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Biology subjects

Goumon, Y.

Publications and source records attributed to Goumon, Y..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Affinity-guided labeling reveals P2X7 nanoscale membrane redistribution during microglial activation

ATP-gated purinergic P2X7 receptors are crucial ion channels involved in inflammation. They sense abnormal ATP release during stress or injury and are considered promising clinical targets for therapeutic intervention. However, despite their predominant expression in immune cells such as microglia, there is limited information on P2X7 membrane expression and regulation during inflammation at the single-molecule level, necessitating new labeling approaches to visualize P2X7 in native cells. Here, we present X7-uP, an unbiased, affinity-guided P2X7 chemical labeling reagent that selectively and covalently biotinylates endogenous P2X7 in BV2 cells, a murine microglial cell line, allowing subsequent labeling with streptavidin-Alexa 647 tailored for super-resolution imaging. We uncovered a nanoscale microglial P2X7 redistribution mechanism where evenly spaced individual receptors in quiescent cells undergo upregulation and clustering in response to the pro-inflammatory agent lipopolysaccharide and ATP, leading to synergistic interleukin-1{beta} release. Our method thus offers a new approach to revealing endogenous P2X7 expression at the single-molecule level. Impact statementAn affinity-guided chemical strategy enabling highly specific biotinylation of P2X7 receptors reveals, by super-resolution microscopy, how the nanoscale organization of endogenous P2X7 in BV2 microglial cells dynamically changes upon activation.

neuroscience↗

Oxytocin Gαi signaling-induced amygdala astrocytes processes retraction shapes behavioral stress response

Anticipated reactions to stressful situations are vital for the survival and well-being of organisms, and abnormal reactions are involved in stress-related disorders. The neuropeptide oxytocin is a key modulator ensuring well-adapted stress responses. Oxytocin acts on both neurons and astrocytes, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms mediating stress response remain poorly understood. Here, we focus on the amygdala, a crucial hub that integrates and processes sensory information through oxytocin- dependent mechanisms. Using an acute stress paradigm in mice, genetic and pharmacological manipulations combined with proteomic, morphological, electrophysiological and behavioral approaches, we reveal that oxytocinergic modulation of the freezing response to stress is mediated by transient Gi-dependent retraction of astrocytic processes, followed by enhanced neuronal sensitivity to extracellular potassium in the amygdala. Our findings elucidate a pivotal role for astrocytes morphology- dependent modulation of brain circuits that is required for proper anticipated behavioral response to stressful situations.

neuroscience↗

Sex differences in neurotransmitter levels in different brain regions after acute and chronic morphine treatment in mice

Background and PurposePain management is a major health burden. Pain results from the integration of the nociceptive message and neuronal communication relying on neurotransmitters such as glutamate, {gamma}-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin in brain regions including the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the nucleus accumbens (Nac), the caudate-putamen (Cpu) and the amygdala. Morphine remains the gold standard painkiller for severe pain via the activation of the mu opioid receptors. However, among side effects, morphine chronic treatment lead to antinociceptive tolerance. As antinociceptive tolerance might be linked to neurotransmission dysregulation, we have compared various neurotransmitter concentrations in acute vs chronic morphine conditions in the amygdala, PAG, Cpu, and the Nac of male and female mice. Experimental approachSex differences in morphine antinociception and tolerance were assessed using the tail-immersion test. The behavioural effects of acute and chronic morphine treatments, as well as sex differences in the levels of dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, glutamate and GABA in the amygdala, PAG, Cpu, and the Nac were determined by an absolute quantification LC-MS/MS approach using the isotopic dilution method. Key resultsThis study indicates, as previously reported, that female mice are less sensitive to morphine and develop morphine antinociceptive tolerance earlier than males (ED50 of 5.5{+/-}0.24 days vs 1.54{+/-}0.11 days, respectively). However, the rate at which the tolerance developed did not differ between both sex. We have found major differences in dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, glutamate and GABA levels between female and male mice in the amygdala, PAG, Cpu, and the Nac. Finally, no major effect of anti-nociceptive tolerance induced by chronic morphine was observed compared to acute administration of morphine. ConclusionNeurotransmitter differences are attributable mainly to sex differences in pain-related CNS regions. However, the impacts of morphine anti-nociceptive tolerance on dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, glutamate and GABA contents appeared to be limited.

neuroscience↗

Impact of neurons on patient derived-cardiomyocytes using organ-on-a-chip and iPSC biotechnologies

In the heart, cardiac function is regulated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that extends through the myocardium and establish junctions at the sinus node and ventricular levels. Thus, an increase or decrease of neuronal activity acutely affects myocardial function and chronically affects its structure through remodeling processes. The neuro-cardiac junction (NCJ), which is the major structure of this system, is poorly understood and only few cell models allow us to study it. Here we present an innovant neuro-cardiac organ-on-chip model to study this structure to better understand the mechanisms involved in the establishment of NCJ. To create such a system, we used microfluidic devices composed of two separate cells compartment interconnected by asymmetric microchannels. Rat PC12 cells, were differentiated to recapitulate the characteristics of sympathetic neurons, and cultivated with cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). We confirmed the presence of specialized structure between the two cell types that allow neuromodulation and observed that the neuronal stimulation impacts the excitation-contraction coupling properties including the intracellular calcium handling. Finally, we also co-cultivated human neurons (hiPSC-NRs) with human cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) both obtained from the same hiPSC line. Hence, we have developed a neuro-cardiac compartmentalized in vitro model system that allows to recapitulate structural and functional properties of neuro-cardiac junction and that can be used to better understand interaction between heart and brain in humans, as well as to evaluate the impact of drugs on a reconstructed human neuro-cardiac system.

physiology↗

Functional brain-wide network mapping during acute stress exposure in rats: Interaction between the lateral habenula and cortical, amygdalar, hypothalamic and monoaminergic regions.

