Cerebrovascular dysfunction has been implicated as a major contributor to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathology, with cerebral endothelial cell (cEC) stress promoting ischemia, cerebral‐blood flow ...impairments and blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Recent evidence suggests that cardiovascular (CV)/cerebrovascular risk factors, including hyperhomocysteinemia (Hhcy), exacerbate AD pathology and risk. Yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms for this interaction remain unclear. Our lab has demonstrated that amyloid beta 40 (Aβ40) species, and particularly Aβ40‐E22Q (AβQ22; vasculotropic Dutch mutant), promote death receptor 4 and 5 (DR4/DR5)‐mediated apoptosis in human cECs, barrier permeability, and angiogenic impairment. Previous studies show that Hhcy also induces EC dysfunction, but it remains unknown whether Aβ and homocysteine function through common molecular mechanisms. We tested the hypotheses that Hhcy exacerbates Aβ‐induced cEC DR4/5‐mediated apoptosis, barrier dysfunction, and angiogenesis defects. This study was the first to demonstrate that Hhcy specifically potentiates AβQ22‐mediated activation of the DR4/5‐mediated extrinsic apoptotic pathway in cECs, including DR4/5 expression, caspase 8/9/3 activation, cytochrome‐c release and DNA fragmentation. Additionally, we revealed that Hhcy intensifies the deregulation of the same cEC junction proteins mediated by Aβ, precipitating BBB permeability. Furthermore, Hhcy and AβQ22, impairing VEGF‐A/VEGFR2 signaling and VEGFR2 endosomal trafficking, additively decrease cEC angiogenic capabilities. Overall, these results show that the presence of the CV risk factor Hhcy exacerbates Aβ‐induced cEC apoptosis, barrier dysfunction, and angiogenic impairment. This study reveals specific mechanisms through which amyloidosis and Hhcy jointly operate to produce brain EC dysfunction and death, highlighting new potential molecular targets against vascular pathology in comorbid AD/CAA and Hhcy conditions.
Pictorial representation of the study's results that Hhcy potentiates cerebral endothelial Aβ‐induced DR‐mediated apoptosis, barrier dysfunction, and angiogenesis impairment. High Hcy levels within the cerebral capillary lumen and brain parenchyma and Aβ accumulation in the brain parenchyma and vessel walls potentiate the activation of the DR4/5‐mediated apoptotic pathway, leading to cerebral EC death. Additionally, the combined presence of Hcy and Aβ exacerbate the loss of cerebral EC barrier integrity, leading to BBB permeability. Cerebral EC death and BBB permeability would require activation of angiogenesis to restore homeostasis to the cerebral environment and maintain proper cerebral perfusion, but combined presence of Hcy and Aβ also exacerbate angiogenic deficits. Thus, Hhcy exacerbates Aβ‐mediated cerebral EC dysfunction and potentiates the loss of proper vascular repair mechanisms, leading to a vicious cycle that increases AD pathology.
Cerebrovascular pathology is an early and causal hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), in need of effective therapies.
Based on the success of our previous in vitro studies, we tested for the first ...time in a model of AD and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) methazolamide and acetazolamide, Food and Drug Administration-approved against glaucoma and high-altitude sickness.
Both CAIs reduced cerebral, vascular, and glial amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation and caspase activation, diminished gliosis, and ameliorated cognition in TgSwDI mice. The CAIs also improved microvascular fitness and induced protective glial pro-clearance pathways, resulting in the reduction of Aβ deposition. Notably, we unveiled that the mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase-VB (CA-VB) is upregulated in TgSwDI brains, CAA and AD+CAA human subjects, and in endothelial cells upon Aβ treatment. Strikingly, CA-VB silencing specifically reduces Aβ-mediated endothelial apoptosis.
This work substantiates the potential application of CAIs in clinical trials for AD and CAA.
Background
Cerebrovascular dysfunction (CVD) is an early feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), contributing to the pathology progression, and suggesting a strict association between CVD and ...neurodegeneration. The majority of AD cases present cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), neuropathological feature characterized by abnormal vasculotropic deposition of amyloid beta, mainly Aβ40. Severe CAA is also induced by familial Aβ variants, such as the Dutch‐Q22. Our previous in vitro studies demonstrated that brain vascular amyloidosis elicits mitochondrial dysregulation and caspase‐mediated apoptosis, in cells composing the neurovascular unit, including neurons, endothelial, glial and smooth muscle cells. Additionally, we showed that acetazolamide (ATZ) and methazolamide (MTZ), FDA‐approved carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) which cross the blood‐brain barrier (BBB), hamper these detrimental processes. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) represent a family of metalloenzymes catalyzing the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide, and their inhibition improves cerebral blood flow, vasoreactivity and neuronal excitability, pointing to CAs as CVD targets in AD.
