1 4508 108 MS-11, A MIMETIC OF THE MSIN3-BINDING HELIX IN NRSF, AMELIORATES SOCIAL INTERACTION DEFICITS IN A PRENATAL VALPROIC ACID-INDUCED AUTISM MOUSE MODEL. GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS PIVOTAL ROLES FOR EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN BOTH ANIMAL MODELS OF AND INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD). NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR (NRSF) BINDS TO NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCING ELEMENTS IN NEURONAL GENES AND RECRUITS CO-REPRESSORS, SUCH AS MSIN3, TO EPIGENETICALLY INHIBIT NEURONAL GENE EXPRESSION. BECAUSE DYSREGULATION OF NRSF IS RELATED TO ASD, HERE WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF MS-11, A CHEMICALLY OPTIMIZED MIMETIC OF THE MSIN3-BINDING HELIX IN NRSF, ON THE BEHAVIORAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES FOUND IN A MOUSE MODEL OF VALPROIC ACID (VPA)-INDUCED ASD. CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH MS-11 IMPROVED PRENATAL VPA-INDUCED DEFICITS IN SOCIAL INTERACTION. ADDITIONALLY, WE FOUND THAT NRSF MRNA EXPRESSION WAS GREATER IN THE SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX OF VPA-EXPOSED MICE THAN OF CONTROLS. AGREEING WITH THESE BEHAVIORAL FINDINGS, MICE THAT WERE PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO VPA SHOWED LOWER DENDRITIC SPINE DENSITY IN THE SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX, WHICH WAS REVERSED BY CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH MS-11. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT MS-11 HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVING ASD-RELATED SYMPTOMS THROUGH INHIBITION OF MSIN3-NRSF BINDING.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
2 5838  33 STRIATAL SHATI/NAT8L-BDNF PATHWAYS DETERMINE THE SENSITIVITY TO SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS IN MICE THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION. THE GLOBAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION INCREASES IN CORRELATION TO EXPOSURE TO SOCIAL STRESS. CHRONIC STRESS DOES NOT TRIGGER DEPRESSION IN ALL INDIVIDUALS, AS SOME REMAIN RESILIENT. THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO STRESS SENSITIVITY HAVE BEEN POORLY UNDERSTOOD, ALTHOUGH REVEALING THE REGULATION OF STRESS SENSITIVITY COULD HELP DEVELOP TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION. WE PREVIOUSLY FOUND THAT STRIATAL SHATI/NAT8L, AN N-ACETYLTRANSFERASE, WAS INCREASED IN A DEPRESSION MOUSE MODEL. WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLES OF SHATI/NAT8L IN STRESS SENSITIVITY IN MICE AND FOUND THAT SHATI/NAT8L AND BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) LEVELS IN THE DORSAL STRIATUM WERE INCREASED IN STRESS-SUSCEPTIBLE MICE BUT NOT IN RESILIENT MICE EXPOSED TO REPEATED SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS (RSDS). KNOCKDOWN OF SHATI/NAT8L IN THE DORSAL STRIATUM INDUCED RESILIENCE TO RSDS. IN ADDITION, BLOCKADE OF BDNF SIGNALING IN THE DORSAL STRIATUM BY ANA-12, A BDNF-SPECIFIC RECEPTOR TROPOMYOSIN-RECEPTOR-KINASE B (TRKB) INHIBITOR, ALSO INDUCED RESILIENCE TO STRESS. SHATI/NAT8L IS CORRELATED WITH BDNF EXPRESSION AFTER RSDS, AND BDNF IS DOWNSTREAM OF SHATI/NAT8L PATHWAYS IN THE DORSAL STRIATUM; SHATI/NAT8L IS EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED BY BDNF VIA HISTONE ACETYLATION. OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT STRIATAL SHATI/NAT8L-BDNF PATHWAYS DETERMINE STRESS SENSITIVITY THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION. THE STRIATAL SHATI/NAT8L-BDNF PATHWAY COULD BE A NOVEL TARGET FOR TREATMENTS OF DEPRESSION AND COULD ESTABLISH A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR DEPRESSION PATIENTS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
3 2674  33 ETHOSUXIMIDE REDUCES EPILEPTOGENESIS AND BEHAVIORAL COMORBIDITY IN THE GAERS MODEL OF GENETIC GENERALIZED EPILEPSY. PURPOSE: ETHOSUXIMIDE (ESX) IS A DRUG OF CHOICE FOR THE SYMPTOMATIC TREATMENT OF ABSENCE SEIZURES. CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH ESX HAS BEEN REPORTED TO HAVE DISEASE-MODIFYING ANTIEPILEPTOGENIC ACTIVITY IN THE WAG/RIJ RAT MODEL OF GENETIC GENERALIZED EPILEPSY (GGE) WITH ABSENCE SEIZURES. HERE WE EXAMINED WHETHER CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH ESX (1) POSSESSES ANTIEPILEPTOGENIC EFFECTS IN THE GENETIC ABSENCE EPILEPSY RATS FROM STRASBOURG (GAERS) MODEL OF GGE, (2) IS ASSOCIATED WITH A MITIGATION OF BEHAVIORAL COMORBIDITIES, AND (3) INFLUENCES GENE EXPRESSION IN THE SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX REGION WHERE SEIZURES ARE THOUGHT TO ORIGINATE. METHODS: GAERS AND NONEPILEPTIC CONTROL (NEC) RATS WERE CHRONICALLY TREATED WITH ESX (IN DRINKING WATER) OR CONTROL (TAP WATER) FROM 3 TO 22 WEEKS OF AGE. SUBSEQUENTLY, ALL ANIMALS RECEIVED TAP WATER ONLY FOR ANOTHER 12 WEEKS TO ASSESS ENDURING EFFECTS OF TREATMENT. SEIZURE FREQUENCY AND ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIORS WERE SERIALLY ASSESSED THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIMENTAL PARADIGM. TREATMENT EFFECTS ON THE EXPRESSION OF KEY COMPONENTS OF THE EPIGENETIC MOLECULAR MACHINERY, THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE ENZYMES, WERE ASSESSED USING QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR). KEY FINDINGS: ESX TREATMENT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED SEIZURES IN GAERS DURING THE TREATMENT PHASE, AND THIS EFFECT WAS MAINTAINED DURING THE 12-WEEK POSTTREATMENT PHASE (P < 0.05). FURTHERMORE, THE ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIORS PRESENT IN GAERS WERE REDUCED BY ESX TREATMENT (P < 0.05). MOLECULAR ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT ESX TREATMENT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE ENZYME MESSENGER RNA (MRNA) IN CORTEX. SIGNIFICANCE: CHRONIC ESX TREATMENT HAS DISEASE-MODIFYING EFFECTS IN THE GAERS MODEL OF GGE, WITH ANTIEPILEPTOGENIC EFFECTS AGAINST ABSENCE SEIZURES AND MITIGATION OF BEHAVIORAL COMORBIDITIES. THE CELLULAR MECHANISM FOR THESE EFFECTS MAY INVOLVE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
