To compare the impact of intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation on scotopic and photopic contrast sensitivity in mice.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is characterized by adult-onset cerebellar degeneration with attendant loss of motor coordination. Bulbar function is eventually impaired and patients typically die from an inability to clear the airway. We investigated whether motor neuron degeneration is at the root of bulbar dysfunction by studying SCA1 knock-in (Atxn1154Q/+ ) mice. Spinal cord and brainstem motor neurons were assessed in Atxn1154Q/+ mice at 1, 3 and 6 months of age. Specifically, we assessed breathing physiology, diaphragm histology and electromyography, and motor neuron histology and immunohistochemistry. Atxn1154Q/+ mice show progressive neuromuscular respiratory abnormalities, neurogenic changes in the diaphragm, and motor neuron degeneration in the spinal cord and brainstem. Motor neuron degeneration is accompanied by reactive astrocytosis and accumulation of Atxn1 aggregates in the motor neuron nuclei. This observation correlates with previous findings in SCA1 patient tissue. Atxn1154Q/+ mice develop bulbar dysfunction because of motor neuron degeneration. These findings confirm the Atxn1154Q/+ line as a SCA1 model with face and construct validity for this understudied disease feature. Furthermore, this model is suitable for studying the pathogenic mechanism driving motor neuron degeneration in SCA1 and possibly other degenerative motor neuron diseases. From a clinical standpoint, the data indicate that pulmonary function testing and employment of non-invasive ventilator support could be beneficial in SCA1 patients. The physiological tests used in this study might serve as valuable biomarkers for future therapeutic interventions and clinical trials.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

It remains unclear to what extent neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) risk genes retain functions into adulthood and how they may influence disease phenotypes. SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency causes a severe NDD defined by autistic traits, cognitive impairment, and epilepsy. To determine if this gene retains therapeutically-relevant biological functions into adulthood, we performed a gene restoration technique in a mouse model for SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency. Adult restoration of SynGAP protein improved behavioral and electrophysiological measures of memory and seizure. This included the elimination of interictal events that worsened during sleep. These events may be a biomarker for generalized cortical dysfunction in SYNGAP1 disorders because they also worsened during sleep in the human patient population. We conclude that SynGAP protein retains biological functions throughout adulthood and that non-developmental functions may contribute to disease phenotypes. Thus, treatments that target debilitating aspects of severe NDDs, such as medically-refractory seizures and cognitive impairment, may be effective in adult patients.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) entails neurosurgery to implant electrodes in specific brain structures to modulate the behavior of a particular neural circuit. DBS is best known for treating advanced Parkinson disease and can potentially be applicable to other motor and even cognitive dysfunctions. Here, we describe a detailed protocol allowing for electrode preparation, surgical procedures, stimulation delivery, and field potential recordings in both anesthetized and behaving mice, and the benefit evaluation of DBS at the fimbria-fornix by using a fear conditioning test. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hao et al. (2015).

