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Coulson B, Hunter I, Doran S, Parkin J, Landgraf M, Baines RA. Critical periods in Drosophila neural network development: Importance to network tuning and therapeutic potential. Front Physiol 2022; 13:1073307. [PMID: 36531164 PMCID: PMC9757492 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1073307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Critical periods are phases of heightened plasticity that occur during the development of neural networks. Beginning with pioneering work of Hubel and Wiesel, which identified a critical period for the formation of ocular dominance in mammalian visual network connectivity, critical periods have been identified for many circuits, both sensory and motor, and across phyla, suggesting a universal phenomenon. However, a key unanswered question remains why these forms of plasticity are restricted to specific developmental periods rather than being continuously present. The consequence of this temporal restriction is that activity perturbations during critical periods can have lasting and significant functional consequences for mature neural networks. From a developmental perspective, critical period plasticity might enable reproducibly robust network function to emerge from ensembles of cells, whose properties are necessarily variable and fluctuating. Critical periods also offer significant clinical opportunity. Imposed activity perturbation during these periods has shown remarkable beneficial outcomes in a range of animal models of neurological disease including epilepsy. In this review, we spotlight the recent identification of a locomotor critical period in Drosophila larva and describe how studying this model organism, because of its simplified nervous system and an almost complete wired connectome, offers an attractive prospect of understanding how activity during a critical period impacts a neuronal network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bramwell Coulson
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Iain Hunter
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Doran
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jill Parkin
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Matthias Landgraf
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Richard A. Baines
- Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Coaviche-Yoval A, Trujillo-Ferrara JG, Soriano-Ursúa MA, Andrade-Jorge E, Sánchez-Labastida LA, Luna H, Tovar-Miranda R. In silico and in vivo neuropharmacological evaluation of two γ-amino acid isomers derived from 2,3-disubstituted benzofurans, as ligands of GluN1-GluN2A NMDA receptor. Amino Acids 2022; 54:215-228. [PMID: 34854957 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-021-03108-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission systems are involved in seizures and other disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Benzofuran derivatives often serve as the core in drugs used to treat such neurological disorders. The aim of this study was to synthesize new γ-amino acids structurally related to GABA and derived from 2,3-disubstituted benzofurans, analyze in silico their potential toxicity, ADME properties, and affinity for the GluN1-GluN2A NMDA receptor, and evaluate their potential activity and neuronal mechanisms in a murine model of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)- and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)-induced seizures. The in silico analysis evidenced a low risk of toxicity for the test compounds as well as the probability that they can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to reach their targets in the CNS. According to docking simulations, these compounds bind at the active site of the NMDA glutamate receptor with high affinity. The in vivo assays demonstrated that 4 protects against 4-AP-induced seizure episodes, suggesting negative allosteric modulation (NAMs) at the glutamatergic NMDA receptor. Contrarily, 3 (the regioisomer of 4) and its racemic derivatives (cis-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans) were previously described to exacerbate such episodes, pointing to their positive allosteric modulation (PAMs) of the same receptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arturo Coaviche-Yoval
- Departamento de Sistemas Biológicos, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Xochimilco Calzada del Hueso 1100, Col. Villa Quietud, 04960, Coyoacán, CDMX, Mexico
- Instituto de Ciencias Básicas Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Dr. Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n Col. Industrial Animas, Xalapa, 91190, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - José G Trujillo-Ferrara
- Departamentos de Bioquímica y Fisiología, Escuela Superior de Medicina-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, 11340, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX, Mexico
| | - Marvin A Soriano-Ursúa
- Departamentos de Bioquímica y Fisiología, Escuela Superior de Medicina-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, 11340, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX, Mexico
| | - Erik Andrade-Jorge
- Departamentos de Bioquímica y Fisiología, Escuela Superior de Medicina-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, 11340, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX, Mexico
- Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Iztacala-UNAM, Unidad de Investigación en Biomedicina, Av. De Los Barrios 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, 54090, Tlalnepantla, Edo. De México, Mexico
| | - Luis A Sánchez-Labastida
- Departamentos de Bioquímica y Fisiología, Escuela Superior de Medicina-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Plan de San Luis y Díaz Mirón s/n Col. Casco de Santo Tomas, 11340, Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX, Mexico
| | - Héctor Luna
- Departamento de Sistemas Biológicos, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Xochimilco Calzada del Hueso 1100, Col. Villa Quietud, 04960, Coyoacán, CDMX, Mexico.
| | - Ricardo Tovar-Miranda
- Instituto de Ciencias Básicas Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Dr. Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n Col. Industrial Animas, Xalapa, 91190, Veracruz, Mexico.
