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Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures, which culminate in various neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes. Taurine (TAU) is an amino sulfonic acid which acts an endogenous inhibitory neuromodulator. Moreover, TAU displays intrinsic antioxidant activity, contributing to its beneficial actions in the CNS. Here, we evaluated whether TAU pretreatment protects from pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced behavioral alterations and oxidative stress-related parameters in zebrafish brain tissue. Fish were pretreated with 42, 150, and 400 mg/L TAU (40 min) and further exposed to 10 mM PTZ (20 min) to analyze the seizure-like behaviors. As a positive control, another group was previously treated with 75 μM diazepam (DZP). Afterwards, biochemical experiments were performed. All TAU concentrations tested decreased seizure intensity in the first 150 s. Importantly, 150 mg/L TAU attenuated seizure-like behavioral scores, decreased seizure intensity, reduced the frequency of clonic-like seizures (score 4), and increased the latency to score 4. TAU (150 mg/L) also prevented oxidative stress in PTZ-challenged fish by decreasing lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation and preventing changes on nonprotein thiol levels. No significant changes were observed in MTT assay and LDH activity. Differently than observed in DZP group, TAU did not affect the overall swimming activity of fish, suggesting different mechanisms of action. Collectively, we show that TAU attenuates PTZ-induced seizure-like behaviors and brain oxidative stress in zebrafish, suggesting the involvement of antioxidant mechanisms in neuroprotection.

Taurine (TAU) is a β-amino sulfonic acid with pleiotropic roles in the brain, including the neuromodulatory activity via GABAergic and glycinergic agonism. This molecule is found at high concentrations in energy drinks and is often mixed with alcohol in beverages. Although TAU has a neuroprotective role in the brain, the putative risks of mixing TAU and EtOH are not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether TAU modulates locomotor and anxiety-like behavior in adult zebrafish by using the novel tank and light-dark tests following acute EtOH exposure at anxiogenic and anxiolytic concentrations. Zebrafish were individually exposed to water (control), TAU (42, 150, and 400 mg/L), and EtOH (0.25% (v/v) and 1% (v/v)) both independently and cotreated for 1 h. EtOH 0.25% and TAU produced U-shape anxiolytic-like behavior in the light-dark test, TAU 42 and 400 positively modulated EtOH effects, and TAU 150 exerted a protective effect. All TAU concentrations counteracted EtOH 1%-induced locomotion impairment, as well as the anxiogenic-like behavior. Finally, all TAU concentrations when given independently or cotreated with EtOH 0.25% and 1% decreased the risk assessment of the lit compartment. Principal component analyses revealed that exploration and anxiety-like responses were the main behaviors that contribute to the effects of TAU and EtOH. Overall, we demonstrate that TAU differently modulates EtOH-induced anxiolytic-and anxiogenic-like behaviors depending on the concentration, suggesting a complex mechanism underlying TAU and EtOH interactions.

The object discrimination test allows the testing of different memory retention periods. However, few behavioral endpoints have been measured in fish species such that retention is often assessed using a single parameter (time spent in object area). Here, we aimed to explore the object discrimination test in zebrafish by assessing their behavioral performance after 1 h or 24 h retention interval periods. To characterize putative interaction-like behaviors, fish were tested in the absence or presence of scopolamine (1 h before test session). Zebrafish were habituated for three consecutive days in the experimental tank and training session was performed for 10 min using two identical nonpreferred objects (black cube or sphere). After the retention intervals, a familiar object was replaced by a novel object (test session, 10 min). Fish were also exposed to the novel tank diving test to assess locomotion and anxiety-like behaviors. At 1 h retention interval, animals performed more circular-like investigation near the familiar object, whereas 24 h after training session, a prominent rapid investigation was observed when animals explore the non-familiar object. Because scopolamine abolished these phenotypes, as well as the increased time spent in the novel object area during the test without changing locomotion and anxiety-related parameters, the behavioral responses described here may predictively reflect interaction-like behaviors involved in object discrimination memory in zebrafish models.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the most disabling diseases characterized by severe humor fluctuation. It is accompanied by cognitive and functional impairment in addiction to high suicide rates. BD is often underdiagnosed and treated incorrectly because many of the reported symptoms are not exclusive to the disorder. Once the diagnosis is exclusively clinical, it is not possible to state precisely. From that, proteomic approaches were used to identify, in a large scale, all proteins involved in cellular or tissue processes. This review aggregate data from blood proteomes, by using protein association network, of subjects with BD and healthy controls to suggest dysfunctional molecular pathways involved in disease. Original articles containing proteomic analysis were searched in PubMed. Seven studies were selected and data were extracted for posterior analysis. A protein-protein interaction network was created by STRING database. A final set of proteins in this network were employed as input in ClueGO and, the main biological process was visualized using R package pathview. The analysis revealed proteins associated with many biological processes, including growth and endocrine regulation, iron transportation, protease inhibition, protection against pathogens and cholesterol transport. Moreover, pathway analysis indicated the association of uncovered proteins with two main metabolic pathways: complement system and coagulation cascade. Thus, a better understanding on the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and the identification of potential biomarker candidates are essential to improve diagnostic, prognostic and design pharmacological strategies.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and severe psychiatric disorder characterized by episodes of mood disturbance. Literature has already used systems-biology approaches based on transcriptomic analysis to unravel the complexity of this multifactorial disorder. Thus, our study aims to identify the peripheral master regulators (MRs) involved in distinct mood states of BD compared to healthy controls, their pattern of activity, and the biological processes associated with the disorder. Five microarray transcriptomics datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository. We used master regulator analysis and functional enrichment analysis to find regulators associated with BD and their biological processes. There were 51 MRs candidates identified in BD, and two main MRs (DNMT1 and DMTF1) were present in the three mood states compared to the control. The primary biological process in the three phases of the disorder was related to the inflammatory or immune system. DNMT1 is a mammalian methyltransferase responsible for the catalysis and maintenance of DNA methylation - one of the essential epigenetic changes. The DMTF1 encodes a transcription factor that contains a cyclin D-binding domain - related to the cell cycle. Finally, many biological processes, including RNA metabolism, cellular respiration, and ribosome biogenesis, were found in BD. However, the function most important in BD was the inflammatory or immune system corroborating the role of inflammation as a therapeutic target in the field of Psychiatry. The search for biomarkers with clinical application in psychiatry is hugely relevant, and our study complements the data on the pathophysiology of BD.

Introduction: This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Processes of Change Questionnaire in Weight Management (P-Weight) questionnaire. Methods: A total of 656 adults participated in the study, including people in weight loss treatment and people from the general community. All participants responded to the Process of Change Questionnaire (P-Weight), the Stages of Change Questionnaire (S-Weight), and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), which assesses risk of eating disorder used as a measure of external validity. Socio-demographic variables were also investigated. Results: The 33-item P-weight questionnaire showed satisfactory psychometric properties with high internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha=0.959). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 4-factor model similar to the original Spanish version of P-Weight with a slightly rearrangement of the items (KMO=0.92, df (528, n=328) =8,401.015; p<0.0001). We found significant associations between processes and stages of change (p<0.001) and a moderate correlation between the four subscales of P-weight and EAT-26 (p<0.001). Finally, the mean score of P-Weight were higher in clinical sample compared to the general community, suggesting the sensitivity to discriminate cases and controls (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study showed the validity and reliability of the Brazilian version of the P-Weight scale. Therefore, the P-Weight is readily available to help professionals to employ precision interventions to weight loss considering the patients motivational stage in combination with their individual use of the cognitive processes of change.