Cholecystokinin neurons in mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus regulate the robustness of circadian clock

Neuron

2023 May 07

Xie, L;Xiong, Y;Ma, D;Shi, K;Chen, J;Yang, Q;Yan, J;
PMID: 37172583 | DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.016

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) can generate robust circadian behaviors in mammals under different environments, but the underlying neural mechanisms remained unclear. Here, we showed that the activities of cholecystokinin (CCK) neurons in the mouse SCN preceded the onset of behavioral activities under different photoperiods. CCK-neuron-deficient mice displayed shortened free-running periods, failed to compress their activities under a long photoperiod, and developed rapid splitting or became arrhythmic under constant light. Furthermore, unlike vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) neurons, CCK neurons are not directly light sensitive, but their activation can elicit phase advance and counter light-induced phase delay mediated by VIP neurons. Under long photoperiods, the impact of CCK neurons on SCN dominates over that of VIP neurons. Finally, we found that the slow-responding CCK neurons control the rate of recovery during jet lag. Together, our results demonstrated that SCN CCK neurons are crucial for the robustness and plasticity of the mammalian circadian clock.

Neuronal signal-regulatory protein alpha drives microglial phagocytosis by limiting microglial interaction with CD47 in the retina

Immunity

2022 Nov 09

Jiang, D;Burger, CA;Akhanov, V;Liang, JH;Mackin, RD;Albrecht, NE;Andrade, P;Schafer, DP;Samuel, MA;
PMID: 36379210 | DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.10.018

Microglia utilize their phagocytic activity to prune redundant synapses and refine neural circuits during precise developmental periods. However, the neuronal signals that control this phagocytic clockwork remain largely undefined. Here, we show that neuronal signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) is a permissive cue for microglial phagocytosis in the developing murine retina. Removal of neuronal, but not microglial, SIRPα reduced microglial phagocytosis, increased synpase numbers, and impaired circuit function. Conversely, prolonging neuronal SIRPα expression extended developmental microglial phagocytosis. These outcomes depended on the interaction of presynaptic SIRPα with postsynaptic CD47. Global CD47 deficiency modestly increased microglial phagocytosis, while CD47 overexpression reduced it. This effect was rescued by coexpression of neuronal SIRPα or codeletion of neuronal SIRPα and CD47. These data indicate that neuronal SIRPα regulates microglial phagocytosis by limiting microglial SIRPα access to neuronal CD47. This discovery may aid our understanding of synapse loss in neurological diseases.

Molecular signatures underlying neurofibrillary tangle susceptibility in Alzheimer's disease

Neuron

2022 Jul 21

Otero-Garcia, M;Mahajani, SU;Wakhloo, D;Tang, W;Xue, YQ;Morabito, S;Pan, J;Oberhauser, J;Madira, AE;Shakouri, T;Deng, Y;Allison, T;He, Z;Lowry, WE;Kawaguchi, R;Swarup, V;Cobos, I;
PMID: 35882228 | DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.06.021

Tau aggregation in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is closely associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the molecular signatures that distinguish between aggregation-prone and aggregation-resistant cell states are unknown. We developed methods for the high-throughput isolation and transcriptome profiling of single somas with NFTs from the human AD brain, quantified the susceptibility of 20 neocortical subtypes for NFT formation and death, and identified both shared and cell-type-specific signatures. NFT-bearing neurons shared a marked upregulation of synaptic transmission-related genes, including a core set of 63 genes enriched for synaptic vesicle cycling. Oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial dysfunction were highly cell-type dependent. Apoptosis was only modestly enriched, and the susceptibilities of NFT-bearing and NFT-free neurons for death were highly similar. Our analysis suggests that NFTs represent cell-type-specific responses to stress and synaptic dysfunction. We provide a resource for biomarker discovery and the investigation of tau-dependent and tau-independent mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