4 6690  37 VALPROIC ACID SILENCING OF ASCL1B/ASCL1 RESULTS IN THE FAILURE OF SEROTONERGIC DIFFERENTIATION IN A ZEBRAFISH MODEL OF FETAL VALPROATE SYNDROME. FETAL VALPROATE SYNDROME (FVS) IS CAUSED BY IN UTERO EXPOSURE TO THE DRUG SODIUM VALPROATE. VALPROATE IS USED WORLDWIDE FOR THE TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY, AS A MOOD STABILISER AND FOR ITS PAIN-RELIEVING PROPERTIES. IN ADDITION TO BIRTH DEFECTS, FVS IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD), WHICH IS CHARACTERISED BY ABNORMAL BEHAVIOURS. VALPROATE PERTURBS MULTIPLE BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS AND ALTERS GENE EXPRESSION THROUGH ITS INHIBITION OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES. WHICH, IF ANY, OF THESE MECHANISMS IS RELEVANT TO THE GENESIS OF ITS BEHAVIOURAL SIDE EFFECTS IS UNCLEAR. NEUROANATOMICAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH FVS HAVE BEEN REPORTED AND, AMONG THESE, ALTERED SEROTONERGIC NEURONAL DIFFERENTIATION IS A CONSISTENT FINDING. ALTERED SEROTONIN HOMEOSTASIS IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH AUTISM. HERE WE HAVE USED A CHEMICAL-GENETICS APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR DEFECT IN A ZEBRAFISH FVS MODEL. VALPROATE CAUSES THE SELECTIVE FAILURE OF ZEBRAFISH CENTRAL SEROTONIN EXPRESSION. IT DOES SO BY DOWNREGULATING THE PRONEURAL GENE ASCL1B, AN ORTHOLOG OF MAMMALIAN ASCL1, WHICH IS A KNOWN DETERMINANT OF SEROTONERGIC IDENTITY IN THE MAMMALIAN BRAINSTEM. ASCL1B IS SUFFICIENT TO RESCUE SEROTONIN EXPRESSION IN VALPROATE-TREATED EMBRYOS. CHEMICAL AND GENETIC BLOCKADE OF THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE HDAC1 DOWNREGULATES ASCL1B, CONSISTENT WITH THE HDAC1-MEDIATED SILENCING OF ASCL1B EXPRESSION BY VALPROATE. MOREOVER, TONIC NOTCH SIGNALLING IS CRUCIAL FOR ASCL1B REPRESSION BY VALPROATE. CONCOMITANT BLOCKADE OF NOTCH SIGNALLING RESTORES ASCL1B EXPRESSION AND SEROTONIN EXPRESSION IN BOTH VALPROATE-EXPOSED AND HDAC1 MUTANT EMBRYOS. TOGETHER, THESE DATA PROVIDE A MOLECULAR EXPLANATION FOR SEROTONERGIC DEFECTS IN FVS AND HIGHLIGHT AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM FOR GENOME-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION IN DISEASE.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
5 1330  38 DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS ARE REGULATED BY NOX1/NADPH OXIDASE BY REDOX MODIFICATION OF NMDA RECEPTOR 1. INVOLVEMENT OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) HAS BEEN SUGGESTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. NOX1 IS A NONPHAGOCYTIC FORM OF NADPH OXIDASE WHOSE EXPRESSION IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IS NEGLIGIBLE COMPARED WITH OTHER NOX ISOFORMS. HOWEVER, NOX1-DERIVED ROS INCREASE INFLAMMATORY PAIN AND TOLERANCE TO OPIOID ANALGESIA. TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF NOX1 IN THE BRAIN, WE EXAMINED DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS IN MICE DEFICIENT IN NOX1 (NOX1(-/Y)). DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS INDUCED BY CHRONIC SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS OR ADMINISTRATION OF CORTICOSTERONE (CORT) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY AMELIORATED IN NOX1(-/Y) GENERATION OF ROS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC) OF MICE ADMINISTRATED WITH CORT, WHILE NOX1 MRNA WAS UPREGULATED ONLY IN THE VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA (VTA) AMONG BRAIN AREAS RESPONSIBLE FOR EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS. DELIVERY OF MIRNA AGAINST NOX1 TO VTA RESTORED CORT-INDUCED DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS IN WILD-TYPE (WT) LITTERMATES. ADMINISTRATION OF CORT TO WT, BUT NOT TO NOX1(-/Y), SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED TRANSCRIPT LEVELS OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF), WITH A CONCOMITANT INCREASE IN DNA METHYLATION OF THE PROMOTER REGIONS IN BDNF DELIVERY OF MIRNA AGAINST NOX1 TO VTA RESTORED THE LEVEL OF BDNF MRNA IN WT PFC. REDOX PROTEOME ANALYSES DEMONSTRATED THAT NMDA RECEPTOR 1 (NR1) WAS AMONG THE MOLECULES REDOX REGULATED BY NOX1. IN CULTURED CORTICAL NEURONS, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPRESSED NMDA-INDUCED UPREGULATION OF BDNF TRANSCRIPTS IN NR1-EXPRESSING CELLS BUT NOT IN CELLS HARBORING MUTANT NR1 (C744A). TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST A KEY ROLE OF NOX1 IN DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS THROUGH NR1-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF IN THE MESOPREFRONTAL PROJECTION.