磷酸二酯酶4抑制剂咯利普兰逆转慢性酒精中毒及戒断诱导的小鼠抑郁样行为

目的:研究磷酸二酯酶4(PDE4)抑制剂咯利普兰对酒精中毒戒断诱导的抑郁样行为的作用及对小鼠海马和前额叶皮质脑区环磷酸腺苷(cAMP)、蛋白激酶A(PKA)、cAMP反应元件结合蛋白(CREB)、磷酸化CREB(p-CREB)和脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)表达的影响。方法:取60只雄性ICR小鼠,随机分为空白对照组、空白+咯利普兰组、慢性酒精模型组和咯利普兰治疗组(0.1、0.5和1 mg/kg)。给予酒精28 d期间每周进行酒精戒断处理。慢性酒精处理后,进行强迫游泳测试(FST)和悬尾测试(TST),观察小鼠抑郁样行为;ELISA检测小鼠海马和前额叶皮质cAMP含量,Western blot检测小鼠海马和额叶皮质PKA、CREB、p-CREB和BDNF的表达。结果:随着饮酒天数及戒断次数的增加,小鼠表现出明显嗜酒现象,饮酒量增加(P0.01),FST和TST测试中的不动时间增加(P0.01)。小鼠给药咯利普兰(0.5和1 mg/kg)28 d后,FST和TST不动时间与模型组相比明显减少(P0.05),且能改善小鼠的嗜酒现象,小鼠饮酒量与模型组相比明显减少(P0.01);相比于正常组,模型组小鼠海马和前额叶皮质cAMP含量明显降低(P0.01),并且海马和额叶皮质PKA、p-CREB和BDNF也明显低于正常水平(P0.01)。咯利普兰(0.5和1 mg/kg)给药28 d后,海马与前额叶皮质cAMP含量明显增加(P0.01),酒精抑制的海马脑区PKA、p-CREB和BDNF表达被逆转(P0.05),且酒精抑制的前额叶皮质PKA和p-CREB表达被逆转(P0.05)。结论:磷酸二酯酶4抑制剂咯利普兰能明显改善酒精中毒及戒断引起的抑郁样症状,且能减轻嗜酒症状,机制可能涉及第二信使cAMP通路。咯利普兰通过抑制PDE4,增加海马与前额叶皮质cAMP水平,进而激活PKA-CREB-BDNF通路,从而产生抗抑郁作用。     

Working memory deficits and related disinhibition of the cAMP/PKA/CREB are alleviated by prefrontal α4β2*-nAChRs stimulation in aged mice

The present study investigates in aged mice the working memory (WM) enhancing potential of the selective α4β2* nicotinic receptor agonist S 38232 as compared with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil, and their effect on cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation (pCREB) as a marker of neuronal activity. We first showed that aged mice exhibit a WM deficit and an increase of pCREB in the prelimbic cortex (PL) as compared with young mice, whereas no modification appears in the CA1. Further, we showed that systemic administration of S 38232 restored WM in aged mice and alleviated PL CREB overphosphorylation. Donepezil alleviated age-related memory deficits, however, by increasing pCREB in the CA1, while pCREB in PL remained unaffected. Finally, whereas neuronal inhibition by lidocaine infusion in the PL appeared deleterious in young mice, the infusion of Rp-cAMPS (a compound known to inhibit CREB phosphorylation) or S 38232 rescued WM in aged animals. Thus, by targeting the α4β2*-nicotinic receptor of the PL, S 38232 alleviates PL CREB overphosphorylation and restores WM in aged mice, which opens new pharmacologic perspectives of therapeutic strategy.     