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Djuric D, Jakovljevic V, Zivkovic V, Srejovic I. Homocysteine and homocysteine-related compounds: an overview of the roles in the pathology of the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 2018; 96:991-1003. [PMID: 30130426 DOI: 10.1139/cjpp-2018-0112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Homocysteine, an amino acid containing a sulfhydryl group, is an intermediate product during metabolism of the amino acids methionine and cysteine. Hyperhomocysteinemia is used as a predictive risk factor for cardiovascular disorders, the stroke progression, screening for inborn errors of methionine metabolism, and as a supplementary test for vitamin B12 deficiency. Two organic systems in which homocysteine has the most harmful effects are the cardiovascular and nervous system. The adverse effects of homocysteine are achieved by the action of several different mechanisms, such as overactivation of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors, activation of Toll-like receptor 4, disturbance in Ca2+ handling, increased activity of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase and subsequent increase of production of reactive oxygen species, increased activity of nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide synthase uncoupling and consequent impairment in nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species synthesis. Increased production of reactive species during hyperhomocysteinemia is related with increased expression of several proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, and intracellular adhesion molecule-1. All these mechanisms contribute to the emergence of diseases like atherosclerosis and related complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, aortic aneurysm, as well as Alzheimer disease and epilepsy. This review provides evidence that supports the causal role for hyperhomocysteinemia in the development of cardiovascular disease and nervous system disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dragan Djuric
- a Institute of Medical Physiology "Richard Burian" Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Visegradska 26, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
| | - Vladimir Jakovljevic
- b Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovica 69, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia.,c Department of Human Pathology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya st. 8, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Vladimir Zivkovic
- b Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovica 69, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia
| | - Ivan Srejovic
- b Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovica 69, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia
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Moderate hyperhomocysteinemia induced by short-term dietary methionine overload alters bone microarchitecture and collagen features during growth. Life Sci 2017; 191:9-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2017.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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Hyperhomocysteinemia induced by methionine dietary nutritional overload modulates acetylcholinesterase activity in the rat brain. Mol Cell Biochem 2014; 396:99-105. [PMID: 25052005 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-014-2146-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Methionine is the only endogenous precursor of homocysteine, sulfur-containing amino acid and well known as risk factor for various brain disorders. Acetylcholinesterase is a serine protease that rapidly hydrolyzes neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It is widely distributed in different brain regions. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of methionine nutritional overload on acetylcholinesterase activity in the rat brain. Males of Wistar rats were randomly divided into control and experimental group, fed from 30th to 60th postnatal day with standard or methionine-enriched diet (double content comparing to standard, 7.7 g/kg), respectively. On the 61st postnatal day, total homocysteine concentration was determined and showed that animals fed with methionine-enriched diet had significantly higher serum total homocysteine concentrations comparing to control rats (p < 0.01). Acetylcholinesterase activity has been determined spectrophotometrically in homogenates of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, and nc. caudatus. Acetylcholinesterase activity showed tendency to decrease in all examined brain structures in experimental comparing to control rats, while statistical significance of this reduction was achieved in the cerebral cortex (p < 0.05). Brain slices were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and observed under light microscopy. Histological analysis of H&E-stained brain slices showed that there were no changes in the brain tissue of rats which were on methionine-enriched diet compared to control rats. Results of this study showed selective vulnerability of different brain regions on reduction of acetylcholinesterase activity induced by methionine-enriched diet and consecutive hyperhomocysteinemia.
