Project description:Introduction: Male estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) knockout (BERKO) mice display anxiety and aggression linked to, among others, altered serotonergic signaling in the basolateral amygdala and dorsal raphe, impaired cortical radial glia migration and reduced GABAergic signaling. Effects on primary motor cortex (M1 cortex) and locomotor activity as a consequence of ERβ loss have not been investigated. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether locomotor activity is altered as a consequence of the changes in the M1 cortex. Methods: Locomotor activity of WT and BERKO male mice was evaluated using the open-field and rotarod tests. Molecular changes in the M1 cortex were analyzed by RNA-sequencing, electron microscopy, electrophysiology, and immunofluorescence techniques. In addition, we established oligodendrocyte cultures from WT and BERKO mouse embryonic stem cells to evaluate oligodendrocyte function. Results: Locomotor profiling revealed that BERKO mice were more active than WT mice but had impaired motor coordination. Analysis of the M1 cortex pointed out differences in synapse function and myelination. There was a reduction in GABAergic signaling resulting in imbalanced excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, as well as a defective oligodendrocyte differentiation accompanied by myelin defects. The effects of loss of ERβ on oligodendrocyte differentiation was confirmed in vitro. Conclusion: ERβ is an important regulator of GABAergic interneurons and oligodendrocyte differentiation, which impacts on adult M1 cortex function, and may be linked to increased locomotor activity and decreased motor coordination in BERKO mice.
Project description:Purpose: We applied polyA site sequencing (Passeq) to human Huntington's disease and control motor cortex and cerebellum to test if any genes change 3′UTR isoforms abundance. Methods: 3′ sequencing was performed on 6 motor cortices from grade 1 Huntington's patient brains, 4 motor cortices from grade 2 Huntington's patient brains, and 5 motor cortices from control brains. Cerebellum samples included 9 cerebella from grade 2-3 Huntington's patient brains, and 7 cerebella from control brains. To verify HTT isoforms in mice, sequencing was performed on 5 Q140 mouse striata and 3 wild-type mouse striata. Results: We report 11% of genes from Huntington's disease patient motor cortex exhibit a change in at least one of their 3′UTR isoforms, commensurate with the 11% of genes which show different total expression in HD motor cortex versus control. In contrast, gene isoform and expression changes are minimal (<5%) in Huntington's disease cerebellum versus controls. In the motor cortex, we show isoform and gene expression differs between between grade 1 and grade 2 brains. We identify a novel isoform of huntingtin mRNA which is conserved in wild-type and Huntington's model mice. Conclusions: This is the first study characterizing widespread alterations in 3′UTR isoform abundance in Huntington's disease. Alterations in isoform abundance may affect mRNA metabolism in Huntington's disease brains.
Project description:Gene expression analysis of motor cortex after spinal C3 lesion Dorsal column wire knife lesions: Adult female Fischer 344 rats weighing 150-200 gm were used. Animals underwent a laminectomy at spinal level C3. Dorsal funiculus lesions were made in the middle of C3 using a Kopf microwire device (Kopf Instruments, Tujunga, CA). After fixation in a spinal stereotaxic unit, a small dural incision was made. The wire knife was lowered into the spinal cord to a depth of 1.1 mm ventral to the dorsal cord surface and 1.1 mm to the left of the midline. The tip of the wireknife was extruded, forming a 2.25 mm-wide arc that was raised to the dorsal surface of the cord. To ensure complete axotomy of the dorsal funiculus, spinal tissue was compressed against the microwire knife surface using a microaspiration pipette until all visible white matter was transected. Cortical microdissection: The forelimb and hindlimb motor cortex were microdisected from rat cortices: Rostral to Bregma: an area from 2.0 to 4.5 mm mediolateral and from 0 to 2 mm anterior-posterior Caudal to Bregma: an area from 2.0 to 3.5 mediolateral and from 0 to 3 mm caudal to Bregma. Only the inferior half of the cortex containing layer V corticospinal motor neurons was sampled in each region.
Project description:We sequenced mRNA from E18.5 mouse cortex (3 wild-type vs 3 Nova2-/- and 3 wild-type vs 3 Nova1-/-) and from E18.5 mouse mid- and hind-brain (3 wild-type vs 3 Nova1-/-) to compare gene expression level and alternative splicing events between wild-type and Nova mutant mice.
Project description:Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the transcriptional regulator MeCP2. RTT is characterized by having apparently normal development until 6-18 months, when a progressive decline in motor and language functions begins and breathing abnormalities and seizures present. Here we present the first proteomic analysis in a RTT mouse model. Examining whole cortex tissue in symptomatic males (Mecp2Jae/y) and wild-type littermates, we have identified 465 proteins significantly altered. Pathway analysis identified biological pathways ubiquitous to multiple cell types as well as cell type specific pathways, underscoring the contributions of multiple central nervous system (CNS) cell populations to the disease pathogenesis.
Project description:Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized systems-based analysis of gene expression. The goals of this study are to compare the different transcripts between Wild type and RBM3 knockout cortex Transcriptomes during maternal hypothermia
Project description:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons leading to progressive muscle weakness, wasting and paralysis that result in death within a few years from disease onset.
In order to characterize RNA alterations in ALS, total RNAseq was performed in the ALS motor cortex, which is an early and vulnerable region in ALS.