GluN3-Containing NMDA Receptors in the Rat Nucleus Accumbens Core Contribute to Incubation of Cocaine Craving.

Cue-induced cocaine craving progressively intensifies (incubates) after withdrawal from cocaine self-administration in rats and humans. In rats, the expression of incubation ultimately depends on Ca2+-permeable AMPARs that accumulate in synapses onto medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAc core. However, the delay in their accumulation (∼1 month after drug self-administration ceases) suggests earlier waves of plasticity. This prompted us to conduct the first study of NMDAR transmission in NAc core during incubation, focusing on the GluN3 subunit, which confers atypical properties when incorporated into NMDARs, including insensitivity to Mg2+ block and Ca2+ impermeability. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were conducted in MSNs of adult male rats 1-68 d after discontinuing extended-access saline or cocaine self-administration. NMDAR transmission was enhanced after 5 d of cocaine withdrawal, and this persisted for at least 68 d of withdrawal. The earliest functional alterations were mediated through increased contributions of GluN2B-containing NMDARs, followed by increased contributions of GluN3-containing NMDARs. As predicted by GluN3-NMDAR incorporation, fewer MSN spines exhibited NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ entry. GluN3A knockdown in NAc core was sufficient to prevent incubation of craving, consistent with biotinylation studies showing increased GluN3A surface expression, although array tomography studies suggested that adaptations involving GluN3B also occur. Collectively, our data show that a complex cascade of NMDAR and AMPAR plasticity occurs in NAc core, potentially through a homeostatic mechanism, leading to persistent increases in cocaine cue reactivity and relapse vulnerability. This is a remarkable example of experience-dependent glutamatergic plasticity evolving over a protracted window in the adult brain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT "Incubation of craving" is an animal model for the persistence of vulnerability to cue-induced relapse after prolonged drug abstinence. Incubation also occurs in human drug users. AMPAR plasticity in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the NAc core is critical for incubation of cocaine craving but occurs only after a delay. Here we found that AMPAR plasticity is preceded by NMDAR plasticity that is essential for incubation and involves GluN3, an atypical NMDAR subunit that markedly alters NMDAR transmission. Together with AMPAR plasticity, this represents profound remodeling of excitatory synaptic transmission onto MSNs. Given the importance of MSNs for translating motivation into action, this plasticity may explain, at least in part, the profound shifts in motivated behavior that characterize addiction.

Cognitive aging is associated with redistribution of synaptic weights in the hippocampus.

Behaviors that rely on the hippocampus are particularly susceptible to chronological aging, with many aged animals (including humans) maintaining cognition at a young adult-like level, but many others the same age showing marked impairments. It is unclear whether the ability to maintain cognition over time is attributable to brain maintenance, sufficient cognitive reserve, compensatory changes in network function, or some combination thereof. While network dysfunction within the hippocampal circuit of aged, learning-impaired animals is well-documented, its neurobiological substrates remain elusive. Here we show that the synaptic architecture of hippocampal regions CA1 and CA3 is maintained in a young adult-like state in aged rats that performed comparably to their young adult counterparts in both trace eyeblink conditioning and Morris water maze learning. In contrast, among learning-impaired, but equally aged rats, we found that a redistribution of synaptic weights amplifies the influence of autoassociational connections among CA3 pyramidal neurons, yet reduces the synaptic input onto these same neurons from the dentate gyrus. Notably, synapses within hippocampal region CA1 showed no group differences regardless of cognitive ability. Taking the data together, we find the imbalanced synaptic weights within hippocampal CA3 provide a substrate that can explain the abnormal firing characteristics of both CA3 and CA1 pyramidal neurons in aged, learning-impaired rats. Furthermore, our work provides some clarity with regard to how some animals cognitively age successfully, while others' lifespans outlast their "mindspans."

JC virus infection of meningeal and choroid plexus cells in patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

JC virus (JCV) can cause a lytic infection of oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) leading to progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCV can also infect meningeal and choroid plexus cells causing JCV meningitis (JCVM). Whether JCV also infects meningeal and choroid plexus cells in PML patients and other immunosuppressed individuals with no overt symptoms of meningitis remains unknown. We therefore analyzed archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded brain samples from PML patients, and HIV-seropositive and seronegative control subjects by immunohistochemistry for the presence of JCV early regulatory T Ag and JCV VP1 late capsid protein. In meninges, we detected JCV T Ag in 11/48 (22.9%) and JCV VP1 protein in 8/48 (16.7%) PML patients. In choroid plexi, we detected JCV T Ag in 1/7 (14.2%) and JCV VP1 protein in 1/8 (12.5%) PML patients. Neither JCV T Ag nor VP1 protein could be detected in meninges or choroid plexus of HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative control subjects without PML. In addition, examination of underlying cerebellar cortex of PML patients revealed JCV-infected cells in the molecular layer, including GAD 67+ interneurons, but not in HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative control subjects without PML. Our findings suggest that productive JCV infection of meningeal cells and choroid plexus cells also occurs in PML patients without signs or symptoms of meningitis. The phenotypic characterization of JCV-infected neurons in the molecular layer deserves further study. This data provides new insight into JCV pathogenesis in the CNS.