CCK-8及其受体拮抗剂对吗啡戒断大鼠额叶皮质及海马CREB与pCREB表达的影响

 目的：观察八肽胆囊收缩素（CCK-8）及其受体拮抗剂对吗啡戒断大鼠额叶皮质和海马cAMP反应元件结合蛋白（CREB）表达及其磷酸化（pCREB）的影响,初步探讨CCK-8调节吗啡戒断大鼠的受体后机制。方法：建立大鼠吗啡慢性依赖及纳络酮催促戒断模型,并给予CCK-8、CCK1受体拮抗剂L-364718和CCK2受体拮抗剂LY-288513慢性干预,应用Western blotting和免疫组织化学技术观察额叶皮质和海马CREB与pCREB 表达的变化。结果：（1） 正常组大鼠额叶皮质神经元胞浆、胞核均表达CREB蛋白,pCREB蛋白则仅在胞核中高表达;海马CA1区锥体细胞层神经元中,CREB蛋白在胞浆中高表达,胞核低表达,pCREB蛋白则仅在胞核中表达。（2） 慢性吗啡作用后CREB无明显变化,pCREB增加;急性纳洛酮催促戒断后CREB仍无明显变化,pCREB进一步升高。（3） 与戒断组相比,CCK-8、L-364718和LY-288513慢性干预对吗啡依赖戒断大鼠额叶皮质CREB蛋白表达无明显影响,pCREB蛋白表达均明显降低;L-364718和LY-288513慢性干预后,海马CREB与pCREB表达均明显降低,而CCK-8慢性干预对CREB蛋白表达无明显影响,仅pCREB蛋白表达明显降低。结论：CCK-8及其受体拮抗剂可能通过调节核转录因子CREB减轻吗啡戒断症状,并具有脑区特异性。     

Isolating the neural mechanisms of age-related changes in human working memory

Working memory (WM), the process by which information is coded into memory, actively maintained and subsequently retrieved, declines with age. To test the hypothesis that age-related changes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) may mediate this WM decline, we used functional MRI to investigate age differences in PFC activity during separate WM task components (encoding, maintenance, retrieval). We found greater PFC activity in younger than older adults only in dorsolateral PFC during memory retrieval. Fast younger subjects showed less dorsolateral PFC activation during retrieval than slow younger subjects, whereas older adults showed the opposite pattern. Thus age-related changes in dorsolateral PFC and not ventrolateral PFC account for WM decline with normal aging.     

Alteration of CREB phosphorylation and spatial memory deficits in aged 129T2/Sv mice

Phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) is required for hippocampus-dependent long-term memory formation. The present study was designed to determine whether spatial memory deficits in aged mice were associated with alteration of hippocampal CREB phosphorylation. We examined the temporal pattern of CREB activation in 5–6 and 23–24-month-old 129T2/Sv mice trained on a spatial reference memory task in the water maze. Phosphorylated CREB (pCREB), total CREB (t-CREB) and c-Fos immunoreactivity (ir) were measured at four time points after the end of training. In young mice, pCREB-ir was significantly increased 15 and 60 min after training in the CA1 region and dentate gyrus. In aged mice sacrificed 15 min after training, pCREB-ir in these structures was reduced whereas t-CREB-ir remained unchanged compared to respective young-adults. An age-related reduction of c-Fos-ir also occurred selectively in hippocampal CA1 region. Since reduced pCREB-ir in CA1 from the 15 min-aged group strongly correlated with individual learning performance, we suggest that altered CREB phosphorylation in CA1 may account for spatial memory impairments during normal aging.     

Attenuation of zinc-induced neuronal death by the interaction of growth inhibitory factor with Rab3A in rat hippocampal neurons

We examined whether early injury-associated activation of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the spinal dorsal horn was mediated by the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) pathway. Significant increases in the levels of phosphorylated CREB (pCREB), phosphorylated PKAII regulatory subunit (pPKA), and PKA catalytic subunit (PKA cat) were elicited 2 h after loose ligation of the sciatic nerve. These injury-elicited increases were significantly reduced by dorsal horn application of the cell-permeable PKA inhibitor Rp-8-Br-cAMPS. The cell-permeable PKA activator Sp-8-Br-cAMPS significantly increased the levels of pCREB, pPKA and PKA cat 2 h after application onto the dorsal horn of control, uninjured animals. Our data lent further support to the notion that activation of PKA may play an important role in the early stages of nerve injury-elicited plasticity in the dorsal horn.     

