Evidence of epigenetic landscape shifts in mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB and IVA.

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of monogenic diseases characterized by mutations in genes coding for proteins associated with the lysosomal function. Despite the monogenic nature, LSDs patients exhibit variable and heterogeneous clinical manifestations, prompting investigations into epigenetic factors underlying this phenotypic diversity. In this study, we focused on the potential role of epigenetic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (MPS IIIB) and mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA). We analyzed DNA methylation (5mC) and histone modifications (H3K14 acetylation and H3K9 trimethylation) in MPS IIIB and MPS IVA patients' fibroblasts and healthy controls. The findings revealed that global DNA hypomethylation is present in cell lines for both diseases. At the same time, histone acetylation was increased in MPS IIIB and MPS IVA cells in a donor-dependent way, further indicating a shift towards relaxed open chromatin in these MPS. Finally, the constitutive heterochromatin marker, histone H3K9 trimethylation, only showed reduced clustering in MPS IIIB cells, suggesting limited alterations in heterochromatin organization. These findings collectively emphasize the significance of epigenetic mechanisms in modulating the phenotypic variations observed in LSDs. While global DNA hypomethylation could contribute to the MPS pathogenesis, the study also highlights individual-specific epigenetic responses that might contribute to phenotypic heterogeneity. Further research into the specific genes and pathways affected by these epigenetic changes could provide insights into potential therapeutic interventions for these MPS and other LSDs.

TRP Channels Role in Pain Associated With Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) are cation channels expressed in both non-excitable and excitable cells from diverse tissues, including heart, lung, and brain. The TRP channel family includes 28 isoforms activated by physical and chemical stimuli, such as temperature, pH, osmotic pressure, and noxious stimuli. Recently, it has been shown that TRP channels are also directly or indirectly activated by reactive oxygen species. Oxidative stress plays an essential role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and TRP channels are involved in the progression of those diseases by mechanisms involving changes in the crosstalk between Ca2+ regulation, oxidative stress, and production of inflammatory mediators. TRP channels involved in nociception include members of the TRPV, TRPM, TRPA, and TRPC subfamilies that transduce physical and chemical noxious stimuli. It has also been reported that pain is a complex issue in patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and adequate management of pain in those conditions is still in discussion. TRPV1 has a role in neuroinflammation, a critical mechanism involved in neurodegeneration. Therefore, some studies have considered TRPV1 as a target for both pain treatment and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, this review aimed to describe the TRP-dependent mechanism that can mediate pain sensation in neurodegenerative diseases and the therapeutic approach available to palliate pain and neurodegenerative symptoms throughout the regulation of these channels.

Lacosamide intake during pregnancy increases the incidence of foetal malformations and symptoms associated with schizophrenia in the offspring of mice.

The use of first and second generation antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy doubles the risk of major congenital malformations and other teratogenic defects. Lacosamide (LCM) is a third-generation antiepileptic drug that interacts with collapsing response mediator protein 2, a protein that has been associated with neurodevelopmental diseases like schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to test the potential teratogenic effects of LCM on developing embryos and its effects on behavioural/histological alterations in adult mice. We administered LCM to pregnant mice, assessing its presence, and that of related compounds, in the mothers' serum and in embryonic tissues using liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry detection. Embryo morphology was evaluated, and immunohistochemistry was performed on adult offspring. Behavioural studies were carried out during the first two postnatal weeks and on adult mice. We found a high incidence of embryonic lethality and malformations in mice exposed to LCM during embryonic development. Neonatal mice born to dams treated with LCM during gestation displayed clear psychomotor delay and behavioural and morphological alterations in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala that were associated with behaviours associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in adulthood. We conclude that LCM and its metabolites may have teratogenic effects on the developing embryos, reflected in embryonic lethality and malformations, as well as behavioural and histological alterations in adult mice that resemble those presented by patients with schizophrenia.

The ventral hippocampus is required for behavioral flexibility but not for allocentric/egocentric learning.

Behavioral flexibility is a complex cognitive function that allows for the rapid adaptation to a changing environment. This ability is modulated by the proper function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which receives important projections from the ventral hippocampus (vHPC). In this context, the vHPC might play a very important role in behavioral flexibility. Here, we infused the voltage-gated sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX) to bilaterally inactivate the vHPC in adult rats and assessed behavioral flexibility in a spatial setting, using the allocentric-egocentric strategy switching task in the cross-shaped maze. We demonstrate that bilateral inactivation of the vHPC impaired the ability to switch from allocentric to egocentric (Experiment 1), and from egocentric to allocentric (Experiment 2) spatial strategies, as noted by the increased number of trials to reach the learning criterion and of entries into incorrect arms. These results resembled the effects of PFC inactivation by TTX on behavioral flexibility (Experiment 3). Furthermore, TTX infusion in the vHPC did not affect allocentric or egocentric learning per se but the ability to switch between either spatial strategy. Remarkably, inactivation of the vHPC decreased the latency to select an arm during the transition from an allocentric to an egocentric strategy, suggesting that the vHPC might mediate impulsive choices during the acquisition of a novel task. Our results highlight an important role of the vHPC in mediating behavioral flexibility by, most likely, modulating proper PFC function.