Store depletion-induced h-channel plasticity rescues a channelopathy linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Voltage-gated ion channels are critical for neuronal integration. Some of these channels, however, are misregulated in several neurological disorders, causing both gain- and loss-of-function channelopathies in neurons. Using several transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we find that sub-threshold voltage signals strongly influenced by hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels progressively deteriorate over chronological aging in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. The degraded signaling via HCN channels in the transgenic mice is accompanied by an age-related global loss of their non-uniform dendritic expression. Both the aberrant signaling via HCN channels and their mislocalization could be restored using a variety of pharmacological agents that target the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Our rescue of the HCN channelopathy helps provide molecular details into the favorable outcomes of ER-targeting drugs on the pathogenesis and synaptic/cognitive deficits in AD mouse models, and implies that they might have beneficial effects on neurological disorders linked to HCN channelopathies.

HCN channels in the hippocampus regulate active coping behavior.

Active coping is an adaptive stress response that improves outcomes in medical and neuropsychiatric diseases. To date, most research into coping style has focused on neurotransmitter activity and little is known about the intrinsic excitability of neurons in the associated brain regions that facilitate coping. Previous studies have shown that HCN channels regulate neuronal excitability in pyramidal cells and that HCN channel current (Ih ) in the CA1 area increases with chronic mild stress. Reduction of Ih in the CA1 area leads to antidepressant-like behavior, and this region has been implicated in the regulation of coping style. We hypothesized that the antidepressant-like behavior achieved with CA1 knockdown of Ih is accompanied by increases in active coping. In this report, we found that global loss of TRIP8b, a necessary subunit for proper HCN channel localization in pyramidal cells, led to active coping behavior in numerous assays specific to coping style. We next employed a viral strategy using a dominant negative TRIP8b isoform to alter coping behavior by reducing HCN channel expression. This approach led to a robust reduction in Ih in CA1 pyramidal neurons and an increase in active coping. Together, these results establish that changes in HCN channel function in CA1 influences coping style.

Re-Opening the Critical Window for Estrogen Therapy.

A decline in estradiol (E2)-mediated cognitive benefits denotes a critical window for the therapeutic effects of E2, but the mechanism for closing of the critical window is unknown. We hypothesized that upregulating the expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) or estrogen receptor ß (ERß) in the hippocampus of aged animals would restore the therapeutic potential of E2 treatments and rejuvenate E2-induced hippocampal plasticity. Female rats (15 months) were ovariectomized, and, 14 weeks later, adeno-associated viral vectors were used to express ERα, ERß, or green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus. Animals were subsequently treated for 5 weeks with cyclic injections of 17ß-estradiol-3-benzoate (EB, 10 µg) or oil vehicle. Spatial memory was examined 48 h after EB/oil treatment. EB treatment in the GFP (GFP + EB) and ERß (ERß + EB) groups failed to improve episodic spatial memory relative to oil-treated animals, indicating closing of the critical window. Expression of ERß failed to improve cognition and was associated with a modest learning impairment. Cognitive benefits were specific to animals expressing ERα that received EB treatment (ERα + EB), such that memory was improved relative to ERα + oil and GFP + EB. Similarly, ERα + EB animals exhibited enhanced NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission compared with the ERα + oil and GFP + EB groups. This is the first demonstration that the window for E2-mediated benefits on cognition and hippocampal E2 responsiveness can be reinstated by increased expression of ERα. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Estradiol is neuroprotective, promotes synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, and protects against cognitive decline associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases. However, animal models and clinical studies indicate a critical window for the therapeutic treatment such that the beneficial effects are lost with advanced age and/or with extended hormone deprivation. We used gene therapy to upregulate expression of the estrogen receptors ERα and ERß and demonstrate that the window for estradiol's beneficial effects on memory and hippocampal synaptic function can be reinstated by enhancing the expression of ERα. Our findings suggest that the activity of ERα controls the therapeutic window by regulating synaptic plasticity mechanisms involved in memory.