Method
We employed Tg‐SwDI mice (expressing human amyloid precursor protein, APP, carrying the Swedish, Dutch and Iowa mutations), which develop fibrillar amyloid burden, primarily in the cerebral microvasculature, starting at 6 months. We fed the animals (from 8 to 16 months of age) a CAI‐diet, following which we performed behavioral analysis, and harvested the brains for both biochemical and immunohistochemical examination.
Result
Compared to untreated Tg mice, ATZ‐ and MTZ‐fed animals showed reduced cognitive impairment, along with decreased vascular Aβ overload and astrogliosis, main pathological hallmarks of the disease. Tg animals exhibited Aβ deposition in endothelial and glial cells, leading to cell‐specific caspase‐3 activation. Interestingly, CAI‐diet reduced endothelial and astrocytic Aβ deposits, and Aβ‐induced caspase activation. Interestingly, the augmented expression of cerebral TREM2 and CD68 in CAI‐treated mice suggests an attenuated inflammatory response, concomitantly with a boost of the cerebral clearance and active Aβ removal from brain microglia/macrophages, respectively, which may underlie the observed Aβ reduction. Furthermore, preliminary data suggest that both ATZ and MTZ promote microglial endocytosis, possibly facilitating Aβ degradation.
Conclusion
CAIs provide neuroprotection, fostering neurovascular and glial physiological functions and clearance mechanisms, and attenuating CVD.
Intermittent Access (IntA) cocaine self‐administration is a protocol suggested to better simulate human drug use patterns due to its temporal dynamics of drug administration. IntA is also known to ...produce incentive salience and psychomotor sensitization. Dopaminergic (DA) neurons display a prominent mixed cation current conductance known as the hyperpolarization‐activated cyclic nucleotide current, or Ih, which contributes to neural processes such as resting membrane potential, firing frequency modulation, and synaptic integration. Previous results from our laboratory demonstrated that Ih amplitude is reduced significantly after cocaine sensitization. This Ih reduction resulted in an increased temporal summation, mean depolarization, and excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) amplitude, all factors related to an enhanced excitability state. Since the cocaine sensitization model involves noncontingent drug injections administered by the experimenter, it is crucial to determine if electrophysiological changes in ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA cells are present when drugs are self‐administered (contingent). In the present study, we explored if DA neurons present an alteration in Ih after exposure to IntA. We hypothesize that VTA DA cells’ Ih modulation is dependent on the associative learning processes acquired during operant conditioning. Using the whole‐cell patch‐clamp technique in brain slices, we investigated the effects of cocaine IntA, and passive cocaine infusions (yoked controls) on Ihamplitude and rebound excitability. Our results demonstrate that an IntA protocol, but not passive cocaine infusions, produces a significant Ih amplitude reduction (P<0.05). No differences in rebound action potentials (APs) were observed. A depolarizing current protocol showed a significant increase in the number of APs (P<0.05). These results suggest that Ih modulation and intrinsic activity regulation are dependent on associative learning to drug cues.
•Increased AMPA/NMDA is key in mesolimbic cocaine-evoked sequential plasticity.•aPKCs mediate cocaine-evoked synaptic potentiation in the VTA.•Disruption of aPKC-mediated increase AMPA/NMDA decrease ...cocaine-evoked behavior.
Chronic cocaine exposure produces enduring neuroadaptations in the brain’s reward system. Persistence of early cocaine-evoked neuroadaptations in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is necessary for later synaptic alterations in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), suggesting a temporal sequence of neuroplastic changes between these two areas. However, the molecular nature of the signal that mediates this sequential event is unknown. Here we used the behavioral sensitization model and the aPKC inhibitor of late-phase LTP maintenance, ZIP, to investigate if a persistent increase in AMPA/NMDA ratio plays a role in the molecular mechanism that allows VTA neuroadaptations to induce changes in the NAc. Results showed that intra-VTA ZIP microinfusion successfully blocked cocaine-evoked synaptic enhancement in the VTA and the expected AMPA/NMDA ratio decrease in the NAc following cocaine sensitization. ZIP microinfusions also blocked the expected AMPA/NMDA ratio increase in the NAc following cocaine withdrawal. These results suggest that a persistent increase in AMPA/NMDA ratio, mediated by aPKCs, could be the molecular signal that enables the VTA to elicit synaptic alterations in the NAc following cocaine administration.
