scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii injected neurons localize to the cortex and striatum and have altered firing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Mendez ◽  
Emiliano Flores Machado ◽  
Jing Lu ◽  
Anita A. Koshy
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Latent Infection ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Patch Clamping ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Mapping Program

AbstractToxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that causes a long-term latent infection of neurons. Using a custom MATLAB-based mapping program in combination with a mouse model that allows us to permanently mark neurons injected with parasite proteins, we found that Toxoplasma-injected neurons (TINs) are heterogeneously distributed in the brain, primarily localizing to the cortex followed by the striatum. Using immunofluorescence co-localization assays, we determined that cortical TINs are commonly (>50%) excitatory neurons (FoxP2+) and that striatal TINs are often (>65%) medium spiny neurons (MSNs) (FoxP2+). As MSNs have highly characterized electrophysiology, we used ex vivo slices from infected mice to perform single neuron patch-clamping on striatal TINs and neighboring uninfected MSNs (bystander MSNs). These studies demonstrated that TINs have highly abnormal electrophysiology, while the electrophysiology of bystander MSNs was akin to that of MSNs from uninfected mice. Collectively, these data offer new neuroanatomic and electrophysiologic insights into CNS toxoplasmosis.

scholarly journals Injection with Toxoplasma gondii protein affects neuron health and survival

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar A Mendez ◽  
Emiliano Flores Machado ◽  
Jing Lu ◽  
Anita Koshy
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Latent Infection ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Patch Clamping ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Mapping Program

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that causes a long-term latent infection of neurons. Using a custom MATLAB-based mapping program in combination with a mouse model that allows us to permanently mark neurons injected with parasite proteins, we found that Toxoplasma-injected neurons (TINs) are heterogeneously distributed in the brain, primarily localizing to the cortex followed by the striatum. In addition, we determined that cortical TINs are commonly (>50%) excitatory neurons (FoxP2+) and that striatal TINs are often (>65%) medium spiny neurons (MSNs) (FoxP2+). By performing single neuron patch-clamping on striatal TINs and neighboring uninfected MSNs, we discovered that TINs have highly aberrant electrophysiology. As approximately 90% of TINs will die by 8 weeks post-infection, this abnormal physiology suggests that injection with Toxoplasma protein— either directly or indirectly— affects neuronal health and survival. Collectively, these data offer the first insights into which neurons interact with Toxoplasma and how these interactions alter neuron physiology in vivo.

scholarly journals A method for single-neuron chronic recording from the retina in awake mice

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 360 (6396) ◽  
pp. 1447-1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guosong Hong ◽  
Tian-Ming Fu ◽  
Mu Qiao ◽  
Robert D. Viveros ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Chronic Recording ◽  
The Brain

The retina, which processes visual information and sends it to the brain, is an excellent model for studying neural circuitry. It has been probed extensively ex vivo but has been refractory to chronic in vivo electrophysiology. We report a nonsurgical method to achieve chronically stable in vivo recordings from single retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in awake mice. We developed a noncoaxial intravitreal injection scheme in which injected mesh electronics unrolls inside the eye and conformally coats the highly curved retina without compromising normal eye functions. The method allows 16-channel recordings from multiple types of RGCs with stable responses to visual stimuli for at least 2 weeks, and reveals circadian rhythms in RGC responses over multiple day/night cycles.

scholarly journals Sex-Specific Role for Egr3 in Nucleus Accumbens D2-Medium Spiny Neurons Following Long-Term Abstinence From Cocaine Self-administration

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
pp. 992-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Engeln ◽  
Swarup Mitra ◽  
Ramesh Chandra ◽  
Utsav Gyawali ◽  
Megan E. Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Specific Role ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Spiny Neurons

scholarly journals Putative role of pharmacogenetics to elucidate the mechanism of tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenia

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 1199-1223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton JM Loonen ◽  
Bob Wilffert ◽  
Svetlana A Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Tardive Dyskinesia ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Long Term Potentiation ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
Long Term Treatment