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT NADPH OXIDASE IS A SOURCE OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS. WE PRESENTLY SHOWED THE INVOLVEMENT OF A NONPHAGOCYTIC TYPE OF NADPH OXIDASE, NOX1, IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS, INCLUDING BEHAVIORAL, BIOCHEMICAL, AND ANATOMICAL CHANGES IN MICE. THE OXIDATION OF NR1 BY NOX1-DERIVED ROS WAS DEMONSTRATED IN PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC), WHICH MAY BE CAUSALLY LINKED TO THE DOWNREGULATION OF BDNF, PROMOTING DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS. GIVEN THAT NOX1 IS UPREGULATED ONLY IN VTA BUT NOT IN PFC, MESOCORTICAL PROJECTIONS APPEAR TO PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN NOX1-DEPENDENT DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS. OUR STUDY IS THE FIRST TO PRESENT THE POTENTIAL MOLECULAR MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSION THROUGH THE NOX1-INDUCED OXIDATION OF NR1 AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF.	2017	

6 5503  20 RGS9-2--CONTROLLED ADAPTATIONS IN THE STRIATUM DETERMINE THE ONSET OF ACTION AND EFFICACY OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN STATES. THE STRIATAL PROTEIN REGULATOR OF G-PROTEIN SIGNALING 9-2 (RGS9-2) PLAYS A KEY MODULATORY ROLE IN OPIOID, MONOAMINE, AND OTHER G-PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTOR RESPONSES. HERE, WE USE THE MURINE SPARED-NERVE INJURY MODEL OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN TO INVESTIGATE THE MECHANISM BY WHICH RGS9-2 IN THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS (NAC), A BRAIN REGION INVOLVED IN MOOD, REWARD, AND MOTIVATION, MODULATES THE ACTIONS OF TRICYCLIC ANTIDEPRESSANTS (TCAS). PREVENTION OF RGS9-2 ACTION IN THE NAC INCREASES THE EFFICACY OF THE TCA DESIPRAMINE AND DRAMATICALLY ACCELERATES ITS ONSET OF ACTION. BY CONTROLLING THE ACTIVATION OF EFFECTOR MOLECULES BY G PROTEIN ALPHA AND BETAGAMMA SUBUNITS, RGS9-2 AFFECTS SEVERAL PROTEIN INTERACTIONS, PHOSPHOPROTEIN LEVELS, AND THE FUNCTION OF THE EPIGENETIC MODIFIER HISTONE DEACETYLASE 5, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR TCA RESPONSIVENESS. FURTHERMORE, INFORMATION FROM RNA-SEQUENCING ANALYSIS REVEALS THAT RGS9-2 IN THE NAC AFFECTS THE EXPRESSION OF MANY GENES KNOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN NOCICEPTION, ANALGESIA, AND ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUG ACTIONS. OUR FINDINGS PROVIDE NOVEL INFORMATION ON NAC-SPECIFIC CELLULAR MECHANISMS THAT MEDIATE THE ACTIONS OF TCAS IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN STATES.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
7 2666  35 ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERMITTENT COLD STRESS MODEL USING TUPAIA BELANGERI AND EVALUATION OF COMPOUND C737 TARGETING NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT INTERMITTENT COLD STRESS (ICS) INDUCES DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIORS IN MAMMALS. TUPAIA BELANGERI (THE TREE SHREW) IS THE ONLY EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL OTHER THAN THE CHIMPANZEE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INFECTION BY HEPATITIS B AND C VIRUSES. MOREOVER, FULL GENOME SEQUENCE ANALYSIS HAS REVEALED STRONG HOMOLOGY BETWEEN HOST PROTEINS IN TUPAIA AND IN HUMANS AND OTHER PRIMATES. TUPAIA NEUROMODULATOR RECEPTOR PROTEINS ARE ALSO KNOWN TO HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF HOMOLOGY WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING PRIMATE PROTEINS. BASED ON THESE SIMILARITIES, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT INDUCTION OF ICS IN TUPAIA WOULD PROVIDE A USEFUL ANIMAL MODEL OF STRESS RESPONSES. WE EXPOSED YOUNG ADULT TUPAIA TO ICS AND OBSERVED DECREASES IN BODY TEMPERATURE AND BODY WEIGHT IN BOTH FEMALE AND MALE TUPAIA, SUGGESTING THAT TUPAIA ARE AN APPROPRIATE ANIMAL MODEL FOR ICS STUDIES. WE FURTHER EXAMINED THE EFFICACY OF A NEW SMALL-MOLECULE COMPOUND, C737, AGAINST THE EFFECTS OF ICS. C737 MIMICS THE HELICAL STRUCTURE OF NEURON-RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR (NRSF/REST), WHICH REGULATES A WIDE RANGE OF TARGET GENES INVOLVED IN NEURONAL FUNCTION AND PAIN MODULATION. TREATMENT WITH C737 SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED STRESS-INDUCED WEIGHT LOSS IN FEMALE TUPAIA; THESE EFFECTS WERE STRONGER THAN THOSE ELICITED BY THE ANTIDEPRESSANT AGOMELATINE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT TUPAIA REPRESENTS A USEFUL NON-RODENT ICS MODEL. OUR DATA ALSO PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE FUNCTION OF NRSF/REST IN STRESS-INDUCED DEPRESSION AND OTHER DISORDERS WITH EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES OR THOSE WITH HIGH PREVALENCE IN WOMEN.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
