scholarly journals Sex-specific hippocampus-dependent cognitive deficits and increased neuronal autophagy in DEspR haploinsufficiency in mice

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. M. Herrera ◽  
Julius L. Decano ◽  
Pia Bagamasbad ◽  
Timothy Kufahl ◽  
Martin Steffen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Mammalian Target Of Rapamycin ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Neuronal Homeostasis ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Neuronal Autophagy ◽  
Neuronal Vacuolation

Aside from abnormal angiogenesis, dual endothelin-1/VEGF signal peptide-activated receptor deficiency ( DEspR−/−) results in aberrant neuroepithelium and neural tube differentiation, thus elucidating DEspR's role in neurogenesis. With the emerging importance of neurogenesis in adulthood, we tested the hypothesis that nonembryonic-lethal DEspR haploinsufficiency ( DEspR+/−) perturbs neuronal homeostasis, thereby facilitating aging-associated neurodegeneration. Here we show that, in male mice only, DEspR-haploinsufficiency impaired hippocampus-dependent visuospatial and associative learning and induced noninflammatory spongiform changes, neuronal vacuolation, and loss in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and subcortical regions, consistent with autophagic cell death. In contrast, DEspR+/− females exhibited better cognitive performance than wild-type females and showed absence of neuropathological changes. Signaling pathway analysis revealed DEspR-mediated phosphorylation of activators of autophagy inhibitor mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and dephosphorylation of known autophagy inducers. Altogether, the data demonstrate DEspR-mediated diametrical, sex-specific modulation of cognitive performance and autophagy, highlight cerebral neuronal vulnerability to autophagic dysregulation, and causally link DEspR haploinsufficiency with increased neuronal autophagy, spongiosis, and cognitive decline in mice.

scholarly journals Progesterone's Effects on Cognitive Performance of Male Mice Are Independent of Progestin Receptors but Relate to Increases in GABAA Activity in the Hippocampus and Cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl A. Frye ◽  
Vincent F. Lembo ◽  
Alicia A. Walf
Keyword(s):  
Object Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Water Maze ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Maze Task ◽  
Progestin Receptors ◽  
Muscimol Binding

Progestogens' (e.g., progesterone and its neuroactive metabolite, allopregnanolone), cognitive effects and mechanisms among males are not well-understood. We hypothesized if progestogen's effects on cognitive performance are through its metabolite allopregnanolone, and not actions via binding to traditional progestin receptors (PRs), then progesterone administration would enhance performance in tasks mediated by the hippocampus and cortex, coincident with increasing allopregnanolone concentrations, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and/or muscimol binding of PR knock out (PRKO) and wild-type PR replete mice. Experiment 1: Progesterone (4 mg/kg, subcutaneously (SC; n = 12/grp), or oil vehicle control, was administered to gonadally-intact adult male mice PRKO mice and their wild-type counterparts and cognitive behaviors in object recognition, T-maze and water maze was examined. Progesterone, compared to vehicle, when administered post-training increased time investigating novel objects by the PRKO and wild-type mice in the object recognition task. In the T-maze task, progesterone administration to wild-type and PRKO mice had significantly greater number of spontaneous alternations compared to their vehicle-administered counterparts. In the water maze task, PRKO mice administered vehicle spent significantly fewer seconds in the quadrant associated with the escape platform on testing compared to all other groups. Experiment 2: Progesterone administered to wild-type and PRKO mice increased plasma progesterone and allopregnanolone levels (n = 5/group). PRKO mice had higher allopregnanolone levels in plasma and hippocampus, but not cortex, when administered progesterone and compared to wild-type mice. Experiment 3: Assessment of PR binding revealed progesterone administered wild-type mice had significantly greater levels of PRs in the hippocampus and cortex, compared to all other groups (n = 5/group). Wild-type mice administered progesterone, but not vehicle, had increased BDNF levels in the hippocampus, but not the cortex, compared to PRKOs. Wild-type as well as PRKO mice administered progesterone experienced significant increases in maximal GABAA agonist, muscimol, binding in hippocampus and cortex, compared to their vehicle-administered counterparts. Thus, adult male mice can be responsive to progesterone for cognitive performance, and such effects may be independent of PRs trophic actions of BDNF levels in the hippocampus and/or increases in GABAA activity in the hippocampus and cortex.