Introduction: Glaucoma, a disease of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) injury and potentially devastating vision loss, is associated with both ocular hypertension (OHT) and reduced ocular blood flow. However, the relationship between OHT and retinal capillary architecture is not well understood. In this project, we studied microvasculature damage in mice exposed to mild levels of induced OHT. Methods: Mild OHT was induced with the microbead model for 2 weeks. At this time point, some retinas were immunostained with CD31 (endothelium), Collagen IV (basement membrane), and RBPMS (RGCs) for z-stack confocal microscopy. We processed these confocal images to distinguish the three retinal capillary plexi (superficial, intermediate, and deep). We manually counted RGC density, analyzed vascular complexity, and identified topographical and spatial vascular features of the retinal capillaries using a combination of novel manual and automated workflows. Other retinas were dissociated and immunopanned to isolate RGCs and amacrine cells (ACs) for hypoxia gene array analysis. Results: RGC counts were normal but there was decreased overall retinal capillary complexity. This reduced complexity could be explained by abnormalities in the intermediate retinal capillary plexus (IRCP) that spared the other plexi. Capillary junction density, vessel length, and vascular area were all significantly reduced, and the number of acellular capillaries was dramatically increased. ACs, which share a neurovascular unit (NVU) with the IRCP, displayed a marked increase in the relative expression of many hypoxia-related genes compared to RGCs from the same preparations. Discussion: We have discovered a rapidly occurring, IRCP-specific, OHT-induced vascular phenotype that precedes RGC loss. AC/IRCP NVU dysfunction may be a mechanistic link for early vascular remodeling in glaucoma.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder. As disease progresses, motor neurons are affected, and their dysfunction contributes toward the inability to maintain proper respiratory function, a major driving force for premature death in SCA1. To investigate the isolated role of motor neurons in SCA1, we created a conditional SCA1 (cSCA1) mouse model. This model suppresses expression of the pathogenic SCA1 allele with a floxed stop cassette. cSCA1 mice crossed to a ubiquitous Cre line recapitulate all the major features of the original SCA1 mouse model; however, they took twice as long to develop. We found that the cSCA1 mice produced less than half of the pathogenic protein compared with the unmodified SCA1 mice at 3 weeks of age. In contrast, restricted expression of the pathogenic SCA1 allele in motor neurons only led to a decreased distance traveled of mice in the open field assay and did not affect body weight or survival. We conclude that a 50% or greater reduction of the mutant protein has a dramatic effect on disease onset and progression; furthermore, we conclude that expression of polyglutamine-expanded ATXN1 at this level specifically in motor neurons is not sufficient to cause premature lethality.

Many postnatal onset neurological disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and intellectual disability are thought to arise largely from disruption of excitatory/inhibitory homeostasis. Although mouse models of Rett syndrome (RTT), a postnatal neurological disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in MECP2, display impaired excitatory neurotransmission, the RTT phenotype can be largely reproduced in mice simply by removing MeCP2 from inhibitory GABAergic neurons. To determine what role excitatory signaling impairment might play in RTT pathogenesis, we generated conditional mouse models with Mecp2 either removed from or expressed solely in glutamatergic neurons. MeCP2 deficiency in glutamatergic neurons leads to early lethality, obesity, tremor, altered anxiety-like behaviors, and impaired acoustic startle response, which is distinct from the phenotype of mice lacking MeCP2 only in inhibitory neurons. These findings reveal a role for excitatory signaling impairment in specific neurobehavioral abnormalities shared by RTT and other postnatal neurological disorders.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of prolonged intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation on retinal anatomy and function in a mouse model of experimental glaucoma. IOP was elevated by anterior chamber injection of a fixed combination of polystyrene beads and sodium hyaluronate, and maintained via re-injection after 24 weeks. IOP was measured weekly with a rebound tonometer for 48 weeks. Histology was assessed with a combination of retrograde labeling and antibody staining. Retinal physiology and function was assessed with dark-adapted electroretinograms (ERGs). Comparisons between bead-injected animals and various controls were conducted at both 24 and 48 weeks after bead injection. IOP was elevated throughout the study. IOP elevation resulted in a reduction of retinal ganglion cell (RGCs) and an increase in axial length at both 24 and 48 weeks after bead injection. The b-wave amplitude of the ERG was increased to the same degree in bead-injected eyes at both time points, similar to previous studies. The positive scotopic threshold response (pSTR) amplitude, a measure of RGC electrical function, was diminished at both 24 and 48 weeks when normalized to the increased b-wave amplitude. At 48 weeks, the pSTR amplitude was reduced even without normalization, suggesting more profound RGC dysfunction. We conclude that injection of polystyrene beads and sodium hyaluronate causes chronic IOP elevation which results in phenotypes of stable b-wave amplitude increase and progressive pSTR amplitude reduction, as well as RGC loss and axial length elongation.