8 3130  23 GLAST BUT NOT LEAST--DISTRIBUTION, FUNCTION, GENETICS AND EPIGENETICS OF L-GLUTAMATE TRANSPORT IN BRAIN--FOCUS ON GLAST/EAAT1. SYNAPTICALLY RELEASED L-GLUTAMATE, THE MOST IMPORTANT EXCITATORY NEUROTRANSMITTER IN THE CNS, IS REMOVED FROM EXTRACELLULAR SPACE BY FAST AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORT MEDIATED BY SEVERAL TRANSPORTERS; THE MOST ABUNDANT ONES ARE EAAT1/GLAST AND EAAT2/GLT1. THE REVIEW FIRST SUMMARIZES THEIR LOCATION, FUNCTIONS AND BASIC CHARACTERISTICS. WE THEN LOOK AT GENETICS AND EPIGENETICS OF EAAT1/GLAST AND EAAT2/GLT1 AND PERFORM IN SILICO ANALYSES OF THEIR PROMOTER REGIONS. THERE IS ONE CPG ISLAND IN SLC1A2 (EAAT2/GLT1) GENE AND NONE IN SLC1A3 (EAAT1/GLAST) SUGGESTING THAT DNA METHYLATION IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM REGULATING EAAT1/GLAST LEVELS IN BRAIN. THERE ARE TARGETS FOR SPECIFIC MIRNA IN SLC1A2 (EAAT2/GLT1) GENE. WE ALSO NOTE THAT WHILE DEFECTS IN EAAT2/GLT1 HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS PATHOLOGICAL STATES INCLUDING CHRONIC NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ON POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DEFECTIVE OR DYSFUNCTIONAL EAAT1/GLAST TO ANY SPECIFIC BRAIN DISEASE. FINALLY, WE REVIEW EVIDENCE OF EAAT1/GLAST INVOLVEMENT IN MECHANISMS OF BRAIN RESPONSE TO ALCOHOLISM AND PRESENT SOME PRELIMINARY DATA SHOWING THAT ETHANOL, AT CONCENTRATIONS WHICH MAY BE REACHED FOLLOWING HEAVY DRINKING, CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EAAT1/GLAST IN CULTURED ASTROCYTES; THE EFFECT IS BLOCKED BY BACLOFEN, A GABA-B RECEPTOR AGONIST AND A DRUG POTENTIALLY USEFUL IN THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM. WE ARGUE THAT MORE RESEARCH EFFORT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON EAAT1/GLAST, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ADDICTION.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
9 6664  28 UPREGULATION OF LNCRNA71132 IN THE SPINAL CORD REGULATES HYPERSENSITIVITY IN A RAT MODEL OF BONE CANCER PAIN. BONE CANCER PAIN (BCP) IS A PERVASIVE CLINICAL SYMPTOM WHICH IMPAIRS THE QUALITY LIFE. LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) ARE ENRICHED IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND PLAY INDISPENSABLE ROLES IN NUMEROUS BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, WHILE ITS REGULATORY FUNCTION IN NOCICEPTIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING REMAINS ELUSIVE. HERE, WE REPORTED THAT FUNCTIONAL MODULATORY ROLE OF ENSRNOT00000071132 (LNCRNA71132) IN THE BCP PROCESS AND SPONGING WITH MIR-143 AND ITS DOWNSTREAM GPR85-DEPENDENT SIGNALING CASCADE. SPINAL LNCRNA71132 WAS REMARKABLY INCREASED IN THE RAT MODEL OF BONE CANCER PAIN. THE KNOCKDOWN OF SPINAL LNCRNA71132 REVERTED BCP BEHAVIORS AND SPINAL C-FOS NEURONAL SENSITIZATION. OVEREXPRESSION OF SPINAL LNCRNA71132 IN NAIVE RAT GENERATED PAIN BEHAVIORS, WHICH WERE ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED SPINAL C-FOS NEURONAL SENSITIZATION. FURTHERMORE, IT WAS FOUND THAT LNCRNA71132 PARTICIPATES IN THE MODULATION OF BCP BY INVERSELY REGULATING THE PROCESSING OF MIR-143-5P. IN ADDITION, AN INCREASE IN EXPRESSION OF SPINAL LNCRNA71132 RESULTED IN THE DECREASE IN EXPRESSION OF MIR-143 UNDER THE BCP STATE. FINALLY, IT WAS FOUND THAT MIR-143-5P REGULATES PAIN BEHAVIORS BY TARGETING GPR85. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-143-5P IN THE SPINAL CORD REVERTED THE NOCICEPTIVE BEHAVIORS TRIGGERED BY BCP, ACCOMPANIED BY A DECREASE IN EXPRESSION OF SPINAL GPR85 PROTEIN, BUT NO INFLUENCE ON EXPRESSION OF GPR85 MRNA. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY INDICATE THAT LNCRNA71132 WORKS AS A MIRNA SPONGE IN MIR-143-5P-MEDIATED POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL MODULATION OF GPR85 EXPRESSION IN BCP. THEREFORE, EPIGENETIC INTERVENTIONS AGAINST LNCRNA71132 MAY POTENTIALLY WORK AS NOVEL TREATMENT AVENUES IN TREATING NOCICEPTIVE HYPERSENSITIVITY TRIGGERED BY BONE CANCER.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
10 4766  26 NT-4/5 AND LIF, BUT NOT NT-3 AND BDNF, PROMOTE NPY MRNA EXPRESSION IN CORTICAL NEURONS IN THE ABSENCE OF SPONTANEOUS BIOELECTRICAL ACTIVITY. EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE KNOWN TO INFLUENCE THE DIFFERENTIATION OF NEOCORTICAL NEURONS. THE PRESENT STUDY ANALYSES THE ROLE OF SPONTANEOUS BIOELECTRICAL ACTIVITY (SBA) AND NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS ON THE EXPRESSION OF NEUROPEPTIDE Y (NPY) IN RAT VISUAL CORTICAL NEURONS USING ORGANOTYPIC MONOCULTURES PREPARED FROM NEWBORN ANIMALS AND IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION TO DETECT THE NPY MESSENGER RIBONUCLEIC ACID (MRNA). SPONTANEOUSLY ACTIVE CORTEX CULTURES DISPLAY NPY MRNA EXPRESSION IN ABOUT 7% OF ALL CORTICAL NEURONS FROM 10 DAYS IN VITRO (DIV) ON. BLOCKING THE SBA BY CHRONIC APPLICATION OF 10 MM MG2+ FOR 3-30 DIV REDUCES THE PERCENTAGE OF NPY NEURONS TO ABOUT 2%. ALLOWING AN INITIAL PHASE OF SBA (1-20 DIV) FOLLOWED BY AN SBA BLOCKADE (FOR 21-50 DIV) RESULTS IN 2% LABELLED NEURONS, INDICATING A DRAMATIC REDUCTION OF NPY MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE ABSENCE OF SBA. SURPRISINGLY, THE REVERSE EXPERIMENT (A PERIOD OF SBA BLOCKADE FOR 1-20 DIV FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF SBA RECOVERY FOR 21-40 DIV) DOES NOT CAUSE AN UPREGULATION OF NPY MRNA EXPRESSION. HOWEVER, ALLOWING CULTURES TO DIFFERENTIATE AS SPONTANEOUSLY ACTIVE CULTURES, THEN APPLYING A TRANSIENT PERIOD OF SBA BLOCKADE WHICH IS FOLLOWED BY A SECOND PERIOD OF SBA, DOES RESCUE THE NPY MRNA EXPRESSION IN 7% OF THE CORTICAL NEURONS. WE CONCLUDE THAT SBA IS A MAIN TRIGGER FOR NPY MRNA EXPRESSION AND IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DURING AN EARLY POSTNATAL PERIOD OF DIFFERENTIATION. WE THEN ANALYSED WHETHER NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS KNOWN TO MODULATE CORTICAL NEUROPEPTIDE EXPRESSION ARE ABLE TO DO SO IN THE ABSENCE OF SBA. SUPPLEMENTING CHRONICALLY BLOCKED CULTURES WITH THE NEUROTROPHINS, BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF), NEUROTROPHIN-3 (NT-3), NEUROTROPHIN-4/5 (NT-4/5) AND THE CYTOKINE, LEUKAEMIA INHIBITORY FACTOR (LIF), REVEALS THAT BDNF AND NT-3 ARE UNABLE TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF NPY NEURONS. IN CONTRAST, LIF AND NT-4/5 INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF NPY NEURONS TO 4 AND 6-7%, RESPECTIVELY. MOREOVER, NEURONS TREATED WITH NT-4/5 DISPLAY A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF NPY MRNA EXPRESSION IN SOMATA AND IN THE DENDRITIC TREES. THE DATA SUGGEST A COMPLEX INTERPLAY AND A HIERARCHY OF EPIGENETIC FACTORS IN REGULATING THE NEUROCHEMICAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE DEVELOPING NEOCORTEX.	1998	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
11  889  31 CHRONIC DIETARY ADMINISTRATION OF VALPROIC ACID PROTECTS NEURONS OF THE RAT NUCLEUS BASALIS MAGNOCELLULARIS FROM IBOTENIC ACID NEUROTOXICITY. VALPROIC ACID (VPA) HAS BEEN USED FOR MANY YEARS AS A DRUG OF CHOICE FOR EPILEPSY AND MOOD DISORDERS. RECENTLY, EVIDENCE HAS BEEN PROPOSED FOR A WIDE SPECTRUM OF ACTIONS OF THIS DRUG, INCLUDING ANTITUMORAL AND NEUROPROTECTIVE PROPERTIES. VALPROIC ACID-MEDIATED NEUROPROTECTION IN VIVO HAS BEEN SO FAR DEMONSTRATED IN A LIMITED NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTAL MODELS. IN THIS STUDY, WE HAVE TESTED THE NEUROPROTECTIVE POTENTIAL OF CHRONIC (4 + 1 WEEKS) DIETARY ADMINISTRATION OF VPA ON DEGENERATION OF CHOLINERGIC AND GABAERGIC NEURONS OF THE RAT NUCLEUS BASALIS MAGNOCELLULARIS (NBM), INJECTED WITH THE EXCITOTOXIN, IBOTENIC ACID (IBO), AN ANIMAL MODELS THAT IS RELEVANT FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE-LIKE NEURODEGENERATION. WE SHOW THAT VPA TREATMENT SIGNIFICANTLY PROTECTS BOTH CHOLINERGIC AND GABAERGIC NEURONS PRESENT IN THE INJECTED AREA FROM THE EXCITOTOXIC INSULT. A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF NEUROPROTECTION, IN PARTICULAR, IS EXERTED TOWARDS THE CHOLINERGIC NEURONS OF THE NBM PROJECTING TO THE CORTEX, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER LEVELS OF CHOLINERGIC MARKERS MAINTAINED IN THE TARGET CORTICAL AREA OF VPA-TREATED RATS AFTER IBO INJECTION IN THE NBM. WE FURTHER SHOW THAT CHRONIC VPA ADMINISTRATION RESULTS IN INCREASED ACETYLATION OF HISTONE H3 IN BRAIN, CONSISTENT WITH THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORY ACTION OF VPA AND PUTATIVELY LINKED TO A NEUROPROTECTIVE ACTION OF THE DRUG MEDIATED AT THE EPIGENETIC LEVEL.	2009	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
12 2758  26 EXPRESSION OF HORMONAL CARCINOGENESIS GENES AND RELATED REGULATORY MICRORNAS IN UTERUS AND OVARIES OF DDT-TREATED FEMALE RATS. THE INSECTICIDE DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) IS A NONMUTAGENIC XENOBIOTIC COMPOUND ABLE TO EXERT ESTROGEN-LIKE EFFECTS RESULTING IN ACTIVATION OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR-ALPHA (ERALPHA) FOLLOWED BY CHANGED EXPRESSION OF ITS DOWNSTREAM TARGET GENES. IN ADDITION, STUDIES PERFORMED OVER RECENT YEARS SUGGEST THAT DDT MAY ALSO INFLUENCE EXPRESSION OF MICRORNAS. HOWEVER, AN IMPACT OF DDT ON EXPRESSION OF ER, MICRORNAS, AND RELATED TARGET GENES HAS NOT BEEN FULLY ELUCIDATED. HERE, USING REAL-TIME PCR, WE ASSESSED CHANGES IN EXPRESSION OF KEY GENES INVOLVED IN HORMONAL CARCINOGENESIS AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY RELATED REGULATORY ONCOGENIC/TUMOR SUPPRESSOR MICRORNAS AND THEIR TARGET GENES IN THE UTERUS AND OVARIES OF FEMALE WISTAR RATS DURING SINGLE AND CHRONIC MULTIPLE-DOSE DDT EXPOSURE. WE FOUND THAT APPLYING DDT RESULTS IN ALTERED EXPRESSION OF MICRORNAS-221, -222, -205, -126A, AND -429, THEIR TARGET GENES (PTEN, DICER1), AS WELL AS GENES INVOLVED IN HORMONAL CARCINOGENESIS (ESR1, PGR, CCND1, CYP19A1). NOTABLY, CYP19A1 EXPRESSION SEEMS TO BE ALSO REGULATED BY MICRORNAS-221, -222, AND -205. THE DATA SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC EFFECTS INDUCED BY DDT AS A POTENTIAL CARCINOGEN MAY BE BASED ON AT LEAST TWO MECHANISMS: (I) ACTIVATION OF ERALPHA FOLLOWED BY ALTERED EXPRESSION OF THE TARGET GENES ENCODING RECEPTOR PGR AND CCND1 AS WELL AS IMPAIRED EXPRESSION OF CYP19A1, AFFECTING, THEREBY, CELL HORMONE BALANCE; AND (II) CHANGED EXPRESSION OF MICRORNAS RESULTING IN IMPAIRED EXPRESSION OF RELATED TARGET GENES INCLUDING REDUCED LEVEL OF CYP19A1 MRNA.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
