Biology subjects

Toni, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Toni, N..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Intra-uterine position modulates lifelong hippocampal neurogenesis and anxiety-related behavior

Individual differences in vulnerability to disease are a defining feature of biology and are especially prominent in mood disorders, where susceptibility to stress varies markedly across individuals. Strikingly, such individuality also emerges in inbred mice despite genetic homogeneity and controlled environments, suggesting that early non-genomic factors can durably shape behavioral trajectories. Yet the developmental origin of this variability remains largely unknown. Here, we identify the intra-uterine position (IUP) as a potent source of inter-individual variability in emotional behavior by showing that it influences prenatal steroid exposure, hippocampal development, adult neurogenesis, and anxiety-like traits in inbred mice. At embryonic day 18.5, embryos adjacent to one or two male siblings (i.e. 1M/2M) exhibited altered brain steroid profiles, coinciding with increased proliferation of neural stem and progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus, as compared to 0M mice. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing further revealed that IUP leaves a transcriptional imprint on hippocampal development, with 1M/2M neural stem cells showing reduced stemness and activation of a neurogenic transcription program. In adulthood, 1M/2M mice presented reduced hippocampal and dentate gyrus volumes, diminished radial-glia-like cell counts, lower cell proliferation, and impaired dendritic maturation of immature neurons. Behaviorally, both juvenile (PND22) and young adult (8-week) 1M/2M mice displayed increased trait anxiety, and 1M/2M males exhibited heightened stress reactivity. In vitro, testosterone, but not progesterone, directly enhanced proliferation of adult rat hippocampal stem/progenitor cells, whereas corticosterone reduced it. In vivo, administration of the androgen receptor agonist dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to pregnant dams recapitulated IUP effects by increasing embryonic dentate gyrus (DG) proliferation in female embryos, whereas antagonism reduced progenitor proliferation in male embryos. Together, these results indicate that IUP has long-lasting effects on hippocampal development and anxiety and may underlie natural variations in trait anxiety.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

The astrocytic secretome increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial memory in health and disease

INTRODUCTION: Adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) plays an important role in memory and is regulated by astrocytes. Since astrocytic function deteriorates with pathological ageing and Alzheimers disease (AD), we hypothesize that the astrocytic secretome may rescue AHN and cognition. METHODS: We tested the effect of astrocyte-conditioned solution (ACS) on AHN and memory performances in young and aged mice and in two models of AD. RESULTS: ACS increased AHN and improved performance in the object location test in young and aged wild-type mice. In THY-Tau22 mice, a model of tau pathology, ACS restored AHN and cognitive performance. In APP/PS1 mice, a model of amyloid pathology, ACS reduced gliogenesis, and rescued deficits in AHN and spatial memory. In addition, ACS attenuated circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and the reaction of plaque-associated microglia. DISCUSSION: The astrocytic secretome is a promising, niche-targeted strategy to enhance hippocampal plasticity and memory across ageing and AD.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Astrocyte and mitochondrial footprints in brain-derived extracellular vesicles predict tau pathology

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by abnormal tau aggregation, with primary 3R (e.g., Picks disease, PiD) and 4R (e.g., progressive supranuclear palsy, PSP) variants posing a significant diagnostic challenge. Here, we examined brain-derived extracellular vesicles (BD-EVs) isolated from the prefrontal cortex of PiD (3R), PSP (4R), and non-demented controls (CTRL) to determine if these vesicles reflect disease-specific proteomic signatures. We found that while tau pathology does not substantially alter BD-EV concentration or the enrichment of core vesicular markers, it does influence their size distribution and protein cargo. BD-EV samples from PiD patients exhibited a greater abundance of small vesicles and distinct protein profiles when compared to PSP and CTRL. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified four key protein modules to account for variance between patient groups Endoplasmic Reticulum, Mitochondria, Microtubules, and Trivalent Inorganic Cation Transport. In PiD, astrocyte-derived mitochondrial proteins were significantly elevated, whereas neuronal microtubule-related proteins were diminished relative to both PSP and CTRL. Notably, changes in the mitochondrion and microtubule modules enhanced the detection of PiD pathology. Cellular origin annotation revealed a marked shift in BD-EV composition: PiD samples exhibited an increased astrocytic signature, while both PiD and PSP showed a reduction in neuronal proteins compared to CTRL. Crucially, the enrichment of astrocytic mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum proteins, alongside reduced neuronal proteins, correlated strongly with the severity of tau pathology (AT8-stained aggregates) in patient brains. These findings demonstrate that BD-EVs capture tau isoform-specific cellular and molecular alterations, offering a window into disease mechanisms at the neuron-glia interface. By linking distinct protein signatures and their cellular origins to tau pathology severity, our results highlight the potential of BD-EV profiling as a biomarker strategy for distinguishing between and monitoring the progression of 3R and 4R tauopathies.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Astrocyte-derived PEA116 increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and confers stress resilience

