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Montalbán-Loro R, Lassi G, Lozano-Ureña A, Perez-Villalba A, Jiménez-Villalba E, Charalambous M, Vallortigara G, Horner AE, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ, Trejo JL, Tucci V, Ferguson-Smith AC, Ferrón SR. Dlk1 dosage regulates hippocampal neurogenesis and cognition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2015505118. [PMID: 33712542 PMCID: PMC7980393 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015505118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurogenesis in the adult brain gives rise to functional neurons, which integrate into neuronal circuits and modulate neural plasticity. Sustained neurogenesis throughout life occurs in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus and is hypothesized to be involved in behavioral/cognitive processes such as memory and in diseases. Genomic imprinting is of critical importance to brain development and normal behavior, and exemplifies how epigenetic states regulate genome function and gene dosage. While most genes are expressed from both alleles, imprinted genes are usually expressed from either the maternally or the paternally inherited chromosome. Here, we show that in contrast to its canonical imprinting in nonneurogenic regions, Delta-like homolog 1 (Dlk1) is expressed biallelically in the SGZ, and both parental alleles are required for stem cell behavior and normal adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. To evaluate the effects of maternally, paternally, and biallelically inherited mutations within the Dlk1 gene in specific behavioral domains, we subjected Dlk1-mutant mice to a battery of tests that dissociate and evaluate the effects of Dlk1 dosage on spatial learning ability and on anxiety traits. Importantly, reduction in Dlk1 levels triggers specific cognitive abnormalities that affect aspects of discriminating differences in environmental stimuli, emphasizing the importance of selective absence of imprinting in this neurogenic niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Montalbán-Loro
- ERI Biotecmed-Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia,Spain
| | - Glenda Lassi
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16163 Genova, Italy
- Translational Science and Experimental Medicine Research and Early Development, Respiratory and Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0AA, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Lozano-Ureña
- ERI Biotecmed-Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia,Spain
| | - Ana Perez-Villalba
- ERI Biotecmed-Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia,Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Laboratory of Animal Behavior Phenotype (LABP), Universidad Católica de Valencia, 46100 Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Marika Charalambous
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom
| | | | - Alexa E Horner
- Synome Ltd, Babraham, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Department of Psychology, Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Molecular Medicine Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5K8, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Department of Psychology, Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom
- Molecular Medicine Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5K8, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - José Luis Trejo
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Cajal Institute, The Spanish National Research Council, Madrid 28002, Spain
| | - Valter Tucci
- Genetics and Epigenetics of Behaviour (GEB) Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16163 Genova, Italy
| | | | - Sacri R Ferrón
- ERI Biotecmed-Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Valencia, 46010 Valencia,Spain;
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Borrie SC, Horner AE, Yoshimura A, Legius E, Kopanitsa MV, Brems H. Impaired instrumental learning in Spred1 -/- mice, a model for a rare RASopathy. Genes Brain Behav 2021; 20:e12727. [PMID: 33624414 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
RASopathies are neuro-cardio-facio-cutaneous disorders stemming from mutations in genes regulating the RAS-MAPK pathway. Legius syndrome is a rare RASopathy disorder caused by mutations in the SPRED1 gene. SPRED1 protein negatively regulates activation of Ras by inhibiting RAS/RAF and by its interaction with neurofibromin, a Ras GTPase-activating protein (RAS-GAP). Cognitive impairments have been reported in Legius syndrome as well as in other RASopathy disorders. Modelling these cognitive deficits in a Spred1 mouse model for Legius syndrome has demonstrated spatial learning and memory deficits, but other cognitive domains remained unexplored. Here, we attempted to utilize a cognitive touchscreen battery to investigate if Spred1-/- mice exhibit deficits in other cognitive domains. We show that Spred1-/- mice had heterogeneous performance in instrumental operant learning, with a large subgroup (n = 9/20) failing to reach the standard criterion on touchscreen operant pretraining, precluding further cognitive testing. To examine whether targeting the RAS-MAPK signalling pathway could rescue these cognitive impairments, Spred1-/- mice were acutely treated with the clinically relevant mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD325901. However, MEK inhibition did not improve their instrumental learning. We conclude that Spred1-/- mice can model severe cognitive impairments that cannot be reversed in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Borrie
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Akihiko Yoshimura
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Eric Legius
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Hilde Brems
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Horner AE, Norris RH, McLaren-Jones R, Alexander L, Komiyama NH, Grant SGN, Nithianantharajah J, Kopanitsa MV. Learning and reaction times in mouse touchscreen tests are differentially impacted by mutations in genes encoding postsynaptic interacting proteins SYNGAP1, NLGN3, DLGAP1, DLGAP2 and SHANK2. Genes Brain Behav 2021; 20:e12723. [PMID: 33347690 PMCID: PMC7615670 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The postsynaptic terminal of vertebrate excitatory synapses contains a highly conserved multiprotein complex that comprises neurotransmitter receptors, cell-adhesion molecules, scaffold proteins and enzymes, which are essential for brain signalling and plasticity underlying behaviour. Increasingly, mutations in genes that encode postsynaptic proteins belonging to the PSD-95 protein complex, continue to be identified in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and epilepsy. These disorders are highly heterogeneous, sharing genetic aetiology and comorbid cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Here, by using genetically engineered mice and innovative touchscreen-based cognitive testing, we sought to investigate whether loss-of-function mutations in genes encoding key interactors of the PSD-95 protein complex display shared phenotypes in associative learning, updating of learned associations and reaction times. Our genetic dissection of mice with loss-of-function mutations in Syngap1, Nlgn3, Dlgap1, Dlgap2 and Shank2 showed that distinct components of the PSD-95 protein complex differentially regulate learning, cognitive flexibility and reaction times in cognitive processing. These data provide insights for understanding how human mutations in these genes lead to the manifestation of diverse and complex phenotypes in NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca H Norris