scholarly journals Effects of Sub-Chronic MPTP Exposure on Behavioral and Cognitive Performance and the Microbiome of Wild-Type and mGlu8 Knockout Female and Male Mice

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Ruth S. Torres ◽  
Tunde Akinyeke ◽  
Keaton Stagaman ◽  
Robert M. Duvoisin ◽  
Charles K. Meshul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type

scholarly journals NPY Deficiency Prevents Postmenopausal Adiposity by Augmenting Estradiol-Mediated Browning

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1042-1049
Author(s):  
Seongjoon Park ◽  
Erkhembayar Nayantai ◽  
Toshimitsu Komatsu ◽  
Hiroko Hayashi ◽  
Ryoichi Mori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Fat Metabolism ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Promising Target ◽  
Intracellular Mechanism

Abstract The orexigenic hormone neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays a pivotal role in the peripheral regulation of fat metabolism. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of sex on NPY function have not been extensively analyzed. In this study, we examined the effects of NPY deficiency on fat metabolism in male and female mice. Body weight was slightly decreased, whereas white adipose tissue (WAT) mass was significantly decreased as the thermogenic program was upregulated in NPY-/- female mice compared with that in wild-type mice; these factors were not altered in response to NPY deficiency in male mice. Moreover, lack of NPY resulted in an increase in luteinizing hormone (LH) expression in the pituitary gland, with concomitant activation of the estradiol-mediated thermogenic program in inguinal WAT, and alleviated age-related modification of adiposity in female mice. Taken together, these data revealed a novel intracellular mechanism of NPY in the regulation of fat metabolism and highlighted the sexual dimorphism of NPY as a promising target for drug development to reduce postmenopausal adiposity.

Lower skeletal muscle mass in male transgenic mice with muscle-specific overexpression of myostatin

2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (4) ◽  
pp. E876-E888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Reisz-Porszasz ◽  
Shalender Bhasin ◽  
Jorge N. Artaza ◽  
Ruoqing Shen ◽  
Indrani Sinha-Hikim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Mass ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Muscle Weight ◽  
Myostatin Gene

Mutations in the myostatin gene are associated with hypermuscularity, suggesting that myostatin inhibits skeletal muscle growth. We postulated that increased tissue-specific expression of myostatin protein in skeletal muscle would induce muscle loss. To investigate this hypothesis, we generated transgenic mice that overexpress myostatin protein selectively in the skeletal muscle, with or without ancillary expression in the heart, utilizing cDNA constructs in which a wild-type (MCK/Mst) or mutated muscle creatine kinase (MCK-3E/Mst) promoter was placed upstream of mouse myostatin cDNA. Transgenic mice harboring these MCK promoters linked to enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expressed the reporter protein only in skeletal and cardiac muscles (MCK) or in skeletal muscle alone (MCK-3E). Seven-week-old animals were genotyped by PCR of tail DNA or by Southern blot analysis of liver DNA. Myostatin mRNA and protein, measured by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively, were significantly higher in gastrocnemius, quadriceps, and tibialis anterior of MCK/Mst-transgenic mice compared with wild-type mice. Male MCK/Mst-transgenic mice had 18–24% lower hind- and forelimb muscle weight and 18% reduction in quadriceps and gastrocnemius fiber cross-sectional area and myonuclear number (immunohistochemistry) than wild-type male mice. Male transgenic mice with mutated MCK-3E promoter showed similar effects on muscle mass. However, female transgenic mice with either type of MCK promoter did not differ from wild-type controls in either body weight or skeletal muscle mass. In conclusion, increased expression of myostatin in skeletal muscle is associated with lower muscle mass and decreased fiber size and myonuclear number, decreased cardiac muscle mass, and increased fat mass in male mice, consistent with its role as an inhibitor of skeletal muscle mass. The mechanism of gender specificity remains to be clarified.

scholarly journals Excretion and binding of tritium-labelled oestradiol in mice (Mus musculus): implications for the Bruce effect

Reproduction ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam C Guzzo ◽  
Robert G Berger ◽  
Denys deCatanzaro
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Intranasal Administration ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Olfactory Bulbs ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Mouse Urine ◽  
Osmotic Pumps ◽  
Bruce Effect ◽  
Blastocyst Implantation ◽  
Pre Treatment

