Low birth weight due to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is suggested to be a risk factor for various psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. It has been reported that developmental cortical dysfunction and neurocognitive deficits are observed in individuals with IUGR, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor TrkB are associated with schizophrenia and play a role in cortical development. We previously demonstrated that BDNF induced glutamate release through activation of the TrkB/phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ) pathway in developing cultured cortical neurons, and that, using a rat model for IUGR caused by maternal administration of thromboxane A2, cortical levels of TrkB were significantly reduced in IUGR rats at birth. These studies prompted us to hypothesize that TrkB reduction in IUGR cortex led to impairment of BDNF-dependent glutamatergic neurotransmission. In the present study, we found that BDNF-induced glutamate release was strongly impaired in cultured IUGR cortical neurons where TrkB reduction was maintained. Impairment of BDNF-induced glutamate release in IUGR neurons was ameliorated by transfection of human TrkB (hTrkB). Although BDNF-stimulated phosphorylation of TrkB and of PLC-γ was decreased in IUGR neurons, the hTrkB transfection recovered the deficits in their phosphorylation. These results suggest that TrkB reduction causes impairment of BDNF-stimulated glutamatergic function via suppression of TrkB/PLC-γ activation in IUGR cortical neurons. Our findings provide molecular insights into how IUGR links to downregulation of BDNF function in the cortex, which might be involved in the development of IUGR-related diseases such as schizophrenia.
We identified three and six BMI-related SNPs associated with psychiatric disease and memory performance, respectively. In particular, carrying the A allele of rs11142387 near KLF9 was found to be associated with psychiatric disease and poor memory performance, which warrants further investigations.
Several of the drugs currently available for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) (e.g., local anesthetics or antidepressants) are associated with numerous safety concerns and exhibit weak efficacy. To date, no therapeutics for PE have been approved in the United States, highlighting the need to develop novel agents with sufficient efficacy and fewer side effects. In this study, we focused on the histamine H3 receptor (H3R) as a potential target for the treatment of PE and evaluated the effects of imetit (an H3R/H4R agonist), ciproxifan (an H3R antagonist), and JNJ-7777120 (an H4R antagonist) in vivo. Our in vivo electrophysiological experiments revealed that imetit reduced mechanical stimuli-evoked neuronal firing in anesthetized rats. This effect was inhibited by ciproxifan but not by JNJ-7777120. Subsequently, we evaluated the effect of imetit using a copulatory behavior test to assess ejaculation latency (EL) in rats. Imetit prolonged EL, although this effect was inhibited by ciproxifan. These findings indicate that H3R stimulation suppresses mechanical stimuli-evoked neuronal firing in the spinal–penile neurotransmission system, thereby resulting in prolonged EL. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the relationship between H3R and PE. Thus, H3R agonists may represent a novel treatment option for PE.
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