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | | | | | - Noboru H Komiyama
- Genes to Cognition Programme, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain (SIDB), Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Seth G N Grant
- Genes to Cognition Programme, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain (SIDB), Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jess Nithianantharajah
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Maksym V Kopanitsa
- Synome Ltd, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK
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Horner AE, McLaughlin CL, Afinowi NO, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM, Komiyama NH, Grant SGN, Kopanitsa MV. Enhanced cognition and dysregulated hippocampal synaptic physiology in mice with a heterozygous deletion of PSD-95. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:164-176. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine L. McLaughlin
- Genes to Cognition Programme; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| | | | - Timothy J. Bussey
- Department of Psychology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- The MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- Molecular Medicine Research Group; Robarts Research Institute; London ON Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology; Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry; Western University; London ON Canada
| | - Lisa M. Saksida
- Department of Psychology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- The MRC and Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- Molecular Medicine Research Group; Robarts Research Institute; London ON Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology; Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry; Western University; London ON Canada
| | - Noboru H. Komiyama
- Genes to Cognition Programme; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
| | - Seth G. N. Grant
- Genes to Cognition Programme; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences; University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh UK
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Oomen CA, Hvoslef-Eide M, Heath CJ, Mar AC, Horner AE, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. The touchscreen operant platform for testing working memory and pattern separation in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:2006-21. [PMID: 24051961 PMCID: PMC3982138 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The automated touchscreen operant chamber for rats and mice allows for the assessment of multiple cognitive domains within the same testing environment. This protocol presents the location discrimination (LD) task and the trial-unique delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task, which both assess memory for location. During these tasks, animals are trained to a predefined criterion during ∼20-40 daily sessions. In LD sessions, touching the same location on the screen is rewarded on consecutive trials, followed by a reversal of location-reward contingencies. TUNL, a working memory task, requires animals to 'nonmatch' to a sample location after a delay. In both the LD and TUNL tasks, spatial similarity can be varied, allowing assessment of pattern separation ability, a function that is thought to be performed by the dentate gyrus (DG). These tasks are therefore particularly useful in animal models of hippocampal, and specifically DG, function, but they additionally permit discernment of changes in pattern separation from those in working memory.
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Horner AE, Heath CJ, Hvoslef-Eide M, Kent BA, Kim CH, Nilsson SRO, Alsiö J, Oomen CA, Holmes A, Saksida LM, Bussey TJ. The touchscreen operant platform for testing learning and memory in rats and mice. Nat Protoc 2013; 8:1961-84. [PMID: 24051959 DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2013.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 268] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
An increasingly popular method of assessing cognitive functions in rodents is the automated touchscreen platform, on which a number of different cognitive tests can be run in a manner very similar to touchscreen methods currently used to test human subjects. This methodology is low stress (using appetitive rather than aversive reinforcement), has high translational potential and lends itself to a high degree of standardization and throughput. Applications include the study of cognition in rodent models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, frontotemporal dementia), as well as the characterization of the role of select brain regions, neurotransmitter systems and genes in rodents. This protocol describes how to perform four touchscreen assays of learning and memory: visual discrimination, object-location paired-associates learning, visuomotor conditional learning and autoshaping. It is accompanied by two further protocols (also published in this issue) that use the touchscreen platform to assess executive function, working memory and pattern separation.
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Romberg C, Horner AE, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. A touch screen-automated cognitive test battery reveals impaired attention, memory abnormalities, and increased response inhibition in the TgCRND8 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 2012; 34:731-44. [PMID: 22959727 PMCID: PMC3532594 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2012.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2011] [Revised: 06/21/2012] [Accepted: 08/09/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with abundant β-amyloid develop memory impairments. However, multiple nonmnemonic cognitive domains such as attention and executive control are also compromised early in AD individuals, but have not been routinely assessed in animal models. Here, we assessed the cognitive abilities of TgCRND8 mice—a widely used model of β-amyloid pathology—with a touch screen-based automated test battery. The test battery comprises highly translatable tests of multiple cognitive constructs impaired in human AD, such as memory, attention, and response control, as well as appropriate control tasks. We found that familial AD mutations affect not only memory, but also cause significant alterations of sustained attention and behavioral flexibility. Because changes in attention and response inhibition may affect performance on tests of other cognitive abilities including memory, our findings have important consequences for the assessment of disease mechanisms and therapeutics in animal models of AD. A more comprehensive phenotyping with specialized, multicomponent cognitive test batteries for mice might significantly advance translation from preclinical mouse studies to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Romberg
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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