Histone deacetylase inhibition abolishes stress-induced spatial memory impairment.

Acute stress induced before spatial training impairs memory consolidation. Although non-epigenetic underpinning of such effect has been described, the epigenetic mechanisms involved have not yet been studied. Since spatial training and intense stress have opposite effects on histone acetylation balance, it is conceivable that disruption of such balance may underlie acute stress-induced spatial memory consolidation impairment and that inhibiting histone deacetylases prevents such effect. Trichostatin-A (TSA, a histone deacetylase inhibitor) was used to test its effectiveness in preventing stress' deleterious effect on memory. Male Wistar rats were trained in a spatial task in the Barnes maze; 1-h movement restraint was applied to half of them before training. Immediately after training, stressed and non-stressed animals were randomly assigned to receive either TSA (1mg/kg) or vehicle intraperitoneal injection. Twenty-four hours after training, long-term spatial memory was tested; plasma and brain tissue were collected immediately after the memory test to evaluate corticosterone levels and histone H3 acetylation in several brain areas. Stressed animals receiving vehicle displayed memory impairment, increased plasma corticosterone levels and markedly reduced histone H3 acetylation in prelimbic cortex and hippocampus. Such effects did not occur in stressed animals treated with TSA. The aforementioned results support the hypothesis that acute stress induced-memory impairment is related to histone deacetylation.

Acute restraint stress and corticosterone transiently disrupts novelty preference in an object recognition task.

The object recognition task is a procedure based on rodents' natural tendency to explore novel objects which is frequently used for memory testing. However, in some instances novelty preference is replaced by familiarity preference, raising questions regarding the validity of novelty preference as a pure recognition memory index. Acute stress- and corticosterone administration-induced novel object preference disruption has been frequently interpreted as memory impairment; however, it is still not clear whether such effect can be actually attributed to either mnemonic disruption or altered novelty seeking. Seventy-five adult male Wistar rats were trained in an object recognition task and subjected to either acute stress or corticosterone administration to evaluate the effect of stress or corticosterone on an object recognition task. Acute stress was induced by restraining movement for 1 or 4h, ending 30 min before the sample trial. Corticosterone was injected intraperitoneally 10 min before the test trial which was performed either 1 or 24h after the sample trial. Four-hour, but not 1-h, stress induced familiar object preference during the test trial performed 1h after the sample trial; however, acute stress had no effects on the test when performed 24h after sample trial. Systemic administration of corticosterone before the test trial performed either 1 or 24h after the sample trial also resulted in familiar object preference. However, neither acute stress nor corticosterone induced changes in locomotor behaviour. Taken together, such results suggested that acute stress probably does not induce memory retrieval impairment but, instead, induces an emotional arousing state which motivates novelty avoidance.

Characterizing spatial extinction in an abbreviated version of the Barnes maze.

Adult male Wistar rats were trained to find an escape box in the Barnes maze in order to characterize the extinction process of a learned spatial preference. To do so, once they had fully acquired the spatial task, they were repeatedly exposed to the maze without the escape box. Multiple behavioral measurements (grouped into motor skill and spatial preference indicators) were followed up throughout the complete training process. Animals gained efficiency in finding the escape box during acquisition, as indicated by the reduction in the time spent escaping from the maze, the number of errors, the length of the traveled path, and by the increase in exploration accuracy and execution speed. When their retention and preference were tested 24h later, all the subjects retained their enhanced performance efficiency and accuracy and displayed a clear-cut preference for the escape hole and its adjacent holes. Almost all motor skill indicators followed an inverse, though not monotonic, pattern during the extinction training, returning to basal levels after three trials without escape box, displaying a transient relapse during the fifth extinction trial. Preference indicators also followed a reverse pattern; however, it took seven trials for them to return to basal levels, relapsing during the eighth extinction trial. The abbreviated Barnes maze acquisition, evaluation, and extinction procedures described herein are useful tools for evaluating the effects of behavioral and/or pharmacological treatment on different stages of spatial memory, and could also be used for studying the neurophysiological and neurobiological underpinnings of this kind of memory.