In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the neurogenic niche regulates several steps of adult neurogenesis, from the proliferation to the integration of newly formed neurons in the hippocampal network. However, the role of astrocytes in the regulation of adult neural stem cell (aNSC) proliferation is still little described. Here, we found that blocking vesicular release from astrocytes decreased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus, resulting in impaired adult neurogenesis. Inversely, astrocyte-conditioned medium increased cell proliferation in a vesicular release-dependent manner. We identified PEA116 as a peptide released by astrocytes, that is derived from the c-terminal portion of the PEA15 protein and increased cell proliferation. PEA116 increased ERK2 phosphorylation, decreased the expression of genes involved in aNSC quiescence, resulting in aNSC quiescence exit. The ensuing increase in hippocampal neurogenesis improved resilience to chronic stress. These findings highlight a novel peptide produced by astrocytes that regulates the early steps of adult neurogenesis, with an implication for mood disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Natural variations in maternal behaviour shape trait anxiety and hippocampal neurogenesis in offspring

Understanding the early origins of emotional traits and baseline anxiety is crucial for the development of personalized medicine in mood disorders. While previous research primarily focused on extreme conditions like chronic maternal deprivation, in the present study, we investigated how natural variations in maternal care influence anxiety-related behaviour and neurogenesis in C57BL/6J offspring in a longitudinal manner. We observed that mothers engaging in low maternal care (LMC) displayed lower adult neurogenesis in both the olfactory bulb and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus compared to high maternal care (HMC) mothers. We then observed that LMC-reared pups exhibited increased anxiety-related behaviour at postnatal day (PND) 5, 9, and 22. Furthermore, maternal behaviour induced the development of emotional individuality at early stage. This mood-related phenotype in LMC-reared offspring was associated with decreased neurogenesis after weaning at PND24. In another group of litters, we further examined neurogenesis at an earlier age (PND9) and already found a reduction in the population of adult neural progenitor cells and cell proliferation in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus of LMC-reared pups. These results highlight that natural variations in early life experiences such as maternal care, shape long-term brain plasticity and behaviour in offspring. This underscores the relevance of maternal care and adult neurogenesis in shaping personality-like traits related to mood disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Natural variations of adult neurogenesis and anxiety predict hierarchical status of inbred mice

Hierarchy provides a survival advantage to social animals in challenging circumstances. In mice, social dominance is associated with trait anxiety and reduced stress resilience which are regulated by adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Here, we tested whether adult hippocampal neurogenesis may regulate social dominance behavior. We observed that future dominant individuals exhibited higher trait anxiety and lower levels of hippocampal neurogenesis prior to social hierarchy formation, suggesting that baseline neurogenesis might predict individual social status among a group. This phenotype persisted after social hierarchy was stable. Experimentally reducing neurogenesis prior to the stabilization of social hierarchy in group-housed males increased the probability of mice to become dominant and increased anxiety. Finally, when innate dominance was assessed in socially isolated and anxiety-matched animals, mice with impaired neurogenesis displayed a dominant status toward strangers. Together, these results indicate that adult neurogenesis predicts and regulates hierarchical and situational dominance behavior along with anxiety-related behavior. These results provide a framework to study the mechanisms underlying social hierarchy and the dysregulation of dominance behavior in psychiatric diseases related to anxiety.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Platelet-derived LPA16:0 inhibits adult neurogenesis and stress resilience in anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorders are accompanied by changes in brain plasticity, stress vulnerability and heightened risk of depression. Here, we found that serum LPA16:0 abundance increased with trait anxiety in both human and mice and was sufficient to reduce the proliferation of adult hippocampal neural stem/progenitor cells. In humans, the main LPA receptor, LPA1, bears single nucleotide polymorphism variants associated with anxiety. In mice, LPA16:0 decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and stress resilience, whereas LPA1 antagonism or the reduction of platelets, the main source of circulating LPA16:0, increased adult neurogenesis and resilience to acute stress. Finally, the inhibition of adult neurogenesis abolished the beneficial effect of LPA1 antagonism on resilience against both acute and chronic stress. Together, these findings identify LPA16:0-LPA1 signaling as a regulation mechanism of adult neurogenesis and a potential therapeutic target for mood disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Accumulation of Tau in Extracellular Vesicles Disturbs the Astrocytic Mitochondrial System

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders involving the accumulation of tau isoforms in cell subpopulations such as astrocytes. The origins of the 3R and 4R isoforms of tau that accumulate in astrocytes remain unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) were isolated from primary neurons overexpressing 1N3R or 1N4R tau or from human brain extracts (progressive supranuclear palsy or Pick disease patients or controls) and characterized (electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), proteomics). After the isolated EVs were added to primary astrocytes or human iPSC-derived astrocytes, tau transfer and mitochondrial system function were evaluated (ELISA, immunofluorescence, MitoTracker staining). We demonstrated that neurons in which 3R or 4R tau accumulated had the capacity to transfer tau to astrocytes and that EVs were essential for the propagation of both isoforms of tau. Treatment with tau-containing EVs disrupted the astrocytic mitochondrial system, altering mitochondrial morphology, dynamics and redox state. Although similar levels of 3R and 4R tau were transferred, 3R tau-containing EVs were significantly more damaging to astrocytes than 4R tau-containing EVs. Moreover, EVs isolated from the brain fluid of patients with different tauopathies affected mitochondrial function in astrocytes derived from human iPSCs. Our data highlight that tau pathology spreads to surrounding astrocytes via EVs-mediated transfer and modify their function.

neuroscience↗