Biomedical subjects

Yuncai Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Yuncai Chen.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Quantitative analysis and subcellular distribution of mRNA and protein expression of the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels throughout development in rat hippocampus.

The properties of the hyperpolarization-activated current (I(h)) and its roles in hippocampal network function evolve radically during development. Because I(h) is conducted by the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) cation channels, we tested the hypothesis that understanding the quantitative developmental profiles of HCN1, HCN2, and HCN4 expression, and the isoform- and age-specific progression of their subcellular distribution, should shed light on the established modifications of the properties of I(h) throughout development. Combined quantitative in situ hybridization, regional western blots, and high-resolution, dual-label immunocytochemistry revealed striking and novel information about the expression and distribution of the HCN channel isoforms in the developing hippocampal formation. In cornus ammon 1 (CA) pyramidal cell layer, a robust increase of HCN1 mRNA and protein expression occurred with age, with reciprocal reduction of HCN4 and relatively stable HCN2 levels. These distinct expression patterns raised the contribution of HCN1 to the total HCN channel pool from 33% to 65% consonant with acceleration and reduced cyclic adenosine mono phosphate (cAMP) sensitivity of I(h) in this region with age. In CA3, strong expression of HCN1 already neonatally supports the recently established role of this conductance in neonatal, age-specific, hippocampal oscillations (giant depolarizing potentials). Notably, HCN1 channels were present and probably transported to dendritic compartments already on postnatal day (P) 2, whereas HCN2 channel protein was not evident in dendrites for the first 2 weeks of life. HCN2 mRNA and protein expression remained fairly constant subsequent to the first week of life in all hippocampal subfields examined, whereas HCN4 mRNA and protein expression declined after maximal neonatal expression, so that the contribution of this isoform to the total HCN channel pool dropped from 43% (CA1) and 34% (CA3) on P11 to 8% (CA1) and 19% (CA3) on P90. Interneuronal expression of all HCN channel isoforms in stratum pyramidale was robust in parvalbumin-but not in cholecystokinin-expressing populations and with a subunit-specific subcellular distribution. Taken together, these data suggest that early in life, HCN4 may contribute significantly to the functions of I(h) in specific hippocampal regions. In addition, these evolving, differential quantitative, and subcellular expression patterns of the HCN channel isoforms support age-specific properties and functions of I(h) within the developing hippocampal formation.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Neuroplasticity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis early in life requires recurrent recruitment of stress-regulating brain regions.

An eloquent example of experience-induced neuroplasticity involves the enduring effects of daily "handling" of rat pups on the expression of genes regulating hormonal and behavioral responses to stress. Handling-evoked augmentation of maternal care of pups induces long-lasting reduction of hypothalamic corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) expression and upregulates hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor levels. These changes promote a lifelong attenuation of hormonal stress responses. We have found previously that handling-evoked downregulation of CRH expression occurs already by postnatal day 9, implicating it as an early step in this experience-induced neuroplasticity. Here, we investigated the neuronal pathways and cellular mechanisms involved. CRH mRNA expression in hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) diminished after daily handling but not after handling once only, indicating that "recurrent" handling was required for this effect. Return of handled pups to their cage provoked a burst of nurturing behavior in dams that, in turn, induced transient, coordinate Fos expression in selected regions of the pups' brains. These included central nucleus of the amygdala (ACe) and bed nucleus of the stria terminals (BnST), regions that are afferent to PVN and influence CRH expression there. Whereas handling once sufficed to evoke Fos expression within ACe and BnST, expression in thalamic paraventricular nucleus, a region involved in storing and processing stress-related experience, required recurrent handling. Fos induction in all three regions elicited reduced transcription factor phosphorylation, followed by attenuated activation of CRH gene transcription within the PVN. These studies provide a neurobiological foundation for the profound neuroplasticity of stress-related genes evoked by early-life experience.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Mechanisms of late-onset cognitive decline after early-life stress.

Progressive cognitive deficits that emerge with aging are a result of complex interactions of genetic and environmental factors. Whereas much has been learned about the genetic underpinnings of these disorders, the nature of "acquired" contributing factors, and the mechanisms by which they promote progressive learning and memory dysfunction, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that a period of early-life "psychological" stress causes late-onset, selective deterioration of both complex behavior and synaptic plasticity: two forms of memory involving the hippocampus, were severely but selectively impaired in middle-aged, but not young adult, rats exposed to fragmented maternal care during the early postnatal period. At the cellular level, disturbances to hippocampal long-term potentiation paralleled the behavioral changes and were accompanied by dendritic atrophy and mossy fiber expansion. These findings constitute the first evidence that a short period of stress early in life can lead to delayed, progressive impairments of synaptic and behavioral measures of hippocampal function, with potential implications to the basis of age-related cognitive disorders in humans.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

Modulation of dendritic differentiation by corticotropin-releasing factor in the developing hippocampus.