Male mouse urine contains 17β-oestradiol (E2) and other steroids. Given that males actively direct urine at proximate females and intrauterine implantation of blastocysts is vulnerable to minute amounts of exogenous oestrogens, males' capacity to disrupt early pregnancy could be mediated by steroids in their urine. When male mice were implanted with osmotic pumps containing tritium-labelled E2 (3H-E2) or injected i.p. with 3H-E2, radioactivity was reliably detected in their urine. Following intranasal administration of 3H-E2 to inseminated females, radioactivity was detected in diverse tissue samples, with there being significantly more in reproductive tissues than in brain tissues. When urine was taken from males injected with 3H-E2, and then intranasally administered to inseminated females, radioactivity was detected in the uterus, olfactory bulbs, and mesencephalon and diencephalon (MC+DC). When inseminated and ovariectomised females were perfused at the point of killing to remove blood from tissues, more radioactivity was detected in the uterus than in muscle, olfactory bulbs, MC+DC and cerebral cortex. Pre-treatment with unlabelled E2 significantly reduced the uptake of 3H-E2 in the uterus. Taken with evidence that males deliver their urine to the nasal area of females, these results indicate that male urinary E2 arrives in tissues, including the uterus, where it could lead to the disruption of blastocyst implantation.

scholarly journals Androgen Receptor-Dependent and Independent Atheroprotection by Testosterone in Male Mice

Endocrinology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 151 (11) ◽  
pp. 5428-5437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Bourghardt ◽  
Anna S. K. Wilhelmson ◽  
Camilla Alexanderson ◽  
Karel De Gendt ◽  
Guido Verhoeven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Apolipoprotein E ◽  
High Fat Diet ◽  
Atherosclerotic Lesion ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
High Fat ◽  
Lesion Area ◽  
Major Pathway

The atheroprotective effect of testosterone is thought to require aromatization of testosterone to estradiol, but no study has adequately addressed the role of the androgen receptor (AR), the major pathway for the physiological effects of testosterone. We used AR knockout (ARKO) mice on apolipoprotein E-deficient background to study the role of the AR in testosterone atheroprotection in male mice. Because ARKO mice are testosterone deficient, we sham operated or orchiectomized (Orx) the mice before puberty, and Orx mice were supplemented with placebo or a physiological testosterone dose. From 8 to 16 wk of age, the mice consumed a high-fat diet. In the aortic root, ARKO mice showed increased atherosclerotic lesion area (+80%, P < 0.05). Compared with placebo, testosterone reduced lesion area both in Orx wild-type (WT) mice (by 50%, P < 0.001) and ARKO mice (by 24%, P < 0.05). However, lesion area was larger in testosterone-supplemented ARKO compared with testosterone-supplemented WT mice (+57%, P < 0.05). In WT mice, testosterone reduced the presence of a necrotic core in the plaque (80% among placebo-treated vs. 12% among testosterone-treated mice; P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant effect in ARKO mice (P = 0.20). In conclusion, ARKO mice on apolipoprotein E-deficient background display accelerated atherosclerosis. Testosterone treatment reduced atherosclerosis in both WT and ARKO mice. However, the effect on lesion area and complexity was more pronounced in WT than in ARKO mice, and lesion area was larger in ARKO mice even after testosterone supplementation. These results are consistent with an AR-dependent as well as an AR-independent component of testosterone atheroprotection in male mice.

scholarly journals Dietary Intake of 17α-Ethinylestradiol Promotes HCC Progression in Humanized Male Mice Expressing Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 12557
Author(s):  
Sang R. Lee ◽  
Su Hee Jeong ◽  
Jun H. Heo ◽  
Seong Lae Jo ◽  
Je-Won Ko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Plasma ◽  
Sex Hormone ◽  
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin ◽  
Hormone Action ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Hormone Binding ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Synthetic Estrogen ◽  
Androgen Binding ◽  
Old Mice

