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Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease

Despite the indispensable role that astrocytes play in the neurovascular unit, few studies have investigated the functional impact of astrocyte signaling in cognitive decline and dementia related to vascular pathology. Diet-mediated induction of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) recapitulates numerous fea...

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Autores principales: Sompol, Pradoldej, Gollihue, Jenna L., Weiss, Blaine E., Lin, Ruei-Lung, Case, Sami L., Kraner, Susan D., Weekman, Erica M., Gant, John C., Rogers, Colin B., Niedowicz, Dana M., Sudduth, Tiffany L., Powell, David K., Lin, Ai-Ling, Nelson, Peter T., Thibault, Olivier, Wilcock, Donna M., Norris, Christopher M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Society for Neuroscience 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10010459/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36746627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1333-22.2023
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author Sompol, Pradoldej
Gollihue, Jenna L.
Weiss, Blaine E.
Lin, Ruei-Lung
Case, Sami L.
Kraner, Susan D.
Weekman, Erica M.
Gant, John C.
Rogers, Colin B.
Niedowicz, Dana M.
Sudduth, Tiffany L.
Powell, David K.
Lin, Ai-Ling
Nelson, Peter T.
Thibault, Olivier
Wilcock, Donna M.
Norris, Christopher M.
author_facet Sompol, Pradoldej
Gollihue, Jenna L.
Weiss, Blaine E.
Lin, Ruei-Lung
Case, Sami L.
Kraner, Susan D.
Weekman, Erica M.
Gant, John C.
Rogers, Colin B.
Niedowicz, Dana M.
Sudduth, Tiffany L.
Powell, David K.
Lin, Ai-Ling
Nelson, Peter T.
Thibault, Olivier
Wilcock, Donna M.
Norris, Christopher M.
author_sort Sompol, Pradoldej
collection PubMed
description Despite the indispensable role that astrocytes play in the neurovascular unit, few studies have investigated the functional impact of astrocyte signaling in cognitive decline and dementia related to vascular pathology. Diet-mediated induction of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) recapitulates numerous features of vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Here, we used astrocyte targeting approaches to evaluate astrocyte Ca(2+) dysregulation and the impact of aberrant astrocyte signaling on cerebrovascular dysfunction and synapse impairment in male and female HHcy diet mice. Two-photon imaging conducted in fully awake mice revealed activity-dependent Ca(2+) dysregulation in barrel cortex astrocytes under HHcy. Stimulation of contralateral whiskers elicited larger Ca(2+) transients in individual astrocytes of HHcy diet mice compared with control diet mice. However, evoked Ca(2+) signaling across astrocyte networks was impaired in HHcy mice. HHcy also was associated with increased activation of the Ca(2+)/calcineurin-dependent transcription factor NFAT4, which has been linked previously to the reactive astrocyte phenotype and synapse dysfunction in amyloid and brain injury models. Targeting the NFAT inhibitor VIVIT to astrocytes, using adeno-associated virus vectors, led to reduced GFAP promoter activity in HHcy diet mice and improved functional hyperemia in arterioles and capillaries. VIVIT expression in astrocytes also preserved CA1 synaptic function and improved spontaneous alternation performance on the Y maze. Together, the results demonstrate that aberrant astrocyte signaling can impair the major functional properties of the neurovascular unit (i.e., cerebral vessel regulation and synaptic regulation) and may therefore represent a promising drug target for treating VCID and possibly Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The impact of reactive astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated Ca(2+) responses and signaling in barrel cortex astrocytes of mice fed with a B-vitamin deficient diet that induces hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), cerebral vessel disease, and cognitive decline. Multiphoton imaging in awake mice with HHcy revealed augmented Ca(2+) responses in individual astrocytes, but impaired signaling across astrocyte networks. Stimulation-evoked arteriole dilation and elevated red blood cell velocity in capillaries were also impaired in cortex of awake HHcy mice. Astrocyte-specific inhibition of the Ca(2+)-dependent transcription factor, NFAT, normalized cerebrovascular function in HHcy mice, improved synaptic properties in brain slices, and stabilized cognition. Results suggest that astrocytes are a mechanism and possible therapeutic target for vascular-related dementia.