Contribution of estrogen receptor subtypes, ERα, ERß, and GPER1 in rapid estradiol-mediated enhancement of hippocampal synaptic transmission in mice.

Estradiol rapidly modulates hippocampal synaptic plasticity and synaptic transmission; however, the contribution of the various estrogen receptors to rapid changes in synaptic function is unclear. This study examined the effect of estrogen receptor selective agonists on hippocampal synaptic transmission in slices obtained from 3-5-month-old wild type (WT), estrogen receptor alpha (ERαKO), and beta (ERßKO) knockout female ovariectomized mice. Hippocampal slices were prepared 10-16 days following ovariectomy and extracellular excitatory postsynaptic field potentials were recorded from CA3-CA1 synaptic contacts before and following application of 17ß-estradiol-3-benzoate (EB, 100 pM), the G-protein estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) agonist G1 (100 nM), the ERα selective agonist propyl pyrazole triol (PPT, 100 nM), or the ERß selective agonist diarylpropionitrile (DPN, 1 µM). Across all groups, EB and G1 increased the synaptic response to a similar extent. Furthermore, prior G1 application occluded the EB-mediated enhancement of the synaptic response and the GPER1 antagonist, G15 (100 nM), inhibited the enhancement of the synaptic response induced by EB application. We confirmed that the ERα and ERß selective agonists (PPT and DPN) had effects on synaptic responses specific to animals that expressed the relevant receptor; however, PPT and DPN produced only a small increase in synaptic transmission relative to EB or the GPER1 agonist. We demonstrate that the increase in synaptic transmission is blocked by inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity. Furthermore, EB was able to increase ERK activity regardless of genotype. These results suggest that ERK activation and enhancement of synaptic transmission by EB involves multiple estrogen receptor subtypes.

Estrogen receptors, the hippocampus, and memory.

Estradiol effects on memory depend on hormone levels and the interaction of different estrogen receptors within neural circuits. Estradiol induces gene transcription and rapid membrane signaling mediated by estrogen receptor-alpha (ERα), estrogen receptor-beta (ERß), and a recently characterized G-protein coupled estrogen receptor, each with distinct distributions and ability to influence estradiol-dependent signaling. Investigations using receptor specific agonists suggest that all three receptors rapidly activate kinase-signaling and have complex dose-dependent influences on memory. Research employing receptor knockout mice demonstrate that ERα maintains transcription and memory as estradiol levels decline. This work indicates a regulatory role of ERß in transcription and cognition, which depends on estradiol levels and the function of ERα. The regulatory role of ERß is due in part to ERß acting as a negative regulator of ERα-mediated transcription. Vector-mediated expression of estrogen receptors in the hippocampus provides an innovative research approach and suggests that memory depends on the relative expression of ERα and ERß interacting with estradiol levels. Notably, the ability of estradiol to improve cognition declines with advanced age along with decreased expression of estrogen receptors. Thus, it will be important for future research to determine the mechanisms that regulate estrogen receptor expression during aging.

Role of estrogen receptor α and ß in preserving hippocampal function during aging.

The expression of the ERα and ERß estrogen receptors in the hippocampus may be important in the etiology of age-related cognitive decline. To examine the role of ERα and ERß in regulating transcription and learning, ovariectomized wild-type (WT) and ERα and ERß knockout (KO) mice were used. Hippocampal gene transcription in young ERαKO mice was similar to WT mice 6 h after a single estradiol treatment. In middle-age ERαKO mice, hormone deprivation was associated with a decrease in the expression of select genes associated with the blood-brain barrier; cyclic estradiol treatment increased transcription of these select genes and improved learning in these mice. In contrast to ERαKO mice, ERßKO mice exhibited a basal hippocampal gene profile similar to WT mice treated with estradiol and, in the absence of estradiol treatment, young and middle-age ERßKO mice exhibited preserved learning on the water maze. The preserved memory performance of middle-age ERßKO mice could be reversed by lentiviral delivery of ERß to the hippocampus. These results suggest that one function of ERß is to regulate ERα-mediated transcription in the hippocampus. This model is supported by our observations that knockout of ERß under conditions of low estradiol allowed ERα-mediated transcription. As estradiol levels increased in the absence of ERα, we observed that other mechanisms, likely including ERß, regulated transcription and maintained hippocampal-dependent memory. Thus, our results indicate that ERα and ERß interact with hormone levels to regulate transcription involved in maintaining hippocampal function during aging.