Nitta Atsumi, Izuo Naotaka, Hamatani Kohei, Inagaki Ryo, Kusui Yuka, Fu Kequan, Asano Takashi, Torii Youta, Habuchi Chikako, Sekiguchi Hirotaka, Iritani Shuji, Muramatsu Shin-Ichi, Ozaki Norio, Miyamoto Yoshiaki
Department of Pharmaceutical Therapy and Neuropharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Drug Research and Clinical Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China.
J Pers Med. 2021 Jun 26;11(7):607. doi: 10.3390/jpm11070607.
Piccolo, a presynaptic cytomatrix protein, plays a role in synaptic vesicle trafficking in the presynaptic active zone. Certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the Piccolo-encoding gene are reported to be associated with mental disorders. However, a few studies have evaluated the relationship between Piccolo dysfunction and psychotic symptoms. Therefore, we investigated the neurophysiological and behavioral phenotypes in mice with Piccolo suppression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Downregulation of Piccolo in the mPFC reduced regional synaptic proteins, accompanied with electrophysiological impairments. The Piccolo-suppressed mice showed an enhanced locomotor activity, impaired auditory prepulse inhibition, and cognitive dysfunction. These abnormal behaviors were partially ameliorated by the antipsychotic drug risperidone. Piccolo-suppressed mice received mild social defeat stress showed additional behavioral despair. Furthermore, the responses of these mice to extracellular glutamate and dopamine levels induced by the optical activation of mPFC projection in the dorsal striatum (dSTR) were inhibited. Similarly, the Piccolo-suppressed mice showed decreased depolarization-evoked glutamate and -aminobutyric acid elevations and increased depolarization-evoked dopamine elevation in the dSTR. These suggest that Piccolo regulates neurotransmission at the synaptic terminal of the projection site. Reduced neuronal connectivity in the mPFC-dSTR pathway via suppression of Piccolo in the mPFC may induce behavioral impairments observed in schizophrenia.
小突触泡蛋白(Piccolo)是一种突触前细胞基质蛋白,在突触前活动区的突触小泡运输中发挥作用。据报道,编码小突触泡蛋白的基因的某些单核苷酸多态性与精神障碍有关。然而,很少有研究评估小突触泡蛋白功能障碍与精神病症状之间的关系。因此,我们研究了内侧前额叶皮质(mPFC)中抑制小突触泡蛋白的小鼠的神经生理学和行为表型。mPFC中小突触泡蛋白的下调减少了区域突触蛋白,并伴有电生理损伤。小突触泡蛋白抑制的小鼠表现出运动活动增强、听觉前脉冲抑制受损和认知功能障碍。抗精神病药物利培酮部分改善了这些异常行为。接受轻度社会挫败应激的小突触泡蛋白抑制小鼠表现出额外的行为绝望。此外,这些小鼠对背侧纹状体(dSTR)中mPFC投射的光激活诱导的细胞外谷氨酸和多巴胺水平的反应受到抑制。同样地,小突触泡蛋白抑制小鼠在dSTR中表现出去极化诱发的谷氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸升高减少,而去极化诱发的多巴胺升高增加。这些结果表明小突触泡蛋白在投射部位的突触末端调节神经传递。通过抑制mPFC中的小突触泡蛋白来减少mPFC-dSTR通路中的神经元连接,可能会诱发精神分裂症中观察到的行为障碍。