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spelling pubmed-100104592023-03-14 Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease Sompol, Pradoldej Gollihue, Jenna L. Weiss, Blaine E. Lin, Ruei-Lung Case, Sami L. Kraner, Susan D. Weekman, Erica M. Gant, John C. Rogers, Colin B. Niedowicz, Dana M. Sudduth, Tiffany L. Powell, David K. Lin, Ai-Ling Nelson, Peter T. Thibault, Olivier Wilcock, Donna M. Norris, Christopher M. J Neurosci Research Articles Despite the indispensable role that astrocytes play in the neurovascular unit, few studies have investigated the functional impact of astrocyte signaling in cognitive decline and dementia related to vascular pathology. Diet-mediated induction of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) recapitulates numerous features of vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Here, we used astrocyte targeting approaches to evaluate astrocyte Ca(2+) dysregulation and the impact of aberrant astrocyte signaling on cerebrovascular dysfunction and synapse impairment in male and female HHcy diet mice. Two-photon imaging conducted in fully awake mice revealed activity-dependent Ca(2+) dysregulation in barrel cortex astrocytes under HHcy. Stimulation of contralateral whiskers elicited larger Ca(2+) transients in individual astrocytes of HHcy diet mice compared with control diet mice. However, evoked Ca(2+) signaling across astrocyte networks was impaired in HHcy mice. HHcy also was associated with increased activation of the Ca(2+)/calcineurin-dependent transcription factor NFAT4, which has been linked previously to the reactive astrocyte phenotype and synapse dysfunction in amyloid and brain injury models. Targeting the NFAT inhibitor VIVIT to astrocytes, using adeno-associated virus vectors, led to reduced GFAP promoter activity in HHcy diet mice and improved functional hyperemia in arterioles and capillaries. VIVIT expression in astrocytes also preserved CA1 synaptic function and improved spontaneous alternation performance on the Y maze. Together, the results demonstrate that aberrant astrocyte signaling can impair the major functional properties of the neurovascular unit (i.e., cerebral vessel regulation and synaptic regulation) and may therefore represent a promising drug target for treating VCID and possibly Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The impact of reactive astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated Ca(2+) responses and signaling in barrel cortex astrocytes of mice fed with a B-vitamin deficient diet that induces hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), cerebral vessel disease, and cognitive decline. Multiphoton imaging in awake mice with HHcy revealed augmented Ca(2+) responses in individual astrocytes, but impaired signaling across astrocyte networks. Stimulation-evoked arteriole dilation and elevated red blood cell velocity in capillaries were also impaired in cortex of awake HHcy mice. Astrocyte-specific inhibition of the Ca(2+)-dependent transcription factor, NFAT, normalized cerebrovascular function in HHcy mice, improved synaptic properties in brain slices, and stabilized cognition. Results suggest that astrocytes are a mechanism and possible therapeutic target for vascular-related dementia. Society for Neuroscience 2023-03-08 /pmc/articles/PMC10010459/ /pubmed/36746627 http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1333-22.2023 Text en Copyright © 2023 Sompol et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Research Articles
Sompol, Pradoldej
Gollihue, Jenna L.
Weiss, Blaine E.
Lin, Ruei-Lung
Case, Sami L.
Kraner, Susan D.
Weekman, Erica M.
Gant, John C.
Rogers, Colin B.
Niedowicz, Dana M.
Sudduth, Tiffany L.
Powell, David K.
Lin, Ai-Ling
Nelson, Peter T.
Thibault, Olivier
Wilcock, Donna M.
Norris, Christopher M.
Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title_full Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title_fullStr Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title_full_unstemmed Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title_short Targeting Astrocyte Signaling Alleviates Cerebrovascular and Synaptic Function Deficits in a Diet-Based Mouse Model of Small Cerebral Vessel Disease
title_sort targeting astrocyte signaling alleviates cerebrovascular and synaptic function deficits in a diet-based mouse model of small cerebral vessel disease
topic Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10010459/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36746627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1333-22.2023
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