Alpha oscillations and event-related potentials reflect distinct dynamics of attribute construction and evidence accumulation in dietary decision making

eLife

2021 Jul 15

HajiHosseini, A;Hutcherson, CA;
PMID: 34263723 | DOI: 10.7554/eLife.60874

How does regulatory focus alter attribute value construction (AVC) and evidence accumulation (EA)? We recorded electroencephalogram during food choices while participants responded naturally or regulated their choices by attending to health attributes or decreasing attention to taste attributes. Using a drift diffusion model, we predicted the time course of neural signals associated with AVC and EA. Results suggested that event-related potentials (ERPs) correlated with the time course of model-predicted taste-attribute signals, with no modulation by regulation. By contrast, suppression of frontal and occipital alpha power correlated with the time course of EA, tracked tastiness according to its goal relevance, and predicted individual variation in successful down-regulation of tastiness. Additionally, an earlier rise in frontal and occipital theta power represented food tastiness more strongly during regulation and predicted a weaker influence of food tastiness on behaviour. Our findings illuminate how regulation modifies the representation of attributes during the process of EA.

Evaluation of the Antiseizure Activity of Endemic Plant Halfordia kendack Guillaumin and Its Main Constituent, Halfordin, on a Zebrafish Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-Induced Seizure Model

International journal of molecular sciences

2023 Jan 30

Skiba, A;Kozioł, E;Luca, SV;Budzyńska, B;Podlasz, P;Van Der Ent, W;Shojaeinia, E;Esguerra, CV;Nour, M;Marcourt, L;Wolfender, JL;Skalicka-Woźniak, K;
PMID: 36768918 | DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032598

Epilepsy is a neurological disease that burdens over 50 million people worldwide. Despite the considerable number of available antiseizure medications, it is estimated that around 30% of patients still do not respond to available treatment. Herbal medicines represent a promising source of new antiseizure drugs. This study aimed to identify new drug lead candidates with antiseizure activity from endemic plants of New Caledonia. The crude methanolic leaf extract of Halfordia kendack Guillaumin (Rutaceae) significantly decreased (75 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL) seizure-like behaviour compared to sodium valproate in a zebrafish pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced acute seizure model. The main coumarin compound, halfordin, was subsequently isolated by liquid-liquid chromatography and subjected to locomotor, local field potential (LFP), and gene expression assays. Halfordin (20 μM) significantly decreased convulsive-like behaviour in the locomotor and LFP analysis (by 41.4% and 60%, respectively) and significantly modulated galn, and penka gene expression.

Immunity to the microbiota promotes sensory neuron regeneration

Cell

2023 Jan 06

Enamorado, M;Kulalert, W;Han, SJ;Rao, I;Delaleu, J;Link, VM;Yong, D;Smelkinson, M;Gil, L;Nakajima, S;Linehan, JL;Bouladoux, N;Wlaschin, J;Kabat, J;Kamenyeva, O;Deng, L;Gribonika, I;Chesler, AT;Chiu, IM;Le Pichon, CE;Belkaid, Y;
PMID: 36640762 | DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.037

Tissue immunity and responses to injury depend on the coordinated action and communication among physiological systems. Here, we show that, upon injury, adaptive responses to the microbiota directly promote sensory neuron regeneration. At homeostasis, tissue-resident commensal-specific T cells colocalize with sensory nerve fibers within the dermis, express a transcriptional program associated with neuronal interaction and repair, and promote axon growth and local nerve regeneration following injury. Mechanistically, our data reveal that the cytokine interleukin-17A (IL-17A) released by commensal-specific Th17 cells upon injury directly signals to sensory neurons via IL-17 receptor A, the transcription of which is specifically upregulated in injured neurons. Collectively, our work reveals that in the context of tissue damage, preemptive immunity to the microbiota can rapidly bridge biological systems by directly promoting neuronal repair, while also identifying IL-17A as a major determinant of this fundamental process.