13 3465  30 HYPOTHESIS: REGULATION OF NEUROPLASTICITY MAY INVOLVE I-MOTIF AND G-QUADRUPLEX DNA FORMATION MODULATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. RECENT STUDIES DEMONSTRATED THE EXISTENCE IN VIVO OF VARIOUS FUNCTIONAL DNA STRUCTURES THAT DIFFER FROM THE DOUBLE HELIX. THE G-QUADRUPLEX (G4) AND INTERCALATED MOTIF (I-MOTIF OR IM) DNA STRUCTURES ARE FORMED AS KNOTS WHERE, CORRESPONDINGLY, GUANINES OR CYTOSINES ON THE SAME STRAND OF DNA BIND TO EACH OTHER. THERE ARE GROUNDS TO BELIEVE THAT G4 AND IM SEQUENCES PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN REGULATING GENE EXPRESSION CONSIDERING THEIR TENDENCY TO BE FOUND IN OR NEAR REGULATORY SITES (SUCH AS PROMOTERS, ENHANCERS, AND TELOMERES) AS WELL AS THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE PREVALENCE OF G4 OR IM CONFORMATIONS AND SPECIFIC PHASES OF CELL CYCLE. NOTABLY, G4 AND IM CAPABLE SEQUENCES TEND TO BE FOUND ON THE OPPOSITE STRANDS OF THE SAME DNA SITE WITH AT MOST ONE OF THE TWO STRUCTURES FORMED AT ANY GIVEN TIME. THE RECENT EVIDENCE THAT K(+), MG(2+) CONCENTRATIONS DIRECTLY AFFECT IM FORMATION (AND LIKELY G4 FORMATION INDIRECTLY) LEAD US TO BELIEVE THAT THESE STRUCTURES MAY PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY OF NEURONS, AND, THEREFORE, IN A VARIETY OF CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) FUNCTIONS INCLUDING MEMORY, LEARNING, HABITUAL BEHAVIORS, PAIN PERCEPTION AND OTHERS. FURTHERMORE, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, WHICH HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY AND MEMORY FORMATION, WERE ALSO SHOWN TO INFLUENCE FORMATION AND STABILITY OF G4S AND IMS. OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT NON-CANONICAL DNA AND RNA STRUCTURES COULD BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF NEUROPLASTICITY CONTROL VIA GENE EXPRESSION REGULATION AT THE LEVEL OF TRANSCRIPTION, TRANSLATION AND SPLICING. WE PROPOSE THAT THE REGULATORY ACTIVITY OF DNA IM AND G4 STRUCTURES IS MODULATED BY DNA METHYLATION/DEMETHYLATION OF THE IM AND/OR G4 SEQUENCES, WHICH FACILITATES THE SWITCH BETWEEN CANONICAL AND NON-CANONICAL CONFORMATION. OTHER NEURONAL MECHANISMS INTERACTING WITH THE FORMATION AND REGULATORY ACTIVITY OF NON-CANONICAL DNA AND RNA STRUCTURES, PARTICULARLY G4, IM AND TRIPLEXES, MAY INVOLVE MICRORNAS AS WELL AS ION AND PROTON FLUXES. WE ARE PROPOSING EXPERIMENTS IN ACUTE BRAIN SLICES AND IN VIVO TO TEST OUR HYPOTHESIS. THE PROPOSED STUDIES WOULD PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO FUNDAMENTAL NEURONAL MECHANISMS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE AND POTENTIALLY OPEN NEW AVENUES FOR TREATING MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
14 6484  19 TOXICOLOGIC PROFILE OF ACRYLONITRILE. ACRYLONITRILE IS A MONOMER USED EXTENSIVELY AS A RAW MATERIAL IN THE MANUFACTURING OF ACRYLIC FIBERS, PLASTICS, SYNTHETIC RUBBERS, AND ACRYLAMIDE. IT HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A PROBABLE HUMAN CARCINOGEN ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF NUMEROUS CHRONIC RAT BIOASSAYS. THE PRESENT REPORT SUMMARIZES THE TOXICITY DATA ON ACRYLONITRILE AND REVIEWS AVAILABLE DATA CONCERNING THE MECHANISM (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC) BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE IS CARCINOGENIC IN RATS. FROM THE EVALUATION OF THE RELEVANT TOXICITY DATA, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT ACRYLONITRILE IS INDEED CARCINOGENIC TO RATS AFTER EITHER ORAL OR INHALATIONAL EXPOSURE. HOWEVER, INFORMATION ON OTHER MAMMALIAN SPECIES IS LACKING, AND, MOREOVER, THE EXACT MECHANISM OF THE CARCINOGENIC PROCESS IS UNCLEAR. THEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO CONDUCT AN ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM INHALATION CARCINOGENICITY STUDY WITH ACRYLONITRILE IN MICE, AS WELL AS STUDIES INTO THE MECHANISM BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE INDUCES (BRAIN) TUMORS IN RATS (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC).	1998	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
15  368  33 AMYLOID BETA-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC ALTERATION OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN 3 CONTROLS CELL SURVIVAL IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SWEDISH DOUBLE MUTATION (KM670/671NL) OF AMYLOID PRECURSOR PROTEIN (APP) IS REPORTED TO INCREASE TOXIC AMYLOID BETA (ABETA) PRODUCTION VIA ABERRANT CLEAVAGE AT THE BETA-SECRETASE SITE AND THEREBY CAUSE EARLY-ONSET ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS LEADING TO AD PATHOGENESIS REMAINS LARGELY UNKNOWN. PREVIOUSLY, OUR TRANSCRIPTOME SEQUENCE ANALYSES REVEALED GLOBAL EXPRESSIONAL MODIFICATIONS OF OVER 600 GENES IN APP-SWEDISH MUTANT-EXPRESSING H4 (H4-SW) CELLS COMPARED TO WILD TYPE H4 CELLS. INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN 3 (IGFBP3) IS ONE GENE THAT SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED MRNA EXPRESSION IN H4-SW CELLS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF IGFBP3 IN AD PATHOGENESIS AND ELUCIDATED THE MECHANISMS REGULATING ITS EXPRESSION. WE OBSERVED DECREASED IGFBP3 EXPRESSION IN THE H4-SW CELL LINE AS WELL AS THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF AD MODEL TRANSGENIC MICE. TREATMENT WITH EXOGENOUS IGFBP3 PROTEIN INHIBITED ABETA1-42- INDUCED CELL DEATH AND CASPASE-3 ACTIVITY, WHEREAS SIRNA-MEDIATED SUPPRESSION OF IGFBP3 EXPRESSION INDUCED CELL DEATH AND CASPASE-3 CLEAVAGE. IN PRIMARY HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS, ADMINISTRATION OF IGFBP3 PROTEIN BLOCKED APOPTOTIC CELL DEATH DUE TO ABETA1-42 TOXICITY. THESE DATA IMPLICATE A PROTECTIVE ROLE FOR IGFBP3 AGAINST ABETA1-42-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS. NEXT, WE INVESTIGATED THE REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF IGFBP3 EXPRESSION IN AD PATHOGENESIS. WE OBSERVED ABNORMAL IGFBP3 HYPERMETHYLATION WITHIN THE PROMOTER CPG ISLAND IN H4-SW CELLS. TREATMENT WITH THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE RESTORED IGFBP3 EXPRESSION AT BOTH THE MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ABETA1-42 INDUCED IGFBP3 HYPERMETHYLATION AT CPGS, PARTICULARLY AT LOCI -164 AND -173, AND SUBSEQUENTLY SUPPRESSED IGFBP3 EXPRESSION. THEREFORE, WE DEMONSTRATE THAT EXPRESSION OF ANTI-APOPTOTIC IGFBP3 IS REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION, SUGGESTING A MECHANISM THAT CONTRIBUTES TO AD PATHOGENESIS.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