Identifying biomarkers which can be used as a diagnostic tool is a major objective of pharmacogenetic studies. Most mental and many neurological disorders have a compiled multifaceted nature, which may be the reason why this endeavor has hitherto not been very successful. This is also true for tardive dyskinesia (TD), an involuntary movement complication of long-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs. The observed associations of specific gene variants with the prevalence and severity of a disorder can also be applied to try to elucidate the pathogenesis of the condition. In this paper, this strategy is used by combining pharmacogenetic knowledge with theories on the possible role of a dysfunction of specific cellular elements of neostriatal parts of the (dorsal) extrapyramidal circuits: various glutamatergic terminals, medium spiny neurons, striatal interneurons and ascending monoaminergic fibers. A peculiar finding is that genetic variants which would be expected to increase the neostriatal dopamine concentration are not associated with the prevalence and severity of TD. Moreover, modifying the sensitivity to glutamatergic long-term potentiation (and excitotoxicity) shows a relationship with levodopa-induced dyskinesia, but not with TD. Contrasting this, TD is associated with genetic variants that modify vulnerability to oxidative stress. Reducing the oxidative stress burden of medium spiny neurons may also be the mechanism behind the protective influence of 5-HT2 receptor antagonists. It is probably worthwhile to discriminate between neostriatal matrix and striosomal compartments when studying the mechanism of TD and between orofacial and limb-truncal components in epidemiological studies.

scholarly journals Cocaine effects on mouse incentive-learning and human addiction are linked to α2 subunit-containing GABAA receptors

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 2289-2294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire I. Dixon ◽  
Hannah V. Morris ◽  
Gerome Breen ◽  
Sylvane Desrivieres ◽  
Sarah Jugurnauth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Sensitization ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Receptor Subtype ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Gabaergic Neurotransmission ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
Benzodiazepine Binding ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
The Brain

Because GABAA receptors containing α2 subunits are highly represented in areas of the brain, such as nucleus accumbens (NAcc), frontal cortex, and amygdala, regions intimately involved in signaling motivation and reward, we hypothesized that manipulations of this receptor subtype would influence processing of rewards. Voltage-clamp recordings from NAcc medium spiny neurons of mice with α2 gene deletion showed reduced synaptic GABAA receptor-mediated responses. Behaviorally, the deletion abolished cocaine’s ability to potentiate behaviors conditioned to rewards (conditioned reinforcement), and to support behavioral sensitization. In mice with a point mutation in the benzodiazepine binding pocket of α2-GABAA receptors (α2H101R), GABAergic neurotransmission in medium spiny neurons was identical to that of WT (i.e., the mutation was silent), but importantly, receptor function was now facilitated by the atypical benzodiazepine Ro 15-4513 (ethyl 8-amido-5,6-dihydro-5-methyl-6-oxo-4H-imidazo [1,5-a] [1,4] benzodiazepine-3-carboxylate). In α2H101R, but not WT mice, Ro 15-4513 administered directly into the NAcc-stimulated locomotor activity, and when given systemically and repeatedly, induced behavioral sensitization. These data indicate that activation of α2−GABAA receptors (most likely in NAcc) is both necessary and sufficient for behavioral sensitization. Consistent with a role of these receptors in addiction, we found specific markers and haplotypes of the GABRA2 gene to be associated with human cocaine addiction.

scholarly journals Rosuvastatin revert memory impairment and anxiogenic-like effect in mice infected with the chronic ME-49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250079
Author(s):  
Fernanda Ferreira Evangelista ◽  
Willian Costa-Ferreira ◽  
Francini Martini Mantelo ◽  
Lucimara Fátima Beletini ◽  
Amanda Hinobu de Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Brain Inflammation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Histopathological Analysis ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Anxiogenic Effect ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
The Brain

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin treatment on memory impairment, and anxiogenic-like effects in mice chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii. For this, Balb/c mice were infected orally with chronic ME-49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii. Oral treatment with rosuvastatin (40mg/kg/day) started on the 51st day post-infection and was performed daily for 21 days. After completion of treatment, anxiety-like effects and locomotion were investigated in the open field (OF) test, whereas novel object recognition (NOR) test was used for evaluation of short- and long-term memory. At the end of the experiments, the brain was collected for Toxoplasma gondii DNA quantification and histopathological analysis. Infection with ME-49 strain decreased the time spent in the center of OF, indicating an anxiogenic effect, without affecting total and peripheral locomotion. Rosuvastatin treatment inhibited the change in the center time. Besides, pharmacological treatment increased total and central locomotion in both non-infected and infected animals. Infection also impaired both short- and long-term memory in the NOR test, and these effects were reverted by rosuvastatin treatment. In addition to effects in behavioral changes, rosuvastatin also reduced parasite load in the brain and attenuated signs of brain inflammation such as perivascular cuffs, inflammatory cell infiltration and tissue damage. These findings indicate for the first time the efficacy of rosuvastatin in treatment of memory impairment and anxiogenic effect evoked by infection with Toxoplasma gondii. These effects might be mediated by reduced cyst load, which in turn decrease inflammation and damage in the brain.

scholarly journals Selective D2 and D3 receptor antagonists oppositely modulate cocaine responses in mice via distinct postsynaptic mechanisms in nucleus accumbens