气味对小鼠学习记忆能力及海马cAMP反应元件结合蛋白的影响

目的:探讨不同气味(苹果、香水、樟脑)对小鼠学习记忆能力及海马cAMP反应元件结合蛋白(CREB)和磷酸化的CREB(pCREB)的影响。方法:让小鼠在不同气味的环境下生活14d,在第7d开始方形水迷宫训练,3d后进行测试,连续测试5d。测试完后断髓处死动物,取出脑组织,用免疫组织化学染色观察海马pCREB和CREB表达情况,并进行图像分析。结果:樟脑组和香水组水迷宫的潜伏期较对照组延长,错误次数增多(P＜0.05)。免疫组化染色显示鼠海马CREB的磷酸化水平大大降低(P＜0.05),但对CREB的表达无明显影响。苹果组与对照组比各指标均无显著差异(P＞0.05)。结论:樟脑气味和香水气味对小鼠记忆能力有负面作用,且这种作用可能是通过降低CREB磷酸化水平而实现的。苹果气味对小鼠记忆能力无明显影响。     

Aging-related changes of neural mechanisms underlying visual-spatial working memory

Capacities of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) such as working memory (WM) are known to decline with increasing age. However, it is unclear which neurofunctional mechanisms may underlie this aging-related cognitive decline. The finding that PFC activity tends to be less lateralized in older subjects has led to the assumption of a hemispheric asymmetry reduction in the PFC associated with aging (HAROLD). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we here investigated aging-related neurofunctional alterations during the performance of a visual-spatial WM task with differential levels of difficulty. Older volunteers activated dorsolateral PFC regions bilaterally while young subjects recruited these areas only in the left hemisphere. These data corroborate the hemispheric asymmetry reduction in the PFC associated with aging (HAROLD) account. However, we also observed functional reorganizations in parieto-occipital areas, and with increasing WM demands, an aging-related reversed hemispheric asymmetry of prefrontal activations. Importantly, neither PFC nor parieto-occipital reorganizations prevented older participants from showing worse WM performance than young volunteers. We conclude that frontal-parietal functional reorganizations may reflect compensational mechanisms related to aging, but do not obviate diminished visual-spatial WM performance in older people.     

Correlation of within-individual fluctuation of depressed mood with prefrontal cortex activity during verbal working memory task: optical topography study

Previous studies showed that interindividual variations in mood state are associated with prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. In this study, we focused on the depressed-mood state under natural circumstances and examined the relationship between within-individual changes over time in this mood state and PFC activity. We used optical topography (OT), a functional imaging technique based on near-infrared spectroscopy, to measure PFC activity for each participant in three experimental sessions repeated at 2-week intervals. In each session, the participants completed a self-report questionnaire of mood state and underwent OT measurement while performing verbal and spatial working memory (WM) tasks. The results showed that changes in the depressed-mood score between successive sessions were negatively correlated with those in the left PFC activation for the verbal WM task (ρ = -0.56, p < 0.05). In contrast, the PFC activation for the spatial WM task did not co-vary with participants' mood changes. We thus demonstrated that PFC activity during a verbal WM task varies depending on the participant's depressed mood state, independent of trait factors. This suggests that using optical topography to measure PFC activity during a verbal WM task can be used as a potential state marker for an individual's depressed mood state.     

Segregation of working memory functions within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

It is now widely accepted that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a critical role in the neural network subserving working memory (WM). At least three related questions are still under debate: (1) is the PFC critical for all constituent processes of WM (i.e., short-term storage, manipulation, and utilization of mental representations) or only in one or a few of them? (2) Is there segregation of function among different cytoarchitectonic subdivisions of the PFC? (3) If this be the case, is this segregation based on the nature of the information being processed or on the type of cognitive operation performed? The present review article describes findings in the monkey supporting a modular "domain-specific" model of PFC functional organization with respect to WM operations. In this model, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is composed of several subregions, based primarily on the nature of the information being processed in WM. Storage and processing functions are integrally related in each area. Future studies designed to map as yet uncharted areas of prefrontal cortex with refined anatomical and physiological approaches may provide a critical test of the model and evaluate the extent to which it applies generally or, instead, mainly to visual domains or only to dorsolateral convexity areas.     

