Summary paragraphSerotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) is a neurotransmitter that has an essential role in the regulation of emotion. The precise circuits through which aversive states are orchestrated by 5-HT, however, have not yet been defined. Here we show that 5-HT from the dorsal raphe nucleus (5-HTDRN) enhances fear and anxiety and activates a subpopulation of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (CRFBNST). Specifically, 5-HTDRN projections to the BNST, via actions at 5-HT2C receptors (5-HT2CRs), engage a CRFBNST inhibitory microcircuit that silences anxiolytic BNST outputs to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and lateral hypothalamus (LH). Further, we demonstrate that this CRFBNST inhibitory circuit underlies aversive behavior following acute exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This early aversive effect is mediated via the corticotrophin releasing factor type 1 receptor (CRF1R) given that CRF1R antagonism is sufficient to prevent acute SSRI-induced enhancements in aversive learning. These results reveal an essential 5-HTDRN→CRFBNST circuit governing fear and anxiety and provide a potential mechanistic explanation for the clinical observation of early adverse events to SSRI treatment in some patients with anxiety disorders1,2.

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Fibrosis is a common pathological response to inflammation in many peripheral tissues and can prevent tissue regeneration and repair. Here, we identified persistent fibrotic scarring in the central nervous system (CNS) following immune cell infiltration in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Using lineage tracing and single-cell sequencing in EAE, we determined that the majority of the fibrotic scar is derived from proliferative CNS fibroblasts, not pericytes or infiltrating bone marrow-derived cells. Ablating proliferating fibrotic cells using cell-specific expression of herpes thymidine kinase led to an increase in oligodendrocyte lineage cells within the inflammatory lesions and a reduction in motor disability. We further identified that interferon gamma pathway genes are enriched in CNS fibrotic cells, and the fibrotic cell-specific deletion of Ifngr1 resulted in reduced fibrotic scarring in EAE. These data delineate a framework for understanding the CNS fibrotic response.

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One of the hallmarks of alcohol dependence is the presence of a withdrawal syndrome during abstinence, which manifests as physical craving for alcohol accompanied by subjective feelings of anxiety. Using a model of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor in mice, we investigated the role of serotonin2c signaling in the BNST as a neural substrate underlying ethanol-induced anxiety during withdrawal. Mice were subjected to a 5-day CIE regimen of 16 hours of ethanol vapor exposure followed by an 8 hour “withdrawal” period between exposures. After the 5th and final exposure, mice were withdrawn for 24 hours or 1 week before experiments began. Anxiety-like behavior was assessed in the social approach, light dark, and open field test with mice showing deficits in social, but not general anxiety-like behavior that was alleviated by pretreatment with the 5HT2c-R antagonist SB 242,084 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) 24 hours and 1 week post-CIE. Using immunohistochemistry and whole cell patch clamp electrophysiology, we also found that CIE increased FOS-IR and enhanced neuronal excitability in the ventral BNST (vBNST) 24 hrs into withdrawal in a 5HT2c-R dependent manner. This enhanced excitability persisted for 1 week post-CIE. We also found that mCPP, a 5HT2c/b agonist, induced a more robust depolarization in cells of the vBNST in CIE mice, confirming that 5HT2c-R signaling is upregulated in the vBNST following CIE. Taken together, these results suggest that CIE upregulates 5HT2c-R signaling in the vBNST, leading to increased excitability. This enhanced excitability of the vBNST may drive increased anxiety-like behavior during ethanol withdrawal.