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a male-oriented malignancy; its progression is affected by sex hormones. 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen widely used as an oral contraceptive; however, it is unknown whether EE2 regulates sex hormone action in HCC. We investigated whether EE2 influences HCC risk in male androgenic environments, using mice expressing human sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Two-week-old male mice were injected with diethyl-nitrosamine (DEN, 25 mg/kg) and fed an EE2 diet for 10 weeks from 30 weeks of age. Development and characteristics of liver cancer were evaluated in 40-week-old mice via molecular and histological analyses. Although EE2 did not increase HCC progression in wild-type mice, SHBG mice exhibited remarkably higher HCC risk when fed EE2. The livers of EE2-treated SHBG mice exhibited substantially increased pro-inflammatory necrosis with high plasma levels of ALT and HMGB1, and intrahepatic injury and fibers. Additionally, increased androgen response and androgen-mediated proliferation in the livers of EE2-treated SHBG mice and EE2-exposed hepatocytes under SHBG conditions were observed. As a competitor of SHBG-androgen binding, EE2 could bind with SHBG and increase the bioavailability of androgen. Our results revealed that EE2 is a novel risk factor in androgen-dominant men, predisposing them to HCC risk.

scholarly journals Flos Puerariae Extract Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong-he Liu ◽  
Hong-guang Chen ◽  
Pan-feng Wu ◽  
Qing Yao ◽  
Hong-ke Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Ache Activity ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Test Body ◽  
Morris Water Maze Test ◽  
Diabetic Mice ◽  
Mice Model

Objective. The effects of Flos Puerariae extract (FPE) on cognitive impairment associated with diabetes were assessed in C57BL/6J mice.Methods. Experimental diabetic mice model was induced by one injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) for 5 days consecutively. FPE was orally administrated at the dosages of 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg/day, respectively. The learning and memory ability was assessed by Morris water maze test. Body weight, blood glucose, free fatty acid (FFA) and total cholesterol (TCH) in serum, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in cerebral cortex and hippocampus were also measured.Results. Oral administration of FPE significantly improved cognitive deficits in STZ-induced diabetic mice. FPE treatment also maintained body weight and ameliorated hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia in diabetic mice. Additionally, decreased MDA level, enhanced CAT, and GSH-Px activities in cerebral cortex or hippocampus, as well as alleviated AChE activity in cerebral cortex, were found in diabetic mice supplemented with FPE.Conclusion. This study suggests that FPE ameliorates memory deficits in experimental diabetic mice, at least partly through the normalization of metabolic abnormalities, ameliorated oxidative stress, and AChE activity in brain.

Characterizing psychosis-relevant phenomena and cognitive function in a unique population with isolated, chronic and very heavy cannabis exposure

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (14) ◽  
pp. 2452-2459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Cyril D'Souza ◽  
Suhas Ganesh ◽  
Jose Cortes-Briones ◽  
Michael H. Campbell ◽  
Maisha K. Emmanuel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Psychomotor Speed ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Other Substances ◽  
Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire

AbstractBackgroundThe literature on psychosis-relevant outcomes in cannabis users does not adequately address the confounding effects of other substance use/misuse and psychiatric disorders.MethodsWe studied a unique population for whom cannabis use is central and necessary to their way of life. They are forbidden from using other substances, including tobacco and alcohol. Their use of cannabis is heavy, chronic, and begins early. The cases were compared with matched controls who did not use cannabis, alcohol, or drugs. The controls were from the same location and shared similar beliefs and lifestyle, except for cannabis use. Attenuated psychosis-relevant phenomena were assessed with the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and cognitive functioning with a culture-neutral computerized cognitive battery.ResultsFifteen cases and 12 matched controls were studied. The cases averaged >30 000 lifetime cannabis exposures. Relative to controls, the cases had significantly higher mean (s.d.) SPQ scores 24 (14.32) v. 13 (8.92), p = 0.031; and poorer cognitive performance, reflected by a lower mean (s.d.) composite cognitive score −0.23 (0.32) v. +0.28 (0.52), p = 0.03. Moderate to large effect sizes were noted for differences in tests of attention, psychomotor speed, working memory, cognitive flexibility, visuo-spatial processing, and verbal memory. A subsample of cases had higher SPQ scores and worse cognitive performance than their siblings not using cannabis.ConclusionHeavy, chronic, and early cannabis use that is not confounded by other drug use is associated with psychosis-relevant phenomena and cognitive deficits. The findings are relevant to the evolving attitudes and laws about cannabis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document