showing 10 related works from this author
Early life adversity targets the transcriptional signature of hippocampal NG2+ glia and affects voltage gated sodium (Nav) channels properties
2021
The precise mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects of early life adversity (ELA) on adult mental health remain still elusive. To date, most studies have exclusively targeted neuronal populations and not considered neuron-glia crosstalk as a crucially important element for the integrity of stress-related brain function. Here, we have investigated the impact of ELA, in the form of a limited bedding and nesting material (LBN) paradigm, on a glial subpopulation with unique properties in brain homeostasis, the NG2+ cells. First, we have established a link between maternal behavior, activation of the offspring's stress response and heterogeneity in the outcome to LBN manipulation. We furth…
Elevated Testosterone Level and Urine Scent Marking in Male 5xFAD Alzheimer Model Mice
2019
Background:Function of the Amyloid Precursor Protein (AβPP) and its various cleavage products still is not unraveled down to the last detail. While its role as a source of the neurotoxic Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is undisputed and its property as a cell attachment protein is intriguing, while functions outside the neuronal context are scarcely investigated. This is particularly noteworthy because AβPP has a ubiquitous expression profile and its longer isoforms, AβPP750 and 770, are found in various tissues outside the brain and in non-neuronal cells.Objective:Here, we aimed at analyzing the 5xFAD Alzheimer’s disease mouse model in regard to male sexual function.…
Chronic social stress lessens the metabolic effects induced by a high-fat diet
2021
Stress has a major impact on the modulation of metabolism, as previously evidenced by hyperglycemia following chronic social defeat (CSD) stress in mice. Although CSD-triggered metabolic dysregulation might predispose to pre-diabetic conditions, insulin sensitivity remained intact, and obesity did not develop, when animals were fed with a standard diet (SD). Here, we investigated whether a nutritional challenge, a high-fat diet (HFD), aggravates the metabolic phenotype and whether there are particularly sensitive time windows for the negative consequences of HFD exposure. Chronically stressed male mice and controls (CTRL) were kept under (i) SD-conditions, (ii) with HFD commencing post-CSD,…
Temporal profiling of an acute stress-induced behavioral phenotype in mice and role of hippocampal DRR1.
2018
Abstract Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the response to an acute stressor may provide novel insights into successful stress-coping strategies. Acute behavioral stress-effects may be restricted to a specific time window early after stress-induction. However, existing behavioral test batteries typically span multiple days or even weeks, limiting the feasibility for a broad behavioral analysis following acute stress. Here, we designed a novel comprehensive behavioral test battery in male mice that assesses multiple behavioral dimensions within a sufficiently brief time window to capture acute stress-effects and its temporal profile. Using this battery, we investigated …
Chronic social stress-induced hyperglycemia in mice couples individual stress susceptibility to impaired spatial memory
2018
Significance Stress-associated mental disorders and diabetes pose an enormous socio-economic burden. Glucose dysregulation occurs with both psychosocial and metabolic stress. While cognitive impairments are common in metabolic disorders such as diabetes and are accompanied by hyperglycemia, a causal role for glucose has not been established. We show that chronic social defeat (CSD) stress induces lasting peripheral and central hyperglycemia and impaired glucose metabolism in a subgroup of mice. Animals exhibiting hyperglycemia early post-CSD display spatial memory impairments that can be rescued by the antidiabetic empagliflozin. We demonstrate that individual stress vulnerability to glucos…
The stressed cytoskeleton: How actin dynamics can shape stress-related consequences on synaptic plasticity and complex behavior
2015
Stress alters synaptic plasticity but the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which environmental stimuli modulate synaptic function remain to be elucidated. Actin filaments are the major structural component of synapses and their rearrangements by actin-binding proteins (ABPs) are critical for fine-tuning synaptic plasticity. Accumulating evidence suggests that some ABPs are specifically regulated by stress and stress-related effectors such as glucocorticoids and corticotropin releasing hormone. ABPs may thus be central in stress-induced perturbations at the level of synaptic plasticity, leading to impairments in behavioral domains including cognitive performance and social behavior.…
Longitudinal CSF proteome profiling in mice to uncover the acute and sustained mechanisms of action of rapid acting antidepressant (2R,6R)-hydroxynor…
2021
Delayed onset of antidepressant action is a shortcoming in depression treatment. Ketamine and its metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) have emerged as promising rapid-acting antidepressants. However, their mechanism of action remains unknown. In this study, we first described the anxious and depression-prone inbred mouse strain, DBA/2J, as an animal model to assess the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine and HNK in vivo. To decode the molecular mechanisms mediating HNK's rapid antidepressant effects, a longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome profiling of its acute and sustained effects was conducted using an unbiased, hypothesis-free mass spectrometry-based proteomics app…
GABAA receptors in the ventral tegmental area control the outcome of a social competition in rats
2018
Social dominance can be attained through social competitions. Recent work in both humans and rodents has identified trait anxiety as a crucial predictor of social competitiveness. In addition, the anxiolytic GABAA positive modulator, diazepam, injected either systemically or into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was shown to increase social dominance. Here, we investigated the impact of pharmacologically targeting GABAA receptors in the VTA for the outcome of a social competition between two unfamiliar male rats, one of them infused with vehicle and the other one with the drug under study. We show that infusion of the GABAA receptor agonist, muscimol, reduced anxiety-like behaviors and enha…
Impaired hippocampal neuroligin-2 function by chronic stress or synthetic peptide treatment is linked to social deficits and increased aggression.
2014
Neuroligins (NLGNs) are cell adhesion molecules that are important for proper synaptic formation and functioning, and are critical regulators of the balance between neural excitation/inhibition (E/I). Mutations in NLGNs have been linked to psychiatric disorders in humans involving social dysfunction and are related to similar abnormalities in animal models. Chronic stress increases the likelihood for affective disorders and has been shown to induce changes in neural structure and function in different brain regions, with the hippocampus being highly vulnerable to stress. Previous studies have shown evidence of chronic stress-induced changes in the neural E/I balance in the hippocampus. Ther…
Rapid acting antidepressant (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) targets glucocorticoid receptor signaling: a longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid proteome s…
2020
AbstractDelayed onset of antidepressant action is a shortcoming in depression treatment. Ketamine and its metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) have emerged as promising rapidacting antidepressants. However, their mechanism of action remains unknown. In this study, we first described the anxious and depression-prone inbred mouse strain, DBA/2J, as a animal model to assess the antidepressant-like effects of ketamine and HNK in vivo. To decode the molecular mechanisms mediating HNK’s rapid antidepressant effects, a longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome profiling of its acute and sustained effects was conducted using an unbiased, hypothesis-free mass spectrometry-based proteomi…