43 research outputs found
Advances toward precision therapeutics for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies are childhood syndromes of severe epilepsy associated with cognitive and behavioral disorders. Of note, epileptic seizures represent only a part, although substantial, of the clinical spectrum. Whether the epileptiform activity per se accounts for developmental and intellectual disabilities is still unclear. In a few cases, seizures can be alleviated by antiseizure medication (ASM). However, the major comorbid features associated remain unsolved, including psychiatric disorders such as autism-like and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behavior. Not surprisingly, the number of genes known to be involved is continuously growing, and genetically engineered rodent models are valuable tools for investigating the impact of gene mutations on local and distributed brain circuits. Despite the inconsistencies and problems arising in the generation and validation of the different preclinical models, those are unique and precious tools to identify new molecular targets, and essential to provide prospects for effective therapeutics
Advances toward precision therapeutics for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies
Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies are childhood syndromes of severe epilepsy associated with cognitive and behavioral disorders. Of note, epileptic seizures represent only a part, although substantial, of the clinical spectrum. Whether the epileptiform activity per se accounts for developmental and intellectual disabilities is still unclear. In a few cases, seizures can be alleviated by antiseizure medication (ASM). However, the major comorbid features associated remain unsolved, including psychiatric disorders such as autism-like and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behavior. Not surprisingly, the number of genes known to be involved is continuously growing, and genetically engineered rodent models are valuable tools for investigating the impact of gene mutations on local and distributed brain circuits. Despite the inconsistencies and problems arising in the generation and validation of the different preclinical models, those are unique and precious tools to identify new molecular targets, and essential to provide prospects for effective therapeutics
Metabolic and behavioral sex-related differences induced by conditional inactivation of Npy1r gene in mice
Conditional Inactivation of Limbic Neuropeptide Y-1 Receptors Increases Vulnerability to Diet-Induced Obesity in Male Mice
NPY and its Y1 cognate receptor (Y1R) have been shown to be involved in the regulation
of stress, anxiety, depression and energy homeostasis. We previously demonstrated that conditional
knockout of Npy1r gene in the excitatory neurons of the forebrain of adolescent male mice (Npy1rrfb
mice) decreased body weight growth and adipose tissue and increased anxiety. In the present
study, we used the same conditional system to examine whether the targeted disruption of the
Npy1r gene in limbic areas might affect susceptibility to obesity and associated disorders during
adulthood in response to a 3-week high-fat diet (HFD) regimen. We demonstrated that following
HFD exposure, Npy1rrfb male mice showed increased body weight, visceral adipose tissue, and blood
glucose levels, hyperphagia and a dysregulation of calory intake as compared to control Npy1r2lox
mice. These results suggest that low expression of Npy1r in limbic areas impairs habituation to
high caloric food and causes high susceptibility to diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance in
male mice, uncovering a specific contribution of the limbic Npy1r gene in the dysregulation of the
eating/satiety balance
Hypothalamic NPYâY1R Interacts with Gonadal Hormones in Protecting Female Mice against Obesity and Neuroinflammation
Pre- and postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are required for sequential printing of fear memory engrams
The organization of fear memory involves the participation of multiple brain regions. However, it is largely unknown how fear memory is formed, which circuit pathways are used for "printing" memory engrams across brain regions, and the role of identified brain circuits in memory retrieval. With advanced genetic methods, we combinatorially blocked presynaptic output and manipulated N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) before and after cued fear conditioning. Further, we tagged fear-activated neurons during associative learning for optogenetic memory recall. We found that presynaptic mPFC and postsynaptic BLA NMDARs are required for fear memory formation, but not expression. Our results provide strong evidence that NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity drives multi-trace systems consolidation for the sequential printing of fear memory engrams from BLA to mPFC and, subsequently, to the other regions, for flexible memory retrieval