The progressive escalation of psychomotor responses that results from repeated cocaine administration is termed sensitization. This phenomenon alters the intrinsic properties of dopamine (DA) neurons ...from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), leading to enhanced dopaminergic transmission in the mesocorticolimbic network. The mechanisms underlying this augmented excitation are nonetheless poorly understood. DA neurons display the hyperpolarization-activated, nonselective cation current, dubbed I
We recently demonstrated that I
and membrane capacitance are substantially reduced in VTA DA cells from cocaine-sensitized rats. The present study shows that 7 days of cocaine withdrawal did not normalize I
and capacitance. In cells from cocaine-sensitized animals, the amplitude of excitatory synaptic potentials, at -70 mV, was ∼39% larger in contrast to controls. Raise and decay phases of the synaptic signal were faster under cocaine, a result associated with a reduced membrane time constant. Synaptic summation was paradoxically elevated by cocaine exposure, as it consisted of a significantly reduced summation indexed but a considerably increased depolarization. These effects are at least a consequence of the reduced capacitance. I
attenuation is unlikely to explain such observations, since at -70 mV, no statistical differences exist in I
or input resistance. The neuronal shrinkage associated with a diminished capacitance may help to understand two fundamental elements of drug addiction: incentive sensitization and negative emotional states. A reduced cell size may lead to substantial enhancement of cue-triggered bursting, which underlies drug craving and reward anticipation, whereas it could also result in DA depletion, as smaller neurons might express low levels of tyrosine hydroxylase.
This work uses a new approach that directly extracts important biophysical parameters from alpha function-evoked synaptic potentials. Two of these parameters are the cell membrane capacitance (C
) and rate at any time point of the synaptic waveform. The use of such methodology shows that cocaine sensitization reduces C
and increases the speed of synaptic signaling. Paradoxically, although synaptic potentials show a faster decay under cocaine their temporal summation is substantially elevated.
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays an important role in reward and motivational processes involved in drug addiction. Previous studies have shown that alpha1-adrenoreceptors (α1-AR) are primarily ...found pre-synaptically at this area. We hypothesized that GABA released onto VTA-dopamine (DA) cells is modulated by pre-synaptic α1-AR. Recordings were obtained from putative VTA-DA cells of male Sprague–Dawley rats (28–50 days postnatal) using whole-cell voltage clamp technique. Phenylephrine (10 μM; α1-AR agonist) decreased the amplitude of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) evoked by electrical stimulation of afferent fibers (n = 7; p < 0.05). Prazosin (1 μM, α1-AR antagonist), blocked this effect. Paired-pulse ratios were increased by phenylephrine application (n = 13; p < 0.05) indicating a presynaptic site of action. Spontaneous IPSCs frequency but not amplitude, were decreased in the presence of phenylephrine (n = 7; p < 0.05). However, frequency or amplitude of miniature IPSCs were not changed (n = 9; p > 0.05). Phenylephrine in low Ca2+ (1 mM) medium decreased IPSC amplitude (n = 7; p < 0.05). Chelerythrine (a protein kinase C inhibitor) blocked the α1-AR action on IPSC amplitude (n = 6; p < 0.05). Phenylephrine failed to decrease IPSCs amplitude in the presence of paxilline, a BK channel blocker (n = 7; p < 0.05). Taken together, these results demonstrate that α1-ARs at presynaptic terminals can modulate GABA release onto VTA-DA cells. Drug-induced changes in α1-AR could contribute to the modifications occurring in the VTA during the addiction process.
This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘GABAergic Signaling in Health and Disease’.
•α1-ARs activation at the presynaptic site decreases GABA release onto putative DA cells within VTA.•Presynaptic α1-ARs activation modulates GABAergic inputs that affect VTA DA neurons excitability.•α1-ARs effect might be heterosynaptically localized at GABAergic fibers terminating onto VTA-DA neurons.