Mutations in SHANK3 and large duplications of the region spanning SHANK3 both cause a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders, indicating that proper SHANK3 dosage is critical for normal brain function. However, SHANK3 overexpression per se has not been established as a cause of human disorders because 22q13 duplications involve several genes. Here we report that Shank3 transgenic mice modelling a human SHANK3 duplication exhibit manic-like behaviour and seizures consistent with synaptic excitatory/inhibitory imbalance. We also identified two patients with hyperkinetic disorders carrying the smallest SHANK3-spanning duplications reported so far. These findings indicate that SHANK3 overexpression causes a hyperkinetic neuropsychiatric disorder. To probe the mechanism underlying the phenotype, we generated a Shank3 in vivo interactome and found that Shank3 directly interacts with the Arp2/3 complex to increase F-actin levels in Shank3 transgenic mice. The mood-stabilizing drug valproate, but not lithium, rescues the manic-like behaviour of Shank3 transgenic mice raising the possibility that this hyperkinetic disorder has a unique pharmacogenetic profile.

Successful recall of a contextual memory requires reactivating ensembles of hippocampal cells that were allocated during memory formation. Altering the ratio of excitation-to-inhibition (E/I) during memory retrieval can bias cell participation in an ensemble and hinder memory recall. In the case of Rett syndrome (RTT), a neurological disorder with severe learning and memory deficits, the E/I balance is altered, but the source of this imbalance is unknown. Using in vivo imaging during an associative memory task, we show that during long-term memory retrieval, RTT CA1 cells poorly distinguish mnemonic context and form larger ensembles than wild-type mouse cells. Simultaneous multiple whole-cell recordings revealed that mutant somatostatin expressing interneurons (SOM) are poorly recruited by CA1 pyramidal cells and are less active during long-term memory retrieval in vivo. Chemogenetic manipulation revealed that reduced SOM activity underlies poor long-term memory recall. Our findings reveal a disrupted recurrent CA1 circuit contributing to RTT memory impairment.

Loss-of-function mutations in MECP2 cause Rett syndrome (RTT), a severe neurological disorder that mainly affects girls. Mutations in MECP2 do occur in males occasionally and typically cause severe encephalopathy and premature lethality. Recently, we identified a missense mutation (c.353G>A, p.Gly118Glu [G118E]), which has never been seen before in MECP2, in a young boy who suffered from progressive motor dysfunction and developmental delay. To determine whether this variant caused the clinical symptoms and study its functional consequences, we established two disease models, including human neurons from patient-derived iPSCs and a knock-in mouse line. G118E mutation partially reduces MeCP2 abundance and its DNA binding, and G118E mice manifest RTT-like symptoms seen in the patient, affirming the pathogenicity of this mutation. Using live-cell and single-molecule imaging, we found that G118E mutation alters MeCP2's chromatin interaction properties in live neurons independently of its effect on protein levels. Here we report the generation and characterization of RTT models of a male hypomorphic variant and reveal new insight into the mechanism by which this pathological mutation affects MeCP2's chromatin dynamics. Our ability to quantify protein dynamics in disease models lays the foundation for harnessing high-resolution single-molecule imaging as the next frontier for developing innovative therapies for RTT and other diseases.