Targeting Peripheral μ-opioid Receptors or μ-opioid Receptor-Expressing Neurons Does not Prevent Morphine-induced Mechanical Allodynia and Anti-allodynic Tolerance

Neuroscience bulletin

2023 Jan 09

Du, F;Yin, G;Han, L;Liu, X;Dong, D;Duan, K;Huo, J;Sun, Y;Cheng, L;
PMID: 36622575 | DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-01009-2

The chronic use of morphine and other opioids is associated with opioid-induced hypersensitivity (OIH) and analgesic tolerance. Among the different forms of OIH and tolerance, the opioid receptors and cell types mediating opioid-induced mechanical allodynia and anti-allodynic tolerance remain unresolved. Here we demonstrated that the loss of peripheral μ-opioid receptors (MORs) or MOR-expressing neurons attenuated thermal tolerance, but did not affect the expression and maintenance of morphine-induced mechanical allodynia and anti-allodynic tolerance. To confirm this result, we made dorsal root ganglia-dorsal roots-sagittal spinal cord slice preparations and recorded low-threshold Aβ-fiber stimulation-evoked inputs and outputs in superficial dorsal horn neurons. Consistent with the behavioral results, peripheral MOR loss did not prevent the opening of Aβ mechanical allodynia pathways in the spinal dorsal horn. Therefore, the peripheral MOR signaling pathway may not be an optimal target for preventing mechanical OIH and analgesic tolerance. Future studies should focus more on central mechanisms.

Leveraging circuits to understand addiction

Neurocircuitry of Addiction

2023 Jan 19

Salling, M;
| DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-823453-2.00002-3

Advancements in neuroscientific methods often drive new waves of insight into our understanding of addiction. While addiction research questions persist, technical improvements can augment our observational sensitivity, allowing us to update and extend existing addiction models through method development, creative application, and scientific discovery. As a result of this iterative process, we have reached the point where neuroscientists can now readily identify, monitor, and control specific neural circuits during behavior, thereby opening new windows of inquiry into the neurobiology of addiction. The objective of this chapter is to familiarize the reader with standard and emerging techniques used to observe and interrogate neural circuitry that are prevalent in contemporary clinical and preclinical addiction neuroscience labs and that are presented throughout the book. This chapter will further discuss the historical context, benefits, and limitations of these techniques with a look forward into how they can be applied to questions of addiction neurocircuitry.

Engineering an inhibitor-resistant human CSF1R variant for microglia replacement

The Journal of experimental medicine

2023 Mar 06

Chadarevian, JP;Lombroso, SI;Peet, GC;Hasselmann, J;Tu, C;Marzan, DE;Capocchi, J;Purnell, FS;Nemec, KM;Lahian, A;Escobar, A;England, W;Chaluvadi, S;O'Brien, CA;Yaqoob, F;Aisenberg, WH;Porras-Paniagua, M;Bennett, ML;Davtyan, H;Spitale, RC;Blurton-Jones, M;Bennett, FC;
PMID: 36584406 | DOI: 10.1084/jem.20220857

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can replace endogenous microglia with circulation-derived macrophages but has high mortality. To mitigate the risks of HSCT and expand the potential for microglia replacement, we engineered an inhibitor-resistant CSF1R that enables robust microglia replacement. A glycine to alanine substitution at position 795 of human CSF1R (G795A) confers resistance to multiple CSF1R inhibitors, including PLX3397 and PLX5622. Biochemical and cell-based assays show no discernable gain or loss of function. G795A- but not wildtype-CSF1R expressing macrophages efficiently engraft the brain of PLX3397-treated mice and persist after cessation of inhibitor treatment. To gauge translational potential, we CRISPR engineered human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMG) to express G795A. Xenotransplantation studies demonstrate that G795A-iMG exhibit nearly identical gene expression to wildtype iMG, respond to inflammatory stimuli, and progressively expand in the presence of PLX3397, replacing endogenous microglia to fully occupy the brain. In sum, we engineered a human CSF1R variant that enables nontoxic, cell type, and tissue-specific replacement of microglia.