16  685  25 BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR INVOLVED EPIGENETIC REPRESSION OF UGT2B7 IN COLORECTAL CARCINOMA: A MECHANISM TO ALTER MORPHINE GLUCURONIDATION IN TUMOR. URIDINE DIPHOSPHATE-GLUCURONOSYLTRANSFERASE (UGT) 2B7, AS ONE OF SIGNIFICANT DRUG ENZYMES, IS RESPONSIBLE ON THE GLUCURONIDATION OF ABUNDANT ENDOBIOTICS OR XENOBIOTICS. WE HERE REPORT THAT IT IS MARKEDLY REPRESSED IN THE TUMOR TISSUES OF COLORECTAL CARCINOMA (CRC) PATIENTS. ACCORDINGLY, MORPHINE IN CRC CELLS WILL STIMULATE THE EXPRESSION OF ITS MAIN METABOLIC ENZYME, UGT2B7 DURING TOLERANCE GENERATION BY ACTIVATING THE POSITIVE SIGNALS IN HISTONE 3, ESPECIALLY FOR TRIMETHYLATED LYSINE 27 (H3K4ME3) AND ACETYLATED LYSINE 4 (H3K27AC). FURTHER STUDY REVEALS THAT BRAIN-DERIVED NEUTROPHILIC FACTOR (BDNF), A SECRETORY NEUROTROPHIN, ENRICHED IN CRC CAN INTERACT AND INHIBIT UGT2B7 BY PRIMARILY BLOCKING THE POSITIVE SIGNALS OF H3K4ME3 AS WELL AS ACTIVATING H3K27AC ON THE PROMOTER REGION OF UGT2B7. MEANWHILE, BDNF REPRESSION ATTRIBUTES TO THE SENSITIZATIONS OF MAIN CORE FACTORS IN POLY-COMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX (PRC) 1 RATHER THAN PRC2 AS THE REASON OF THE DEPRESSION OF SUZ12 IN THE LATER COMPLEX. BESIDES THAT, THE PRODUCTIONS OF TWO MAIN MORPHINE GLUCURONIDES ARE BOTH INCREASED IN THE BDNF DEFICIENT OR TSA AND BIX-01294 TREATED MORPHINE TOLERANCE-LIKE HCT-116 CELLS. ON THE SAME CONDITION, ACTIVE METABOLITE, MORPHINE-6-GLUCURONIDE (M6G) WAS ACCUMULATED MORE THAN INACTIVE M3G. OUR FINDINGS IMPLY THAT ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY ENHANCEMENT AND SUBSTRATE REGIOSELECTIVE CATALYSIS ALTERATION OF UGT2B7 MAY RELEASE MORPHINE TOLERANCE UNDER THE CURE OF TUMOR-INDUCED PAIN.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
17 6012  16 THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY REGULATES POST-STROKE NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS HAVE EMERGED AS ATTRACTIVE MOLECULAR SUBSTRATES THAT INTEGRATE EXTRINSIC CHANGES INTO THE DETERMINATION OF CELL IDENTITY. SINCE STROKE-RELATED BRAIN DAMAGE RELEASES MICRO-ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, WE EXAMINED THE ROLE OF A SIGNALING-INDUCED EPIGENETIC PATHWAY, AN ATYPICAL PROTEIN KINASE C (APKC)-MEDIATED PHOSPHORYLATION OF CREB-BINDING PROTEIN (CBP), IN POST-STROKE NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING. USING A KNOCKIN MOUSE STRAIN (CBPS436A) WHERE THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY WAS DEFECTIVE, WE SHOW THAT DISRUPTION OF THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY IN A MURINE FOCAL ISCHEMIC STROKE MODEL INCREASES THE REPROGRAMMING EFFICIENCY OF ISCHEMIA-ACTIVATED PERICYTES (I-PERICYTES) TO NEURAL PRECURSORS. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF ENHANCED CELLULAR REPROGRAMMING, CBPS436A MICE SHOW AN INCREASED TRANSIENT POPULATION OF LOCALLY DERIVED NEURAL PRECURSORS AFTER STROKE, WHILE DISPLAYING A REDUCED NUMBER OF I-PERICYTES, IMPAIRED VASCULAR REMODELING, AND PERTURBED MOTOR RECOVERY DURING THE CHRONIC PHASE OF STROKE. TOGETHER, THIS STUDY ELUCIDATES THE ROLE OF THE APKC-CBP PATHWAY IN MODULATING NEUROVASCULAR REMODELING AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY FOLLOWING FOCAL ISCHEMIC STROKE.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
18  856  24 CHROMATIN ACCESSIBILITY MAPPING OF THE STRIATUM IDENTIFIES TYROSINE KINASE FYN AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR HEROIN USE DISORDER. THE CURRENT OPIOID EPIDEMIC NECESSITATES A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN ADDICTION NEUROBIOLOGY TO DEVELOP EFFICACIOUS TREATMENT APPROACHES. HERE, WE PERFORM GENOME-WIDE ASSESSMENT OF CHROMATIN ACCESSIBILITY OF THE HUMAN STRIATUM IN HEROIN USERS AND MATCHED CONTROLS. OUR STUDY REVEALS DISTINCT NEURONAL AND NON-NEURONAL EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES, AND IDENTIFIES A LOCUS IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE GENE ENCODING TYROSINE KINASE FYN AS THE MOST AFFECTED REGION IN NEURONS. FYN EXPRESSION, KINASE ACTIVITY AND THE PHOSPHORYLATION OF ITS TARGET TAU ARE INCREASED BY HEROIN USE IN THE POST-MORTEM HUMAN STRIATUM, AS WELL AS IN RATS TRAINED TO SELF-ADMINISTER HEROIN AND PRIMARY STRIATAL NEURONS TREATED WITH CHRONIC MORPHINE IN VITRO. PHARMACOLOGICAL OR GENETIC MANIPULATION OF FYN ACTIVITY SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATES HEROIN SELF-ADMINISTRATION AND RESPONDING FOR DRUG-PAIRED CUES IN RODENTS. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT STRIATAL FYN IS AN IMPORTANT DRIVER OF HEROIN-RELATED NEURODEGENERATIVE-LIKE PATHOLOGY AND DRUG-TAKING BEHAVIOR, MAKING FYN A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR HEROIN USE DISORDER.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