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel experimental system for the modulation and measurement of intracranial pressure (ICP), and to use this system to assess the impact of elevated ICP on the optic nerve and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in CD1 mice. This system involved surgical implantation of an infusion cannula and a radiowave based pressure monitoring probe through the skull and into the subarachnoid space. The infusion cannula was used to increase ICP, which was measured by the probe and transmitted to a nearby receiver. The system provided robust and consistent ICP waveforms, was well tolerated, and was stable over time. ICP was elevated to approximately 30 mmHg for one week, after which we assessed changes in optic nerve structure with transmission electron microscopy in cross section and RGC numbers with antibody staining in retinal flat mounts. ICP elevation resulted in optic nerve axonal loss and disorganization, as well as RGC soma loss. We conclude that the controlled manipulation of ICP in active, awake mice is possible, despite their small size. Furthermore, ICP elevation results in visual system phenotypes of optic nerve and RGC degeneration, suggesting that this model can be used to study the impact of ICP on the visual system. Potentially, this model can also be used to study the relationship between ICP and IOP, as well diseases impacted by ICP variation such as glaucoma, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and the spaceflight-related visual impairment intracranial pressure syndrome.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has improved the prospects for many individuals with diseases affecting motor control, and recently it has shown promise for improving cognitive function as well. Several studies in individuals with Alzheimer disease and in amnesic rats have demonstrated that DBS targeted to the fimbria-fornix, the region that appears to regulate hippocampal activity, can mitigate defects in hippocampus-dependent memory. Despite these promising results, DBS has not been tested for its ability to improve cognition in any childhood intellectual disability disorder. Such disorders are a pressing concern: they affect as much as 3% of the population and involve hundreds of different genes. We proposed that stimulating the neural circuits that underlie learning and memory might provide a more promising route to treating these otherwise intractable disorders than seeking to adjust levels of one molecule at a time. We therefore studied the effects of forniceal DBS in a well-characterized mouse model of Rett syndrome (RTT), which is a leading cause of intellectual disability in females. Caused by mutations that impair the function of MeCP2 (ref. 6), RTT appears by the second year of life in humans, causing profound impairment in cognitive, motor and social skills, along with an array of neurological features. RTT mice, which reproduce the broad phenotype of this disorder, also show clear deficits in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory and hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Here we show that forniceal DBS in RTT mice rescues contextual fear memory as well as spatial learning and memory. In parallel, forniceal DBS restores in vivo hippocampal long-term potentiation and hippocampal neurogenesis. These results indicate that forniceal DBS might mitigate cognitive dysfunction in RTT.

Copy number variations have been frequently associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. MECP2 duplication syndrome is one of the most common genomic rearrangements in males and is characterized by autism, intellectual disability, motor dysfunction, anxiety, epilepsy, recurrent respiratory tract infections and early death. The broad range of deficits caused by methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) overexpression poses a daunting challenge to traditional biochemical-pathway-based therapeutic approaches. Accordingly, we sought strategies that directly target MeCP2 and are amenable to translation into clinical therapy. The first question that we addressed was whether the neurological dysfunction is reversible after symptoms set in. Reversal of phenotypes in adult symptomatic mice has been demonstrated in some models of monogenic loss-of-function neurological disorders, including loss of MeCP2 in Rett syndrome, indicating that, at least in some cases, the neuroanatomy may remain sufficiently intact so that correction of the molecular dysfunction underlying these disorders can restore healthy physiology. Given the absence of neurodegeneration in MECP2 duplication syndrome, we propose that restoration of normal MeCP2 levels in MECP2 duplication adult mice would rescue their phenotype. By generating and characterizing a conditional Mecp2-overexpressing mouse model, here we show that correction of MeCP2 levels largely reverses the behavioural, molecular and electrophysiological deficits. We also reduced MeCP2 using an antisense oligonucleotide strategy, which has greater translational potential. Antisense oligonucleotides are small, modified nucleic acids that can selectively hybridize with messenger RNA transcribed from a target gene and silence it, and have been successfully used to correct deficits in different mouse models. We find that antisense oligonucleotide treatment induces a broad phenotypic rescue in adult symptomatic transgenic MECP2 duplication mice (MECP2-TG), and corrected MECP2 levels in lymphoblastoid cells from MECP2 duplication patients in a dose-dependent manner.

The postnatal neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome, caused by mutations in MECP2, produces a diverse array of symptoms, including loss of language, motor, and social skills and the development of hand stereotypies, anxiety, tremor, ataxia, respiratory dysrhythmias, and seizures. Surprisingly, despite the diversity of these features, we have found that deleting Mecp2 only from GABAergic inhibitory neurons in mice replicates most of this phenotype. Here we show that genetically restoring Mecp2 expression only in GABAergic neurons of male Mecp2 null mice enhanced inhibitory signaling, extended lifespan, and rescued ataxia, apraxia, and social abnormalities but did not rescue tremor or anxiety. Female Mecp2(+/-) mice showed a less dramatic but still substantial rescue. These findings highlight the critical regulatory role of GABAergic neurons in certain behaviors and suggest that modulating the excitatory/inhibitory balance through GABAergic neurons could prove a viable therapeutic option in Rett syndrome.