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Ferretti A, Parisi P, Villa MP. The role of hyperhomocysteinemia in neurological features associated with coeliac disease. Med Hypotheses 2013; 81:524-31. [PMID: 23891042 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2013.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2013] [Revised: 06/15/2013] [Accepted: 06/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Although a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders are widely reported to be associated with coeliac patients, their pathogenesis remains unclear. Some such disorders are believed to be secondary to vitamin deficiency due to malabsorption, others to immune mechanisms. We hypothesise that hyperhomocysteinemia might, by damaging the blood-brain barrier, expose neuronal tissue to all neuro-irritative metabolites, such as homocysteine itself, a neurotoxic excitatory and proconvulsant amino acid. Neurons respond to these stimuli through hyperexcitability, thereby predisposing subjects to neurological disorders such as epilepsy and headache. Furthermore, persisting endothelial damage may cause blood extravasation and subsequent deposition of calcium salts. We suggest that this might be the pathogenesis of the CEC syndrome, which is characterized by the association of coeliac disease, epilepsy and cerebral calcifications. Indeed, homocysteine plays a well-known role in cardiovascular endothelial dysfunction, with high serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels often being reported in coeliac patients. Moreover, data in the literature show a strong, growing association of homocysteine with epilepsy and migraine in non-coeliac subjects. Despite these findings, homocysteine has never been held directly responsible for neuronal functional features (neuronal hyperexcitability underlying epilepsy and migraine) and structural brain damage (expressed as cerebral calcification) in coeliac patients. Damage to the blood-brain barrier might also facilitate immune reactions against neuronal tissue to a considerable extent. This hypothesis combines the two afore-mentioned theories (vitamin deficiency due to malabsorption and immune mechanisms). We also wish to point out that no studies have yet investigated the prevalence of neuronal hyperexcitability and subclinical electroencephalic abnormalities in children and adults with newly-diagnosed coeliac disease before the introduction of a gluten-free diet, and in particular any changes following the introduction of the diet. We believe that the onset of clinical symptoms such as migraine and convulsions is preceded by a period in which damage is expressed exclusively by subclinical electroencephalic abnormalities; persisting damage to neuronal tissue subsequently leads to clinical manifestations. We propose two types of investigations: the first is to determine whether newly-diagnosed coeliac patients with hyperhomocysteinemia are a subgroup at risk for neurological features (clinical and subclinical); the second is to determine whether appropriate treatment of hyperhomocysteinemia and vitamin B status deficiency improves neurological abnormalities and reduces the risk of cerebral calcifications. The aim of these investigations is to develop new therapeutic strategies designed to prevent neuronal damage and increase the quality of life in children affected by such disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Ferretti
- Pediatric Sleep Disease Centre, Child Neurology, NESMOS Department, School of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, S. Andrea Hospital, Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189 Rome, Italy
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Hrnčić D, Rašić-Marković A, Macut D, Šušić V, Djuric D, Stanojlović O. Homocysteine thiolactone-induced seizures in adult rats are aggravated by inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase. Hum Exp Toxicol 2013; 33:496-503. [DOI: 10.1177/0960327113491510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Homocysteine and its metabolites (homocysteine thiolactone (HT)) induce seizures via different but still not well-known mechanisms. The role of nitric oxide (NO) in epileptogenesis is highly contradictory and depends on, among other factors, the source of NO production. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of aminoguanidine, selective inhibitor of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), on HT-induced seizures. Aminoguanidine (50, 75, and 100 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.)) was injected to rats 30 min prior to inducing HT (5.5 mmol/kg, i.p.). Seizure behavior was assessed by seizure incidence, latency time to first seizure onset, number of seizure episodes, and their severity during observational period of 90 min. Number and duration of spike and wave discharges (SWDs) were determined in electroencephalogram (EEG). Seizure latency time was significantly shortened, while seizure incidence, number, and duration of HT-induced SWD in EEG significantly increased in rats receiving aminoguanidine 100 mg/kg before subconvulsive dose of HT. Aminoguanidine in a dose-dependent manner also significantly increased the number of seizure episodes induced by HT and their severity. It could be concluded that iNOS inhibitor (aminoguanidine) markedly aggravates behavioral and EEG manifestations of HT-induced seizures in rats, showing functional involvement of iNOS in homocysteine convulsive mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Hrnčić
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Medical Physiology “Richard Burian”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - A Rašić-Marković
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Medical Physiology “Richard Burian”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - D Macut
- Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - V Šušić
- Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - D Djuric
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Medical Physiology “Richard Burian”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - O Stanojlović
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Medical Physiology “Richard Burian”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
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