Allopregnanolone mediates the exacerbation of Tourette-like responses by acute stress in mouse models

Abstract Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple tics and sensorimotor abnormalities, the severity of which is typically increased by stress. The neurobiological underpinnings of this exacerbation, however, remain elusive. We recently reported that spatial con...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Laura J. Mosher, Sean C. Godar, Marianela Nelson, Stephen C. Fowler, Graziano Pinna, Marco Bortolato
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/3ab4a6989ba3454dac75b5a92be0ee11
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple tics and sensorimotor abnormalities, the severity of which is typically increased by stress. The neurobiological underpinnings of this exacerbation, however, remain elusive. We recently reported that spatial confinement (SC), a moderate environmental stressor, increases tic-like responses and elicits TS-like sensorimotor gating deficits in the D1CT-7 mouse, one of the best-validated models of TS. Here, we hypothesized that these adverse effects may be mediated by neurosteroids, given their well-documented role in stress-response orchestration. Indeed, SC increased the levels of progesterone, as well as its derivatives 5α-dihydroprogesterone and allopregnanolone, in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of D1CT-7 mice. Among these steroids, however, only allopregnanolone (5–15 mg/kg, IP) dose-dependently exacerbated TS-like manifestations in D1CT-7, but not wild-type littermates; these effects were countered by the benchmark anti-tic therapy haloperidol (0.3 mg/kg, IP). Furthermore, the phenotypic effects of spatial confinement in D1CT-7 mice were suppressed by finasteride (25–50 mg/kg, IP), an inhibitor of the main rate-limiting enzyme in allopregnanolone synthesis. These findings collectively suggest that stress may exacerbate TS symptoms by promoting allopregnanolone synthesis in the PFC, and corroborate previous clinical results pointing to finasteride as a novel therapeutic avenue to curb symptom fluctuations in TS.