19  984  26 CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ALTERS GENE EXPRESSION IN RAT COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS PROMOTING CHROMATIN REMODELING, BARRIER DYSFUNCTION AND INFLAMMATION. CHRONIC STRESS IS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED ABDOMINAL PAIN (VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY), BUT THE CELLULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HOW CHRONIC STRESS INDUCES VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. IN THIS STUDY, WE EXAMINED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION IN COLON EPITHELIAL CELLS FROM A RAT MODEL USING RNA-SEQUENCING TO EXAMINE STRESS-INDUCED CHANGES TO THE TRANSCRIPTOME. FOLLOWING CHRONIC STRESS, THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY UP-REGULATED GENES INCLUDED ATG16L1, COQ10B, DCAF13, NAT2, PTBP2, RRAS2, SPINK4 AND DOWN-REGULATED GENES INCLUDING ABAT, CITED2, CNNM2, DAB2IP, PLEKHM1, SCD2, AND TAB2. THE PRIMARY ALTERED BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES REVEALED BY NETWORK ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS WERE INFLAMMATION/IMMUNE RESPONSE, TISSUE MORPHOGENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT, AND NUCLEOSOME/CHROMATIN ASSEMBLY. THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN-REGULATED PROCESS WAS THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT/FUNCTION, WHEREAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY UP-REGULATED PROCESSES WERE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, ORGANISMAL INJURY, AND CHROMATIN REMODELING MEDIATED BY H3K9 METHYLATION. FURTHERMORE, A SUBPOPULATION OF STRESSED RATS DEMONSTRATED VERY SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED GENE EXPRESSION AND TRANSCRIPT ISOFORMS, ENRICHED FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, INCLUDING UPREGULATION OF CYTOKINE AND CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR GENE EXPRESSION COUPLED WITH DOWNREGULATION OF EPITHELIAL ADHERENS AND TIGHT JUNCTION MRNAS. IN SUMMARY, THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THAT CHRONIC STRESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED LEVELS OF CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES, THEIR DOWNSTREAM SIGNALING PATHWAYS COUPLED TO DYSREGULATION OF INTESTINAL CELL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CHROMATIN REMODELING LIKELY PLAYS A PROMINENT ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. RESULTS ALSO SUGGEST THAT SUPER ENHANCERS PLAY A PRIMARY ROLE IN CHRONIC STRESS-ASSOCIATED INTESTINAL BARRIER DYSFUNCTION.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
20 5636  29 SERELAXIN ALLEVIATES CARDIAC FIBROSIS THROUGH INHIBITING ENDOTHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION VIA RXFP1. RATIONALE: CARDIAC FIBROSIS IS AN INTEGRAL CONSTITUENT OF EVERY FORM OF CHRONIC HEART DISEASE, AND PERSISTENCE OF FIBROSIS REDUCES TISSUE COMPLIANCE AND ACCELERATES THE PROGRESSION TO HEART FAILURE. RELAXIN-2 IS A HUMAN HORMONE, WHICH HAS VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS SUCH AS MEDIATING RENAL VASODILATION IN PREGNANCY. ITS RECOMBINANT FORM SERELAXIN HAS RECENTLY BEEN TESTED IN CLINICAL TRIALS AS A THERAPY FOR ACUTE HEART FAILURE BUT DID NOT MEET ITS PRIMARY ENDPOINTS. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO EXAMINE WHETHER SERELAXIN HAS AN ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECT IN THE HEART AND THEREFORE COULD BE BENEFICIAL IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE. METHODS: WE UTILIZED TWO DIFFERENT CARDIAC FIBROSIS MOUSE MODELS (ASCENDING AORTIC CONSTRICTION (AAC) AND ANGIOTENSIN II (ATII) ADMINISTRATION VIA OSMOTIC MINIPUMPS) TO ASSESS THE ANTI-FIBROTIC POTENTIAL OF SERELAXIN. HISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE STAINING AND MOLECULAR ANALYSIS WERE PERFORMED TO ASSESS THE FIBROSIS LEVEL AND INDICATE ENDOTHELIAL CELLS WHICH ARE UNDERGOING ENDMT. IN VITRO TGFBETA1-INDUCED ENDOTHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (ENDMT) ASSAYS WERE PERFORMED IN HUMAN CORONARY ARTERY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AND MOUSE CARDIAC ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (MCECS) AND WERE EXAMINED USING MOLECULAR METHODS. CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION-QPCR ASSAY WAS UTILIZED TO IDENTIFY THE SERELAXIN EFFECT ON CHROMATIN REMODELING IN THE RXFP1 PROMOTER REGION IN MCECS. RESULTS: OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE A SIGNIFICANT AND DOSE-DEPENDENT ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECT OF SERELAXIN IN THE HEART IN BOTH MODELS. WE FURTHER SHOW THAT SERELAXIN MEDIATES THIS EFFECT, AT LEAST IN PART, THROUGH INHIBITION OF ENDMT THROUGH THE ENDOTHELIAL RELAXIN FAMILY PEPTIDE RECEPTOR 1 (RXFP1). WE FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THAT SERELAXIN ADMINISTRATION IS ABLE TO INCREASE ITS OWN RECEPTOR EXPRESSION (RXFP1) THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN FORM OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS BY ATTENUATING TGFBETA-PSMAD2/3 SIGNALING IN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST TO IDENTIFY THAT SERELAXIN INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF ITS OWN RECEPTOR RXFP1 AND THAT THIS MEDIATES THE INHIBITION OF ENDMT AND CARDIAC FIBROSIS, SUGGESTING THAT SERELAXIN MAY HAVE A BENEFICIAL EFFECT AS ANTI-FIBROTIC THERAPY IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE.	2020