The interplay of environmental and genetic factors in the developmental organization of the hippocampus has not been fully elucidated. The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is released from hippocampal interneurons by environmental signals, including stress, to increase synaptic efficacy. In the early postnatal hippocampus, we have previously characterized a transient population of CRF-expressing Cajal-Retzius-like cells. Here we queried whether this stress-activated neuromodulator influences connectivity in the developing hippocampal network. Using mice deficient in the principal hippocampal CRF receptor [CRF(1)(-/-)] and organotypic cultures grown in the presence of synthetic CRF, or CRF receptor antagonists, we found robust effects of CRF on dendritic differentiation in hippocampal neurons. In CRF(1)(-/-) mice, the dendritic trees of hippocampal principal cells were exuberant, an effect that was induced in normal hippocampi in vitro by the presence of CRF(1) antagonists. In both cases, total dendritic length and dendritic branching were significantly increased. In contrast, exogenous synthetic CRF blunted the dendritic growth in hippocampal organotypic cultures. Taken together, these findings suggest that endogenous CRF, if released excessively by previous early postnatal stress, might influence neuronal connectivity and thus function of the immature hippocampus.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Region-specific onset of handling-induced changes in corticotropin-releasing factor and glucocorticoid receptor expression.

Early-life experience including maternal care profoundly influences hormonal stress responses during adulthood. Daily handling on postnatal day (P) 2-9, eliciting augmented maternal care upon returning pups to their cage, permanently modifies the expression of the stress neuromodulators corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We have previously demonstrated reduced hypothalamic CRF expression already at the end of the handling period, followed by enhanced hippocampal GR mRNA levels (by P45). However, the initial site(s) and time of onset of these enduring changes have remained unclear. Therefore, we used semiquantitative in situ hybridization to delineate the spatiotemporal evolution of CRF and GR expression throughout stress-regulatory brain regions in handled (compared with undisturbed) pups. Enhanced CRF mRNA expression was apparent in the amygdaloid central nucleus (ACe) of handled pups already by P6. By P9, the augmented CRF mRNA levels persisted in ACe, accompanied by increased peptide expression in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and reduced expression in the paraventricular nucleus. The earliest change in GR consisted of reduced expression in the ACe of handled pups on P9, a time point when hippocampal GR expression was not yet affected. Thus, altered gene expression in ACe, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis as well as paraventricular nucleus may contribute to the molecular cascade by which handling (and increased maternal care) influences the stress response long term.

Aging↗

PubMed2003

Stress and the developing hippocampus: a double-edged sword?

The mechanisms that regulate neuronal function are a sum of genetically determined programs and experience. The effect of experience on neuronal function is particularly important during development, because early-life positive and adverse experience (stress) may influence the still "plastic" nervous system long-term. Specifically, for hippocampal-mediated learning and memory processes, acute stress may enhance synaptic efficacy and overall learning ability, and conversely, chronic or severe stress has been shown to be detrimental. The mechanisms that enable stress to act as this "double-edged sword" are unclear. Here, we discuss the molecular mediators of the stress response in the hippocampus with an emphasis on novel findings regarding the role of the neuropeptide known as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). We highlight the physiological and pathological roles of this peptide in the developing hippocampus, and their relevance to the long-term effects of early-life experience on cognitive function during adulthood.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Developmental febrile seizures modulate hippocampal gene expression of hyperpolarization-activated channels in an isoform- and cell-specific manner.

Febrile seizures, in addition to being the most common seizure type of the developing human, may contribute to the generation of subsequent limbic epilepsy. Our previous work has demonstrated that prolonged experimental febrile seizures in the immature rat model increased hippocampal excitability long term, enhancing susceptibility to future seizures. The mechanisms for these profound proepileptogenic changes did not require cell death and were associated with long-term slowed kinetics of the hyperpolarization-activated depolarizing current (I(H)). Here we show that these seizures modulate the expression of genes encoding this current, the hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (HCNs): In CA1 neurons expressing multiple HCN isoforms, the seizures induced a coordinated reduction of HCN1 mRNA and enhancement of HCN2 expression, thus altering the neuronal HCN phenotype. The seizure-induced augmentation of HCN2 expression involved CA3 in addition to CA1, whereas for HCN4, mRNA expression was not changed by the seizures in either hippocampal region. This isoform- and region-specific transcriptional regulation of the HCNs required neuronal activity rather than hyperthermia alone, correlated with seizure duration, and favored the formation of slow-kinetics HCN2-encoded channels. In summary, these data demonstrate a novel, activity-dependent transcriptional regulation of HCN molecules by developmental seizures. These changes result in long-lasting alteration of the HCN phenotype of specific hippocampal neuronal populations, with profound consequences on the excitability of the hippocampal network.

Aging↗