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Hemichannel and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
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Hemichannel and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 6065

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Motohiro Okada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Division of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Japan
Interests: epilepsy; schizophrenia; exocytosis; tripartite synaptic transmission
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Traditionally, the function of activated hemichannels in the central nervous system has been considered to contribute to brain damage due to the glial release of excitatory gliotransmitters, eicosanoids, cytokines, and citions via a non-exocytotic process; however, recent neuropsychopharmacological studies have demonstrated that the functional abnormalities of hemichannels play an important role in the pathomechanisms and pathophysiologies of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, mood disorders, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and their cognitive dysfuctions. These findings suggest the possibility that modulation of hemichannel activities can provide novel strategies for the treatement of various neuropsychiatric disorders and the prevention of the development of pathogenesis. This Special Issue, entitled Hemichannel and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, is designed to collect recent findings of the effects of tripartite synaptic transmission on extracellular and intracellular factors, including signalling molecules and tripartite synaptic transmission through activated hemichannels that underlie the induction of astrocytic activation and functional alterations. This Issue will welcome original reports, review articles, and commentaries on the molecular mechanisms of hemichannels.

Prof. Dr. Motohiro Okada
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • connexin
  • hemichannel
  • gap-junction
  • glia
  • schizophrenia
  • mood disorder
  • epilepsy
  • Parkinson’s diseae
  • cognition
  • dementia

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2914 KiB  
Article
Brexpiprazole Reduces 5-HT7 Receptor Function on Astroglial Transmission Systems
by Kouji Fukuyama, Eishi Motomura and Motohiro Okada
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(12), 6571; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23126571 - 12 Jun 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2656
Abstract
Several atypical antipsychotics exert mood-stabilising effects via the modulation of various monoamine receptors and intracellular signallings. Recent pharmacodynamic studies suggested that tripartite synaptic transmission can contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and mood disorders, their associated cognitive impairment, and several adverse reactions to [...] Read more.
Several atypical antipsychotics exert mood-stabilising effects via the modulation of various monoamine receptors and intracellular signallings. Recent pharmacodynamic studies suggested that tripartite synaptic transmission can contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and mood disorders, their associated cognitive impairment, and several adverse reactions to atypical antipsychotics. Therefore, to explore the mechanisms underlying the antidepressive mood-stabilising and antipsychotic effects of brexpiprazole (Brex), we determined the effects of subchronic administration of therapeutically relevant concentrations/doses of Brex on the protein expression of 5-HT receptors, connexin43, cAMP levels, and intracellular signalling in cultured astrocytes and rat hypothalamus using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and capillary immunoblotting systems. Subchronic administration of a therapeutically relevant concentration of Brex (300 nM) downregulated both 5-HT1A (5-HT1AR) and 5-HT7 (5-HT7R) receptors, in addition to phosphorylated Erk (pErk), without affecting phosphorylated Akt in the astroglial plasma membrane. Subchronic administration of 300 nM Brex decreased and increased phosphorylated AMPK and connexin43, respectively, in the astroglial cytosol fraction. A therapeutically relevant concentration of Brex acutely decreased the astroglial cAMP level, whereas, under the inhibition of 5-HT1AR, Brex did not affect astroglial cAMP levels. However, the 5-HT7R-agonist-induced increased astroglial cAMP level was inhibited by Brex. In contrast to the in vitro study, systemic subchronic administration of effective doses of Brex (3 and 10 mg/kg/day for 14 days) increased the cAMP level but did not affect phosphorylated AMPK in the rat hypothalamus. These results suggest several complicated pharmacological features of Brex. Partial 5-HT1AR agonistic action predominates in the low range of therapeutically relevant concentrations of Brex, whereas in the high range, 5-HT7R inverse agonist-like action is overlapped on the 5-HT1A agonistic action. These unique suppressive effects of Brex on 5-HT7R play important roles in the clinical features of Brex regarding its antidepressive mood-stabilising actions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hemichannel and Neuropsychiatric Disorders)
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20 pages, 2348 KiB  
Article
Brivaracetam and Levetiracetam Suppress Astroglial L-Glutamate Release through Hemichannel via Inhibition of Synaptic Vesicle Protein
by Kouji Fukuyama and Motohiro Okada
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(9), 4473; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094473 - 19 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3013
Abstract
To explore the pathophysiological mechanisms of antiseizure and adverse behavioural/psychiatric effects of brivaracetam and levetiracetam, in the present study, we determined the effects of brivaracetam and levetiracetam on astroglial L-glutamate release induced by artificial high-frequency oscillation (HFO) bursts using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. Additionally, [...] Read more.
To explore the pathophysiological mechanisms of antiseizure and adverse behavioural/psychiatric effects of brivaracetam and levetiracetam, in the present study, we determined the effects of brivaracetam and levetiracetam on astroglial L-glutamate release induced by artificial high-frequency oscillation (HFO) bursts using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. Additionally, the effects of brivaracetam and levetiracetam on protein expressions of connexin43 (Cx43) and synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) in the plasma membrane of primary cultured rat astrocytes were determined using a capillary immunoblotting system. Acutely artificial fast-ripple HFO (500 Hz) burst stimulation use-dependently increased L-glutamate release through Cx43-containing hemichannels without affecting the expression of Cx43 or SV2A in the plasma membrane, whereas acute physiological ripple HFO (200 Hz) stimulation did not affect astroglial L-glutamate release or expression of Cx43 or SV2A. Contrarily, subchronic ripple HFO and acute pathological fast-ripple HFO (500 Hz) stimulations use-dependently increased L-glutamate release through Cx43-containing hemichannels and Cx43 expression in the plasma membrane. Subchronic fast-ripple HFO-evoked stimulation produced ectopic expression of SV2A in the plasma membrane, but subchronic ripple HFO stimulation did not generate ectopic SV2A. Subchronic administration of brivaracetam and levetiracetam concentration-dependently suppressed fast-ripple HFO-induced astroglial L-glutamate release and expression of Cx43 and SV2A in the plasma membrane. In contrast, subchronic ripple HFO-evoked stimulation induced astroglial L-glutamate release, and Cx43 expression in the plasma membrane was inhibited by subchronic levetiracetam administration, but was not affected by brivaracetam. These results suggest that brivaracetam and levetiracetam inhibit epileptogenic fast-ripple HFO-induced activated astroglial transmission associated with hemichannels. In contrast, the inhibitory effect of therapeutic-relevant concentrations of levetiracetam on physiological ripple HFO-induced astroglial responses probably contributes to the adverse behavioural/psychiatric effects of levetiracetam. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hemichannel and Neuropsychiatric Disorders)
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