Upon stress exposure a broad network of structures comes into play in order to provide adequate responses and restore homeostasis. It has been known for decades that the main structures engaged during the stress response are the medial prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, the hippocampus, the hypothalamus, the monoaminergic systems (noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin), and the periaqueductal gray. The lateral habenula (LHb) is an epithalamic structure directly connected to prefrontal cortical areas and to the amygdala, whereas it functionally interacts with the hippocampus. Also, it is a main modulator of monoaminergic systems. The LHb is activated upon exposure to basically all types of stressors, suggesting it is also involved in the stress response. However, it remains unknown if and how the LHb functionally interacts with the broad stress response network. In the current study we performed in rats a restraint stress procedure followed by immunohistochemical staining of the c-Fos protein throughout the brain. Using Graph Theory-based functional connectivity analyses, we confirm the principal hubs of the stress network (e.g. prefrontal cortex, amygdala, periventricular hypothalamus), and show that the LHb is engaged during stress exposure in close interaction with the medial prefrontal cortex, the lateral septum, and the medial habenula. In addition, we performed DREADD-induced LHb inactivation during the same restraint paradigm in order to explore its consequences on the stress response network. This last experiment gave contrasting results as the DREADD ligand alone, clozapine-N-oxide, was able to modify the network. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT TEXTIn this study, using immunohistochemical staining of the immediate early gene c-fos and graph theory-based functional correlational analyses, we aimed at unravelling the possible engagement of the lateral habenula (LHb) within the stress response network during acute stress exposure (10-min restraint) in rats. We found that the medial part of the LHb (LHbM) was preferentially engaged, and that this engagement was concomitant to this of structures such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the insular cortex (Ins), hypothalamic (PVH) and thalamic (PVT) paraventricular nuclei, the extended amygdala, comprising the Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the entire amygdala (AMG), as well as the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (RD). This suggests upon stressful situations the LHbM serves as a relay of cortical, thalamic, hypothalamic and temporal information, further transmitted to midbrain monoaminergic systems to probably initiate coping strategies. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=134 SRC="FIGDIR/small/491280v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (29K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a423eeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@32e1aaorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@7d6106org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16cff53_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

animal behavior and cognition↗

Central metabolism as a potential origin of sex differences in morphine analgesia but not in the induction of analgesic tolerance in mice

In rodents, morphine analgesia is influenced by sex. However, conflicting results exist regarding the interaction between sex and morphine analgesic tolerance. Morphine is metabolized in the liver and brain into morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G). Sex differences in morphine metabolism and differential metabolic adaptations during tolerance development might explain the behavioral discrepancies. The present article investigates the differences in peripheral and central morphine metabolism after acute and chronic morphine treatment in male and female mice. The first experiment aimed to determine whether morphine analgesia and tolerance differ between male and female mice using the tail-immersion test. The second experiment evaluated morphine and M3G metabolic kinetics in the blood using LC-MS/MS. Morphine and M3G were also quantified in several central nervous system (CNS) regions after acute and chronic morphine treatment. Finally, the blood-brain barrier permeability of M3G was assessed in male and female mice. This study demonstrated that female mice showed weaker morphine analgesia. In addition, tolerance appeared earlier in females but the sex discrepancies observed seemed to be due to the initial differences in morphine analgesia rather than to sex-specific mechanisms involving metabolism. Additionally, compared to male mice, female mice showed higher levels of M3G in the blood and in several CNS regions, whereas lower levels of morphine were observed in these brain regions. These differences are attributable mainly to morphine central metabolism, which differed between males and females in pain-related brain regions, consistent with the weaker analgesic effect in females. However, the role of morphine metabolism in analgesic tolerance seems rather limited.

neuroscience↗

Oxytocin Acts on Astrocytes in the Central Amygdala to Promote a Positive Emotional State

Oxytocin orchestrates social and emotional behaviors through modulation of neural circuits in brain structures such as the central amygdala (CeA). The long-standing dogma is that oxytocin signaling in the central nervous system occurs exclusively via direct actions on neurons. However, several findings over the last decades showed that astrocytes actively participate in the modulation of neuronal circuits. Here, we investigate the degree of astrocytes involvement in oxytocin functions. Using astrocyte specific gain and loss of function approaches, we demonstrate that CeA astrocytes not only directly respond to oxytocin, but are actually necessary for its effects on neuronal circuits and ultimately behavior. Our work identifies astrocytes as a crucial cellular substrate underlying the promotion of a positive emotional state by oxytocin. These results further corroborate that astrocytes are key regulators of neuronal circuits activity by responding to specific neuropeptidergic inputs, and opens up new perspectives to understand how neuromodulators gate brain functions.

neuroscience↗