强迫游泳后大鼠杏仁体中谷氨酸神经元中的pCREB水平显著上调(英文)

杏仁体在情绪性学习记忆及情绪行为中起关键性作用,而这些功能是由杏仁体的三个主要亚核(外侧核、基底外侧核和中央核)执行完成,并与一种转录因子-环磷酸腺苷反应元件结合蛋白(CREB)密切相关。CREB在多种神经活动中都会被激活成为磷酸化的CREB(pCREB)。为探讨杏仁体中哪种神经元表达pCREB以及在情绪性应激刺激后不同时间段内杏仁体中pCREB水平的变化,本试验对大鼠用强迫游泳作为情绪性应激刺激;以抗pCREB、抗谷氨酸(Glu)和抗小清蛋白(PV)抗体标记了杏仁体中的神经元;用Westernblot法测定了杏仁体中的pCREB蛋白水平。结果显示,pCREB表达于谷氨酸免疫阳性神经元中,而不在含小清蛋白的神经元中表达;而pCREB的表达水平在强迫游泳后显著提升。本结果提示,pCREB是通过谷氨酸神经元行使其对情绪过程的调解功能;情绪性刺激后pCREB的表达水平显著提升以应对应激性刺激。     

Major sex differences in non-genomic estrogen actions on intracellular signaling in mouse brain in vivo

Rapid effects of estrogen have now been identified throughout the brain but the extent to which these actions may be different in males and females is unknown. Previous work has shown that estrogen rapidly phosphorylates Ser133 of cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) through a non-genomic mechanism. Using this indicator, we have examined here whether non-genomic estrogen actions occur in a sexually dimorphic manner within the adult brain. Male and female mice were gonadectomized and 3 weeks later treated with 17-beta-estradiol or vehicle for 1 h prior to perfusion fixation and subsequent CREB and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) immunostaining of brain sections. The numbers of cells expressing CREB immunoreactivity were not altered by estrogen treatment or different in males and females in any of the brain regions examined. However, estrogen treatment significantly (P<0.05) increased pCREB-immunoreactive cell numbers in the medial preoptic area, ventrolateral division of the ventromedial nucleus, medial septum and CA1 region of the hippocampus of female mice. In contrast, estrogen increased pCREB levels in the medial septum and CA1 but not in the preoptic area or ventromedial nucleus of male mice. To evaluate the extent to which non-genomic estrogen actions may be sexually differentiated within a single neuronal phenotype, dual labeling immunocytochemistry was undertaken to evaluate the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal phenotype. Estrogen significantly (P<0.05) increased the numbers of GnRH neurons expressing pCREB in female but not male mice. Together, these results demonstrate the existence of a marked sex difference in estrogen's non-genomic effects upon brain function in vivo.     

Region specific gene expression profile in mouse brain after chronic corticotropin releasing factor receptor 1 activation: the novel role for diazepam binding inhibitor in contextual fear conditioning

We have previously reported that repeated central administration of sub-anxiogenic doses of the corticotropin releasing factor 1 (CRF₁) agonist Cortagine, termed “priming,” elicits a phenotype of increased anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open-field test, and enhanced retention of contextual conditioned fear in C57BL/6J mice. Observed behavioral changes were functionally coupled to CRF₁-mediated elevated central cholecystokinin (CCK) tone in discrete brain regions. However, the changes in gene expression that mediated “priming”-induced behavioral and concurrent molecular changes in specific brain regions remained unknown. In the present study, a complementary DNA microarray analysis was used to investigate gene expression profiles in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of C57BL/6J mice following the “priming” procedure. Here, we report that chronic stimulation of CRF₁, by i.c.v. administration of 10 ng Cortagine for five days, brought about alterations in the expression of a wide range of hippocampal (31 genes) and PFC (18 genes) genes, implicated in anxiety and aversive memory formation. These expression changes involved genes associated with signal transduction, neurotransmitter secretion, synaptic transmission, myelination, and others involved in the transport, biosynthesis, and binding of proteins. In particular, several genes of the protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) signaling cascades, known to be involved in synaptic plasticity, such as neurogranin, calmodulin 3, and the PKA regulatory subunit 1 b were found to be upregulated in the PFC and hippocampus of CRF₁ agonist “primed” mice. Moreover, we show pharmacologically that one of the newly implicated memory regulatory elements, diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) is functionally involved in hippocampus-dependent enhancement of contextual fear, a cardinal phenotypic feature of the “primed” mice. Finally, an interaction network mapping of the altered genes and their known interacting partners identified additional molecular candidates responsible for CRF₁-mediated hypersensitive fear circuitry.     

