Improved treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) remains elusive due to limited understanding of its underlying biological mechanisms. Stress–induced maladaptive transcriptional regulation within limbic neural circuits likely contributes to the development of MDD, possibly through epigenetic factors that regulate chromatin structure. We establish that persistent upregulation of the ACF ATP–dependent chromatin remodeling complex, occurring in the nucleus accumbens of stress–susceptible mice and depressed humans, is necessary for stress–induced depressive–like behaviors. Altered ACF binding after chronic stress is correlated with altered nucleosome positioning, particularly around the transcription start sites of affected genes. These alterations in ACF binding and nucleosome positioning are associated with repressed expression of genes implicated in susceptibility to stress. Together, we identify the ACF chromatin remodeling complex as a critical component in the development of susceptibility to depression and in regulating stress–related behaviors.

In schizophrenia, hippocampal perfusion is increased and declarative memory function is degraded. Based on a model of hippocampal dysfunction in schizophrenic psychosis, we postulated increased NMDA receptor signaling in CA3. Here we demonstrate that the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors (GluN2B/GluN1) and its associated postsynaptic membrane protein PSD95 are both increased in human hippocampal CA3 from schizophrenia cases, but not in CA1 tissue. Quantitative analyses of Golgi-stained hippocampal neurons show an increase in spine density on CA3 pyramidal cell apical dendrites (stratum radiatum) and an increase in the number of thorny excrescences. AMPA receptor subunit proteins are not altered in CA3 or CA1 subfields, nor are several additional related signaling proteins. These hippocampal data are consistent with increased excitatory signaling in CA3 and/or with an elevation in silent synapses in CA3, a state which may contribute to development of long term potentiation with subsequent stimulation and ‘un-silencing’. These changes are plausibly associated with increased associational activity in CA3, degraded declarative memory function and with psychotic manifestations in schizophrenia. The influence of these hyperactive hippocampal projections onto targets in limbic neocortex could contribute to components of schizophrenia manifestations in other cerebral regions.

Objective-Preclinical and clinical data implicate the group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2 and mGluR3) in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Moreover, a recent phase II clinical trial has demonstrated the antipsychotic efficacy of a mGluR2/3 agonist. The current study was designed to distinguish the expression of mGluR2 and mGluR3 receptor protein in schizophrenia and to quantify glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) in order to explore a role for the metabotropic receptors in schizophrenia therapeutics. GCPII is an enzyme that metabolizes Nacetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), the only known specific endogenous agonist of mGluR3 in the mammalian brain.Method-The normal expression levels of mGluR2, mGluR3 and GCPII were determined in 10 regions of the human post mortem brain using specific antibodies. Differences in expression levels of each protein were then examined in the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), temporal (TC) and motor cortex (MC) in 15 matched cases of schizophrenia and normal controls. Chronic antipsychotic treatment in rodents was conducted to examine the potential effect of antipsychotic drugs on expression of the 3 proteins.Results-We found a significant increase in GCPII protein and a reduction in mGluR3 protein in the DLPFC in schizophrenia with mGluR2 protein levels unchanged. Chronic antipsychotic treatment in rodents did not influence GCPII or mGluR3 levels.Conclusions-Increased GCPII expression and low mGluR3 expression in the DLPFC suggest that NAAG-mediated signaling is impaired in this brain region in schizophrenia. Further, these data implicate the mGluR3 receptor in the antipsychotic action of mGluR2/3 agonists.

SUMMARY Interactions between genetic and epigenetic effects shape brain function, behavior, and the risk for mental illness. Random X inactivation and genomic imprinting are epigenetic allelic effects that are well known to influence genetic architecture and disease risk. Less is known about the nature, prevalence, and conservation of other potential epigenetic allelic effects in vivo in the mouse and primate brain. Here we devise genomics, in situ hybridization, and mouse genetics strategies to uncover diverse allelic effects in the brain that are not caused by imprinting or genetic variation. We found allelic effects that are developmental stage and cell type specific, that are prevalent in the neonatal brain, and that cause mosaics of monoallelic brain cells that differentially express wild-type and mutant alleles for heterozygous mutations. Finally, we show that diverse non-genetic allelic effects that impact mental illness risk genes exist in the macaque and human brain. Our findings have potential implications for mammalian brain genetics.

Clinical studies report associations between cannabis use during adolescence and later onset of schizophrenia. We examined the causal relationship between developmental cannabinoid administration and long-term behavioral and molecular alterations in mice. Mice were administered either WIN 55,212-2 (WIN), a cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) agonist or vehicle (Veh) during adolescence (postnatal day 30–35) or early adulthood (postnatal day 63–70). Behavioral testing was conducted after postnatal day 120 followed by biochemical assays. Adolescent cannabinoid treatment (ACU) leads to deficits in prepulse inhibition and fear conditioning in adulthood. Metabotropic glutamate receptors type 5 (mGluR5), a receptor critically involved in fear conditioning and endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling, is significantly reduced in the ACU mouse hippocampus. Next, we examined expression profiles of genes involved in eCB synthesis (diacylglycerol lipase (DGL)) and uptake (monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH)) in the experimental mice. We find evidence of increased MGL and FAAH in ACU mice, reflecting increases in eCB uptake and degradation. These data suggest that administration of cannabinoids during adolescence leads to a behavioral phenotype associated with a rodent model of schizophrenia, as indexed by alterations in sensorimotor gating and hippocampal-dependent learning and memory deficits. Further, these deficits are associated with a reduction in hippocampal mGluR5 and a sustained change in eCB turnover, suggesting reduced eCB signaling in the ACU hippocampus. These data suggest that significant cannabis use during adolescence may be a contributory causal factor in the development of certain features of schizophrenia and may offer mGluR5 as a potential therapeutic target.