Recalibrating vision-for-action requires years after sight restoration from congenital cataracts

eLife

2022 Oct 24

Senna, I;Piller, S;Ben-Zion, I;Ernst, MO;
PMID: 36278872 | DOI: 10.7554/eLife.78734

Being able to perform adept goal-directed actions requires predictive, feed-forward control, including a mapping between the visually estimated target locations and the motor commands reaching for them. When the mapping is perturbed, e.g., due to muscle fatigue or optical distortions, we are quickly able to recalibrate the sensorimotor system to update this mapping. Here, we investigated whether early visual and visuomotor experience is essential for developing sensorimotor recalibration. To this end, we assessed young individuals deprived of pattern vision due to dense congenital bilateral cataracts who were surgically treated for sight restoration only years after birth. We compared their recalibration performance to such distortion to that of age-matched sighted controls. Their sensorimotor recalibration performance was impaired right after surgery. This finding cannot be explained by their still lower visual acuity alone, since blurring vision in controls to a matching degree did not lead to comparable behavior. Nevertheless, the recalibration ability of cataract-treated participants gradually improved with time after surgery. Thus, the lack of early pattern vision affects visuomotor recalibration. However, this ability is not lost but slowly develops after sight restoration, highlighting the importance of sensorimotor experience gained late in life.

Analysis of target mRNAs in the fixed-frozen human brain using a modified BaseScope-ISH Assay protocol

STAR Protocols

2022 Dec 01

Carisì, M;Howell, O;Morgan, A;Davies, J;
| DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101896

We describe a modified BaseScope Assay protocol (ACDBio) for RNA in situ hybridization on fixed-frozen human brain tissue. The original protocol caused tissue detachment due to harsh tissue pre-treatment. We therefore optimized it to improve tissue stability while providing high stain quality in fragile post-mortem tissue from aged donors with advanced neurodegeneration. The main changes include two additional fixation steps and modifications to the pre-treatment protocol. We also describe tissue imaging and stain quantification using the open-source QuPath software. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hornsby et al. (2020).

Fast deep neural correspondence for tracking and identifying neurons in C. elegans using semi-synthetic training

eLife

2021 Jul 14

Yu, X;Creamer, MS;Randi, F;Sharma, AK;Linderman, SW;Leifer, AM;
PMID: 34259623 | DOI: 10.7554/eLife.66410

We present an automated method to track and identify neurons in C. elegans, called 'fast Deep Neural Correspondence' or fDNC, based on the transformer network architecture. The model is trained once on empirically derived semi-synthetic data and then predicts neural correspondence across held-out real animals. The same pre-trained model both tracks neurons across time and identifies corresponding neurons across individuals. Performance is evaluated against hand-annotated datasets, including NeuroPAL [1]. Using only position information, the method achieves 79.1% accuracy at tracking neurons within an individual and 64.1% accuracy at identifying neurons across individuals. Accuracy at identifying neurons across individuals is even higher (78.2%) when the model is applied to a dataset

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	Description
sense Example: Hs-LAG3-sense	Standard probes for RNA detection are in antisense. Sense probe is reverse complent to the corresponding antisense probe.
Intron# Example: Mm-Htt-intron2	Probe targets the indicated intron in the target gene, commonly used for pre-mRNA detection
Pool/Pan Example: Hs-CD3-pool (Hs-CD3D, Hs-CD3E, Hs-CD3G)	A mixture of multiple probe sets targeting multiple genes or transcripts
No-XSp Example: Hs-PDGFB-No-XMm	Does not cross detect with the species (Sp)
XSp Example: Rn-Pde9a-XMm	designed to cross detect with the species (Sp)
O# Example: Mm-Islr-O1	Alternative design targeting different regions of the same transcript or isoforms
CDS Example: Hs-SLC31A-CDS	Probe targets the protein-coding sequence only
EnEm	Probe targets exons n and m
En-Em	Probe targets region from exon n to exon m
Retired Nomenclature
tvn Example: Hs-LEPR-tv1	Designed to target transcript variant n
ORF Example: Hs-ACVRL1-ORF	Probe targets open reading frame
UTR Example: Hs-HTT-UTR-C3	Probe targets the untranslated region (non-protein-coding region) only
5UTR Example: Hs-GNRHR-5UTR	Probe targets the 5' untranslated region only
3UTR Example: Rn-Npy1r-3UTR	Probe targets the 3' untranslated region only
Pan Example: Pool	A mixture of multiple probe sets targeting multiple genes or transcripts

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