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Prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposure induces working memory and social recognition deficits by disrupting inhibitory synaptic networks in male mice

ABSTRACT: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs in pregnant women. Given that SSRIs can cross the placental and blood-brain barriers, these drugs potentially affect serotonergic neurotransmission and neurodevelopment in the fetus. Although no gross SSRI-related teratogenic effect has been reported, infants born following prenatal exposure to SSRIs have a higher risk for various behavioral abnormalities. Therefore, we examined the effects of prenatal fluoxetine, the most commonly prescribed SSRI, on social and cognitive behavior in mice. Intriguingly, chronic in utero fluoxetine treatment impaired working memory and social novelty recognition in adult males with augmented spontaneous inhibitory synaptic transmission onto the layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Moreover, fast-spiking interneurons in the layer 5 mPFC exhibited enhanced basal intrinsic excitability, augmented serotonin-induced neuronal excitability, and increased inhibitory synaptic transmission onto the layer 5 pyramidal neurons due to augmented 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) signaling. More importantly, the observed behavioral deficits of in utero fluoxetine-treated mice could be reversed by acute systemic application of 5-HT2AR antagonist. Taken together, our findings support the notion that alterations in serotonin-mediated inhibitory neuronal modulation result in reduced cortical network activities and cognitive impairment following prenatal exposure to SSRIs.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE111491 | GEO | 2018/03/07

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Pharmaceutical chemicals used in human medicine are released into surface waters via municipal effluents and pose a risk for aquatic organisms. Among these substances are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) which can affect aquatic organisms at sub ppb concentrations. To better understand biochemical pathways influenced by SSRIs, evaluate changes in the transcriptome, and identify gene transcripts with potential for biomarkers of exposure to SSRIs; larval zebrafish Danio rerio were exposed (96 h) to two concentrations (25 and 250 µg/L) of the SSRIs, fluoxetine and sertraline, and changes in global gene expression were evaluated (Affymetrix GeneChip® Zebrafish Array). Significant changes in gene expression (>=1.7 fold change, p<0.05) were determined with Partek® Genomics Suite Gene Expression Data Analysis System and ontology analysis was conducted using Molecular Annotation System 3. The number of genes differentially expressed after fluoxetine exposure was 288 at 25 µg/L and 131 at 250 µg/L; and after sertraline exposure was 33 at 25 µg/L and 52 at 250 µg/L. Five genes were differentially regulated in all treatments relative to control, suggesting that both SSRIs share some similar molecular pathways. Among them, expression of the gene coding for FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), which is annotated to stress response regulation, was highly down-regulated in all treatments (results confirmed by qRT-PCR). Gene ontology analysis indicated that regulation of stress response and cholinesterase activity were critical functions influenced by these SSRIs, and suggested that changes in the transcription of FKBP5 or acetylcholinesterase could be useful biomarkers of SSRIs exposure in wild fish. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were obtained from the Zebrafish Research Facility maintained at the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Tennessee. Fish husbandry, spawning, and experimental procedures were conducted with approval from the UT Insititutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #1690-1007). Water for holding fish and conducting experiments (hereafter referred to as fish water) consisted of MilliQ water (Millipore, Bedford, MA) with ions added: 19 mg/L NaHCO3, 1 mg/L sea salt (Instant Ocean Synthetic Sea Salt, Mentor, OH), 10 mg/L CaSO4, 10 mg/L MgSO4, 2 mg/L KCl. Embroyos were obtained by spawning adult fish with no history of contaminant exposure. Fertilization of embryos took place at the same time (<15 minutes), such that larvae used in experiments were of similar age at the time of exposure. All activities (maintenance of adult fish, spawning, and experiments) were conducted in an environmental chamber with a temperature of 27 +/- 1 C and 14:10h light:dark photoperiod. Larval zebrafish (72 hpf) were exposed for 96 h in 200ml fish water containing appropirate amount of SSRI stock (i.e. fluoxetine or sertraline). There were four SSRIs treatments (25 and 250 ug/L fluoxetine and 25 and 250 ug/L sertraline) and one control (no SSRIs) with triplicate beakers and each beaker contained about 100 larval fish. During exposure for 96 hours, beakers were kept covered to prevent water evaporation and fish were not fed (i.e., fish consumed their yolk sac).

Project description:Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), used to treat prenatal maternal depression, have been associated with neurobehavioral disturbances in exposed neonates, though the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In utero exposure to SSRIs may have an effect on DNA methylation (DNAme) in the human placenta, which is an epigenetic mark that is established during development and is associated with gene expression. Methods: Chorionic villus samples from 64 human placentas were profiled with the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip and clinical assessments of maternal mood were collected at multiple time points during pregnancy. Case distribution was 20 SSRI-exposed cases and 44 SSRI non-exposed cases. Maternal depression using a mean maternal Hamilton Depression score >8 to indicate symptomatic depressed mood (“maternally-depressed”) further classified cases into SSRI-exposed, maternally-depressed (n=14); SSRI-exposed, not maternally-depressed (n=6); SSRI non-exposed, maternally-depressed (n=20); and SSRI non-exposed, not maternally-depressed (n=24). To provide a replication cohort, Illumina 450K DNAme profiles were obtained from 34 additional cases from an independent cohort (n=17 SSRI-exposed, n=17 SSRI non-exposed). Results: No CpGs were differentially methylated at FDR < 0.05 comparing SSRI-exposed to non-exposed placentas, while adjusting for mean maternal Hamilton Depression score, nor comparing SSRI-exposed maternally-depressed to SSRI-non-exposed maternally-depressed cases. At a relaxed threshold of FDR < 0.25, five CpGs were differentially methylated (|Δβ| > 0.03) by SSRI exposure status. Four of these CpGs were covered by the 450K array and were examined in the replication cohort, but none replicated. Amongst SSRI non-exposed cases, No CpGs were differentially methylated (FDR < 0.25) comparing maternally depressed to not depressed cases. In sex-stratified analyses for SSRI-exposed versus non-exposed cases (females n=31; males n=33), three additional CpGs in females, but none in males, were differentially methylated at the relaxed FDR < 0.25 cut-off. Conclusions: We did not observe large-scale alterations of DNAme in placentas exposed to maternal SSRI treatment compared to placentas with no SSRI exposure. We also found no evidence for altered DNAme in maternal depression-exposed versus depression non-exposed placentas. This novel work in a prospectively-recruited cohort with clinician-ascertained SSRI exposure and mood assessments would benefit from future replication.

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Prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposure induces working memory and social recognition deficits by disrupting inhibitory synaptic networks in male mice

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