Atoh1-null mice die at birth from respiratory failure, but the precise cause has remained elusive. Loss of Atoh1 from various components of the respiratory circuitry (e.g. the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN)) has so far produced at most 50% neonatal lethality. To identify other Atoh1-lineage neurons that contribute to postnatal survival, we examined parabrachial complex neurons derived from the rostral rhombic lip (rRL) and found that they are activated during respiratory chemochallenges. Atoh1-deletion from the rRL does not affect survival, but causes apneas and respiratory depression during hypoxia, likely due to loss of projections to the preBötzinger Complex and RTN. Atoh1 thus promotes the development of the neural circuits governing hypoxic (rRL) and hypercapnic (RTN) chemoresponses, and combined loss of Atoh1 from these regions causes fully penetrant neonatal lethality. This work underscores the importance of modulating respiratory rhythms in response to chemosensory information during early postnatal life.

Clinical trials are currently underway to assess the efficacy of forniceal deep brain stimulation (DBS) for improvement of memory in Alzheimer's patients, and forniceal DBS has been shown to improve learning and memory in a mouse model of Rett syndrome (RTT), an intellectual disability disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in MECP2. The mechanism of DBS benefits has been elusive, however, so we assessed changes in gene expression, splice isoforms, DNA methylation, and proteome following acute forniceal DBS in wild-type mice and mice lacking Mecp2. We found that DBS upregulates genes involved in synaptic function, cell survival, and neurogenesis and normalized expression of ~25% of the genes altered in Mecp2-null mice. Moreover, DBS induced expression of 17-24% of the genes downregulated in other intellectual disability mouse models and in post-mortem human brain tissue from patients with Major Depressive Disorder, suggesting forniceal DBS could benefit individuals with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Respiration is a rhythmic activity as well as one that requires responsiveness to internal and external circumstances; both the rhythm and neuromodulatory responses of breathing are controlled by brainstem neurons in the preBötzinger complex (preBötC) and the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN), but the specific ion channels essential to these activities remain to be identified. Because deficiency of sodium leak channel, non-selective (Nalcn) causes lethal apnea in humans and mice, we investigated Nalcn function in these neuronal groups. We found that one-third of mice lacking Nalcn in excitatory preBötC neurons died soon after birth; surviving mice developed apneas in adulthood. Interestingly, in both preBötC and RTN neurons, the Nalcn current influences the resting membrane potential, contributes to maintenance of stable network activity, and mediates modulatory responses to the neuropeptide substance P. These findings reveal Nalcn's specific role in both rhythmic stability and responsiveness to neuropeptides within the respiratory network.

Functional adaptation to ambient light is a key characteristic of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), but little is known about how adaptation is affected by factors that are harmful to RGC health. We explored adaptation-induced changes to RGC physiology when exposed to increased intraocular pressure (IOP), a major risk factor for glaucoma.

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the major risk factor for glaucoma, a sight threatening disease of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons. Despite the central importance of IOP, details of the impact of IOP elevation on RGC gene expression remain elusive. We developed a 4-step immunopanning protocol to extract adult mouse RGCs with high fidelity and used it to isolate RGCs from wild type mice exposed to 2 weeks of IOP elevation generated by the microbead model. IOP was elevated to 2 distinct levels which were defined as Mild (IOP increase >1 mmHg and <4 mmHg) and Moderate (IOP increase ≥4 mmHg). RNA sequencing was used to compare the transcriptional environment at each IOP level. Differentially expressed genes were markedly different between the 2 groups, and pathway analysis revealed frequently opposed responses between the IOP levels. These results suggest that the magnitude of IOP elevation has a critical impact on RGC transcriptional changes. Furthermore, it is possible that IOP-based set points exist within RGCs to impact the direction of transcriptional change. It is possible that this improved understanding of changes in RGC gene expression can ultimately lead to novel diagnostics and therapeutics for glaucoma.