Relationship of negative mood with prefrontal cortex activity during working memory tasks: an optical topography study

Mood has a substantial impact on cognitive functions. Although studies have shown that the interaction between mood and cognition is mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), little is known about how naturalistic mood in everyday life is associated with PFC activity during cognitive tasks. We investigated whether inter-individual variation in perceived mood under current life situations (recent week) is related to PFC activity during working memory (WM) tasks in healthy adults. Levels of positive and negative moods were quantified with the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. PFC activities during verbal and spatial WM tasks were measured by optical topography (OT), a non-invasive low-constraint neuroimaging tool, to minimize experimental intervention in participants' moods. Group-average analysis showed significant activations in the bilateral dorsolateral PFC in both WM tasks. Correlation analysis revealed that the participants reporting higher levels of negative moods showed lower levels of PFC activity during the verbal WM task but not during the spatial WM task. This relationship was significant even after controlling for possible confounding factors such as age, gender, and task performance. Our results suggest that verbal WM is linked with naturalistic negative mood and that the PFC is involved in the mood-cognition interaction in daily circumstances.     

The role of the prefrontal cortex in the maintenance of verbal working memory: an event-related FMRI analysis

Neuroimaging studies have been inconclusive in characterizing the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) for maintaining increasingly larger amounts of information in working memory (WM). To address this question, the authors collected event-related functional MRI data while participants performed an item-recognition task in which the number of to-be-remembered letters was parametrically modulated. During maintenance of information in WM, the dorsolateral and the ventrolateral PFC exhibited linearly increasing activation in response to increasing WM load. Prefrontal regions could not be distinguished from one another on the basis of load sensitivity, but the dorsolateral PFC had stronger functional connectivity with the parietal and motor cortex than the ventrolateral PFC. These results suggest an increasingly important role for the PFC in actively maintaining information as the amount of that information increases.     

Bacopa monniera ameliorates amnesic effects of diazepam qualifying behavioral-molecular partitioning

Benzodiazepines are known to produce amnesia by involvement of GABAergic system and by interference of long term potentiation (LTP). In this study, we examined effect of Bacopa monniera on downstream molecules of LTP after diazepam-induced amnesia in mice. We used a Morris water maze scale for evaluating the effect of Bacopa monniera after screening for muscle coordination by rota rod. The index of acquisition and retrieval was recorded as escape latency time (ELT). Behavioral results showed that Bacopa monniera (120 mg kg(-1) oral) significantly reversed diazepam- (1.75 mg kg(-1) i.p.) induced amnesia in Morris water maze task. The molecular studies revealed that diazepam upregulated mitogen activated protein kinase (MAP kinase), phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), while it downregulated nitrite, nitrate, total nitrite, cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) expression, phosphodiesterase, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) without affecting calmodulin levels. Bacopa monniera suppressed the diazepam induced upregulation of MAP kinase, pCREB and iNOS and attenuated the downregulation of nitrite. It did not affect the cAMP, PDE, nitrate, total nitrite, total CREB level. These behavioral findings displayed the reversal of diazepam-induced amnesia by Bacopa monniera without qualifying the molecular details although some downstream molecules of LTP may be involved.     

Sorafenib inhibits nuclear factor kappa B,decreases inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression,and restores working memory in APPswe mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by memory loss and the upregulation of pro-neuroinflammatory factors such as cRaf-1, cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), and the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), as well as a downregulation of protein kinase A (PKA) activity and the activation by phosphorylation of its downstream factor CREB. We investigated the effect of the anti-cancer cRaf-1 inhibitor, sorafenib tosylate (Nexavar), on the expression of these factors and on the cognitive performance of aged APPswe mice. We found that chronic treatment with sorafenib stimulated PKA and CREB phosphorylation and inhibited cRaf-1 and NF-κB in the brains of APPswe mice. NF-κB controls the expression of several genes related to AD pathology, including iNOS and Cox-²Concurrent with NF-κB inhibition, sorafenib treatment decreased the cerebral expression of Cox-2 and iNOS in APPswe mice. It has recently been observed that Cox-2 inhibition prevents cognitive impairment in a mouse model of AD and amyloid beta peptide (Aβ)–induced inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP). Consistent with the idea that Cox-2 inhibition can improve cognitive abilities, we found that sorafenib restored working memory abilities in aged APPswe mice without reducing Aβ levels in the brain. These findings suggest that sorafenib reduced AD pathology by reducing neuroinflammation.