| 1. |
- Bezard, Erwan, et al.
(author)
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mu Opioid Receptor Agonism for L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease
- 2020
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In: Journal of Neuroscience. - : Society for Neuroscience. - 0270-6474 .- 1529-2401. ; 40:35, s. 6812-6819
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by severe locomotor deficits and is commonly treated with the dopamine precursor L-DOPA, but its prolonged usage causes dyskinesias referred to as L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID). Several studies in animal models of PD have suggested that dyskinesias are associated with a heightened opioid cotransmitter tone, observations that have led to the notion of a LID-related hyperactive opioid transmission that should be corrected by mu opioid receptor antagonists. Reports that both antagonists and agonists of the mu opioid receptor may alleviate LID severity in primate models of PD and LID, together with the failure of nonspecific antagonist to improve LID in pilot clinical trials in patients, raises doubt about the reliability of the available data on the opioid system in PD and LID. After in vitro characterization of the functional activity at the mu opioid receptor, we selected prototypical agonists, antagonists, and partial agonists at the mu opioid receptor. We then showed that both oral and discrete intracerebral administration of a mu receptor agonist, but not of an antagonist as long thought, ameliorated LIDs in the gold-standard bilateral 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridinelesioned female macaque model of PD and LID. The results call for a reappraisal of opioid pharmacology in the basal ganglia as well as for the development of brain nucleus-targeted mu opioid receptor agonists.
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| 2. |
- Jiang, Juan, et al.
(author)
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EphA4 Is Required for Neural Circuits Controlling Skilled Reaching
- 2020
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In: Journal of Neuroscience. - : SOC NEUROSCIENCE. - 0270-6474 .- 1529-2401. ; 40:37, s. 7091-7104
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Skilled forelimb movements are initiated by feedforward motor commands conveyed by supraspinal motor pathways. The accuracy of reaching and grasping relies on internal feedback pathways that update ongoing motor commands. In mice lacking the axon guidance molecule EphA4, axonal misrouting of the corticospinal tract and spinal interneurons is manifested, leading to a hopping gait in hindlimbs. Moreover, mice with a conditional forebrain deletion of EphA4, display forelimb hopping in adaptive locomotion and exploratory reaching movements. However, it remains unclear how loss of EphA4 signaling disrupts function of forelimb motor circuit and skilled reaching and grasping movements. Here we investigated how neural circuits controlling skilled reaching were affected by the loss of EphA4. Both male and female C57BL/6 wild-type, heterozygous EphA41/2, and homozygous EphA42/2 mice were used in behavioral and in vivo electrophysiological investigations. We found that EphA4 knock-out (2/2) mice displayed impaired goal-directed reaching movements. In vivo intracellular recordings from forelimb motor neurons demonstrated increased corticoreticulospinal excitation, decreased direct reticulospinal excitation, and reduced direct propriospinal excitation in EphA4 knock-out mice. Cerebellar surface recordings showed a functional perturbation of the lateral reticular nucleus-cerebellum internal feedback pathway in EphA4 knock-out mice. Together, our findings provide in vivo evidence at the circuit level that loss of EphA4 disrupts the function of both feedforward and feedback motor pathways, resulting in deficits in skilled reaching.
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| 3. |
- Nichols, Aaron L., et al.
(author)
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Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors within Cells : Temporal Resolution in Cytoplasm, Endoplasmic Reticulum, and Membrane
- 2023
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In: Journal of Neuroscience. - : SOC NEUROSCIENCE. - 0270-6474 .- 1529-2401. ; 43:13, s. 2222-2241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most prescribed treatment for individuals experiencing major depres-sive disorder. The therapeutic mechanisms that take place before, during, or after SSRIs bind the serotonin transporter (SERT) are poorly understood, partially because no studies exist on the cellular and subcellular pharmacokinetic properties of SSRIs in living cells. We studied escitalopram and fluoxetine using new intensity-based, drug-sensing fluorescent reporters targeted to the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of cultured neurons and mammalian cell lines. We also used chemical detection of drug within cells and phospholipid membranes. The drugs attain equilibrium in neuronal cytoplasm and ER at approximately the same concentration as the externally applied solution, with time constants of a few s (escitalopram) or 200-300 s (fluoxetine). Simultaneously, the drugs accumulate within lipid membranes by >18-fold (escitalo-pram) or 180-fold (fluoxetine), and possibly by much larger factors. Both drugs leave cytoplasm, lumen, and membranes just as quickly during washout. We synthesized membrane-impermeant quaternary amine derivatives of the two SSRIs. The qua-ternary derivatives are substantially excluded from membrane, cytoplasm, and ER for .2.4 h. They inhibit SERT transport -associated currents sixfold or 11-fold less potently than the SSRIs (escitalopram or fluoxetine derivative, respectively), provid-ing useful probes for distinguishing compartmentalized SSRI effects. Although our measurements are orders of magnitude faster than the therapeutic lag of SSRIs, these data suggest that SSRI-SERT interactions within organelles or membranes may play roles during either the therapeutic effects or the antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.
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