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel F. Manvich ◽  
Alyssa K. Petko ◽  
Rachel C. Branco ◽  
Stephanie L. Foster ◽  
Kirsten A. Porter-Stransky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
D3 Receptor ◽  
Receptor Antagonists ◽  
Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
Cocaine Responses ◽  
Da Release

AbstractBackgroundThe D3 receptor (D3R) has emerged as a promising pharmacotherapeutic target for the treatment of several diseases including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and substance use disorders. However, studies investigating the modulatory impact of D3R antagonism on dopamine neurotransmission or the effects drugs of abuse have produced mixed results, in part because D3R-targeted compounds often also interact with D2 receptors (D2R). The purpose of this study was to compare the consequences of selective D2R or D3R antagonism on the behavioral effects of cocaine in mice, and to identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying their modulatory effects.MethodsWe characterized the effects of selective D2R or D3R antagonism in mice on 1) basal and cocaine-induced locomotor activity, 2) presynaptic dopamine release and clearance in the nucleus accumbens using ex vivo fast scan cyclic voltammetry, and 3) dopamine-mediated signaling in D1-expressing and D2-expressing medium spiny neurons using ex vivo electrophysiology.ResultsPretreatment with the selective D2R antagonist L-741,626 attenuated, while pretreatment with the selective D3R antagonist PG01037 enhanced, the locomotor-activating effects of acute and repeated cocaine administration. While both antagonists potentiated cocaine-induced increases in presynaptic DA release, D3R blockade uniquely facilitated DA-mediated excitation of D1-expressing medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens.ConclusionsSelective D3R antagonism potentiates the behavioral-stimulant effects of cocaine in mice, an effect that is in direct opposition to that produced by selective D2R antagonism or nonselective D2-like receptor antagonists, likely by facilitating D1-mediated excitation in the nucleus accumbens. These findings provide important insights into the neuropharmacological actions of D3R antagonists on mesolimbic dopamine neurotransmission.

scholarly journals Rhes protein transits from neuron to neuron and facilitates mutant huntingtin spreading in the brain.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Nimrod Ramirez Jarquin ◽  
Manish Sharma ◽  
Neelam Shahani ◽  
Yunqing Li ◽  
Siddaraju Boregowda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Transport ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Striatal Neurons ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
Tunneling Nanotube ◽  
Intact Brain ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Brain

Rhes (RASD2) is a thyroid hormone-induced gene that regulates striatal motor activity and promotes neurodegeneration in Huntington disease (HD) and tauopathy. Previously, we showed that Rhes moves between cultured striatal neurons and transports the HD protein, polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin (mHTT) via tunneling nanotube (TNT)-like membranous protrusions. However, similar intercellular Rhes transport has not yet been demonstrated in the intact brain. Here, we report that Rhes induces TNT-like protrusions in the striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and transported between dopamine-1 receptor (D1R)-MSNs and D2R-MSNs of intact striatum and organotypic brain slices. Notably, mHTT is robustly transported within the striatum and from the striatum to the cortical areas in the brain, and Rhes deletion diminishes such transport. Moreover, we also found transport of Rhes to the cortical regions following restricted expression in the MSNs of the striatum. Thus, Rhes is a first striatum-enriched protein demonstrated to move and transport mHTT between neurons and brain regions, providing new insights on interneuronal protein transport in the brain.

scholarly journals Neuronal signature of an antipsychotic response

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Parrilla-Carrero ◽  
Anna Kruyer ◽  
Reda M. Chalhoub ◽  
Courtney Powell ◽  
Shanna Resendez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
D2 Receptor ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Medium Spiny Neurons ◽  
Principal Mechanism ◽  
Spiny Neurons ◽  
Nmda Channel ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Abstract D2 receptor blockade has been cited as a principal mechanism of action of all antipsychotic medications, but is poorly predictive of symptom improvement or neurophysiological responses recorded using human brain imaging. A potential hurdle in interpreting such human imaging studies arises from the inability to distinguish activity within neuronal subcircuits. We used single cell resolution imaging to record activity in distinct populations of medium spiny neurons in vivo within the mouse ventral striatum, a structure associated with schizophrenia symptoms and antipsychotic therapeutic efficacy. While we expected the antipsychotic haloperidol to excite D2 receptor expressing neurons, we report a strong cellular depression mediated by the hypofunctional NMDA channel, which may be mediated in part by the action of haloperidol on the sigma1 receptor. Altogether, the impact of haloperidol on Ca2+ events in D2 receptor expressing neurons predicted psychomotor inhibition. Our results elucidate mechanisms by which antipsychotics act rapidly in the brain to impact psychomotor outputs.

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