartum period on the expression of ionotropic glutamate receptors, we measured the mRNA levels of AMPA receptor subunits (GluA1-A4) and NMDA receptor subunits (GluN1, GluN2A-2D) in the MPOA of primiparous female rats that were kept with pups until brain sampling. As a result, we found that the mRNA levels of GluA3 and GluN2B were significantly higher in primiparous females on the day of weaning compared with those in primiparous females on the day of parturition. Additionally, we examined the effects of CNQX, an AMPA receptor antagonist, and MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, injected into the MPOA on maternal behavior in maternally experienced primiparous female rats. Maternal behavioral activity was significantly reduced when CNQX or MK-801 was injected into the MPOA. These findings indicate that long-term maternal experience in the postpartum period up-regulates glutamatergic neurotransmission by increasing the number of mushroom spines and glutamate receptor expression, which may be involved in the retention of maternal behavior in maternally experienced female rats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eri Okino
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Sayaka Morita
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Yumi Hoshikawa
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan
| | - Shinji Tsukahara
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fisher NM, Gould RW, Gogliotti RG, McDonald AJ, Badivuku H, Chennareddy S, Buch AB, Moore AM, Jenkins MT, Robb WH, Lindsley CW, Jones CK, Conn PJ, Niswender CM. Phenotypic profiling of mGlu 7 knockout mice reveals new implications for neurodevelopmental disorders. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 19:e12654. [PMID: 32248644 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by deficits in communication, cognition, attention, social behavior and/or motor control. Previous studies have pointed to the involvement of genes that regulate synaptic structure and function in the pathogenesis of these disorders. One such gene, GRM7, encodes the metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu7 ), a G protein-coupled receptor that regulates presynaptic neurotransmitter release. Mutations and polymorphisms in GRM7 have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in clinical populations; however, limited preclinical studies have evaluated mGlu7 in the context of this specific disease class. Here, we show that the absence of mGlu7 in mice is sufficient to alter phenotypes within the domains of social behavior, associative learning, motor function, epilepsy and sleep. Moreover, Grm7 knockout mice exhibit an attenuated response to amphetamine. These findings provide rationale for further investigation of mGlu7 as a potential therapeutic target for neurodevelopmental disorders such as idiopathic autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Rett syndrome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole M Fisher
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Robert W Gould
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Rocco G Gogliotti
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Annalise J McDonald
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Hana Badivuku
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Susmita Chennareddy
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Aditi B Buch
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Annah M Moore
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Matthew T Jenkins
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - W Hudson Robb
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Craig W Lindsley
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Carrie K Jones
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - P Jeffrey Conn
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Colleen M Niswender
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| |
Collapse
|