The Ih is a mixed depolarizing current present in neurons which, upon activation by hyperpolarization, modulates neuronal excitability in the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system, an area which regulates ...emotions such as pleasure, reward, and motivation. Its biophysical properties are determined by HCN protein expression profiles, specifically HCN subunits 1–4. Previously, we reported that cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization increases HCN2 protein expression in all MCL areas with the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) showing the most significant increase. Recent evidence suggests that HCN4 also has an important expression in the MCL system. Although there is a significant expression of HCN channels in the MCL system their role in addictive processes is largely unknown. Thus, in this study we aim to compare HCN2 and HCN4 expression profiles and their cellular compartmental distribution in the MCL system, before and after cocaine sensitization. Surface/intracellular (S/I) ratio analysis indicates that VTA HCN2 subunits are mostly expressed in the cell surface in contrast to other areas tested. Our findings demonstrate that after cocaine sensitization, the HCN2 S/I ratio in the VTA was decreased whereas in the Prefrontal Cortex it was increased. In addition, HCN4 total expression in the VTA was decreased after cocaine sensitization, although the S/I ratio was not altered. Together, these results demonstrate differential cocaine effects on HCN2 and HCN4 protein expression profiles and therefore suggest a diverse Ih modulation of cellular activity during cocaine addictive processes.
•HCN2 subunits are mostly expressed at the cell surface of VTA neurons.•VTA's HCN2 Surface/intracellular ratio was decreased after cocaine sensitization.•HCN4 total expression in the VTA was decreased after cocaine sensitization.
Aging is the main risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In humans, cardiac aging remains poorly characterized. Most studies are based on chronological age (CA) and disregard biological age (BA), ...the actual physiological age (result of the aging rate on the organ structure and function), thus yielding potentially imperfect outcomes. Deciphering the molecular basis of ventricular aging, especially by BA, could lead to major progresses in cardiac research. We aim to describe the transcriptome dynamics of the aging left ventricle (LV) in humans according to both CA and BA and characterize the contribution of microRNAs, key transcriptional regulators. BA is measured using two CA‐associated transcriptional markers: CDKN2A expression, a cell senescence marker, and apparent age (AppAge), a highly complex transcriptional index. Bioinformatics analysis of 132 LV samples shows that CDKN2A expression and AppAge represent transcriptomic changes better than CA. Both BA markers are biologically validated in relation to an aging phenotype associated with heart dysfunction, the amount of cardiac fibrosis. BA‐based analyses uncover depleted cardiac‐specific processes, among other relevant functions, that are undetected by CA. Twenty BA‐related microRNAs are identified, and two of them highly heart‐enriched that are present in plasma. We describe a microRNA‐gene regulatory network related to cardiac processes that are partially validated in vitro and in LV samples from living donors. We prove the higher sensitivity of BA over CA to explain transcriptomic changes in the aging myocardium and report novel molecular insights into human LV biological aging. Our results can find application in future therapeutic and biomarker research.
The biological age, measured by transcriptional markers, explains better than the chronological age the transcriptional dynamics of the human aging myocardium. microRNAs that change expression in the aging left ventricle are identified. Such microRNAs potentially regulate genes with cardiac‐specific functions. Cardiac‐enriched microRNAs that increase or decrease with biological age are present in plasma. They are thus candidate biomarkers to represent the biological age of the heart.
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays an important role in the reward and motivational processes that facilitate the development of drug addiction. Presynaptic α1-AR activation modulates glutamate ...and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release. This work elucidates the role of VTA presynaptic α1-ARs and their modulation on glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission during cocaine sensitization. Excitatory and inhibitory currents (EPSCs and IPSCs) measured by a whole cell voltage clamp show that α1-ARs activation increases EPSCs amplitude after 1 day of cocaine treatment but not after 5 days of cocaine injections. The absence of a pharmacological response to an α1-ARs agonist highlights the desensitization of the receptor after repeated cocaine administration. The desensitization of α1-ARs persists after a 7-day withdrawal period. In contrast, the modulation of α1-ARs on GABA neurotransmission, shown by decreases in IPSCs' amplitude, is not affected by acute or chronic cocaine injections. Taken together, these data suggest that α1-ARs may enhance DA neuronal excitability after repeated cocaine administration through the reduction of GABA inhibition onto VTA dopamine (DA) neurons even in the absence of α1-ARs' function on glutamate release and protein kinase C (PKC) activation. α1-AR modulatory changes in cocaine sensitization increase our knowledge of the role of the noradrenergic system in cocaine addiction and may provide possible avenues for therapeutics.
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