New 3-hit model of schizophrenia: behavioral and electrophysiological investigations

International audienc

Vezatin is essential for dendritic spine morphogenesis and functional synaptic maturation.

International audienceVezatin is an integral membrane protein associated with cell-cell adhesion complex and actin cytoskeleton. It is expressed in the developing and mature mammalian brain, but its neuronal function is unknown. Here, we show that Vezatin localizes in spines in mature mouse hippocampal neurons and codistributes with PSD95, a major scaffolding protein of the excitatory postsynaptic density. Forebrain-specific conditional ablation of Vezatin induced anxiety-like behavior and impaired cued fear-conditioning memory response. Vezatin knock-down in cultured hippocampal neurons and Vezatin conditional knock-out in mice led to a significantly increased proportion of stubby spines and a reduced proportion of mature dendritic spines. PSD95 remained tethered to presynaptic terminals in Vezatin-deficient hippocampal neurons, suggesting that the reduced expression of Vezatin does not compromise the maintenance of synaptic connections. Accordingly, neither the amplitude nor the frequency of miniature EPSCs was affected in Vezatin-deficient hippocampal neurons. However, the AMPA/NMDA ratio of evoked EPSCs was reduced, suggesting impaired functional maturation of excitatory synapses. These results suggest a role of Vezatin in dendritic spine morphogenesis and functional synaptic maturation

Age-dependent effects of chronic fluoxetine treatment on the serotonergic system one week following treatment

Abstract Rationale Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine are increasingly used for the treatment of depression in children. Limited data are, however, available on their effects on brain development and their efficacy remains debated. Moreover, previous experimental studies are seriously hampered in their clinical relevance. Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate putative age-related effects of a chronic treatment with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg, either orally or i.p. for 3 weeks, 1 week washout) using conventional methods (behavioral testing and binding assay using [ 123 I]β-CIT) and a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach. Methods Behavior was assessed, as well as serotonin transporter (SERT) availability and function through ex vivo binding assays and in vivo pharmacological MRI (phMRI) with an acute fluoxetine challenge (10 mg/kg oral or 5 mg/kg i.v.) in adolescent and adult rats. Results Fluoxetine caused an increase in anxiety-like behavior in treated adult, but not adolescent, rats. On the binding assays, we observed increased SERT densities in most cortical brain regions and hypothalamus in adolescent, but not adult, treated rats. Finally, reductions in brain activation were observed with phMRI following treatment, in both adult and adolescent treated animals. Conclusion Collectively, our data indicate that the shortterm effects of fluoxetine on the 5-HT system may be agedependent. These findings could reflect structural and functional rearrangements in the developing brain that do not occur in the matured rat brain. phMRI possibly will be well suited to study this important issue in the pediatric population

On the importance of long-term functional assessment after stroke to improve translation from bench to bedside

Despite extensive research efforts in the field of cerebral ischemia, numerous disappointments came from the translational step. Even if experimental studies showed a large number of promising drugs, most of them failed to be efficient in clinical trials. Based on these reports, factors that play a significant role in causing outcome differences between animal experiments and clinical trials have been identified; and latest works in the field have tried to discard them in order to improve the scope of the results. Nevertheless, efforts must be maintained, especially for long-term functional evaluations. As observed in clinical practice, animals display a large degree of spontaneous recovery after stroke. The neurological impairment, assessed by basic items, typically disappears during the firsts week following stroke in rodents. On the contrary, more demanding sensorimotor and cognitive tasks underline other deficits, which are usually long-lasting. Unfortunately, studies addressing such behavioral impairments are less abundant. Because the characterization of long-term functional recovery is critical for evaluating the efficacy of potential therapeutic agents in experimental strokes, behavioral tests that proved sensitive enough to detect long-term deficits are reported here. And since the ultimate goal of any stroke therapy is the restoration of normal function, an objective appraisal of the behavioral deficits should be done

A Biphasic and Brain-Region Selective Down-Regulation of Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Concentrations Supports Object Recognition in the Rat

Background: We aimed to further understand the relationship between cAMP concentration and mnesic performance. Methods and Findings: Rats were injected with milrinone (PDE3 inhibitor, 0.3 mg/kg, i.p.), rolipram (PDE4 inhibitor, 0.3 mg/ kg, i.p.) and/or the selective 5-HT4R agonist RS 67333 (1 mg/kg, i.p.) before testing in the object recognition paradigm. Cyclic AMP concentrations were measured in brain structures linked to episodic-like memory (i.e. hippocampus, prefrontal and perirhinal cortices) before or after either the sample or the testing phase. Except in the hippocampus of rolipram treated-rats, all treatment increased cAMP levels in each brain sub-region studied before the sample phase. After the sample phase, cAMP levels were significantly increased in hippocampus (1.8 fold), prefrontal (1.3 fold) and perirhinal (1.3 fold) cortices from controls rat while decreased in prefrontal cortex (,0.83 to 0.62 fold) from drug-treated rats (except for milrinone+RS 67333 treatment). After the testing phase, cAMP concentrations were still increased in both the hippocampus (2.76 fold) and the perirhinal cortex (2.1 fold) from controls animals. Minor increase were reported in hippocampus and perirhinal cortex from both rolipram (respectively, 1.44 fold and 1.70 fold) and milrinone (respectively 1.46 fold and 1.56 fold)-treated rat. Following the paradigm, cAMP levels were significantly lower in the hippocampus, prefrontal and perirhinal cortices from drug-treated rat when compared to controls animals, however, only drug-treated rats spent longer time exploring the novel object during the testing phase (inter-phase interval of 4 h)

Contribution à la caractérisation du rôle des récepteurs sérotoninergiques de type 5-HT4 dans les processus de mémorisation chez le rongeur

la stimulation des récepteurs 5-HT4 améliore le déficit de mémoire de travail à court terme et d'acquisition induit par la scopolamine ainsi que la rétention de la trace mnésique chez la souris, et améliore la vitesse d'apprentissage spatiale du ratCAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Promotion du sport (populations à rique et prévention du risque sportif)

CAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Etude de l'interaction de la buprénorphine et du clorazépate dipotassique chez la souris (effets sur l'activité spontanée)

CAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Les agonistes et antagonistes des récepteurs serotoninergiques de type 5-HT4 (données pharmacologiques et cliniques récentes)

CAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Traitement de la douleur chronique par la neurostimulation transcutanée

CAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF