{"title":"BDNF methylation associated with stress in women: Novel insights in epigenetics and inflammation","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100900","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100900","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene plays an important role in modulating the stress-response axis and inflammation, which can be regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. BNDF methylation has been associated with stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Previous studies have reported that stressful events are involved with long-lasting alterations in DNA methylation (DNAm) of the BNDF exon IV promoter, suggesting that glucocorticoids and inflammatory cytokines can regulate this process. We previously found that perceived psychological stress is modulated by inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-10, and IL-12p70, suggesting their role in mediating the stress response. However, the epigenetic mechanism mediating this response has yet to be fully understood. In this study, we propose that high perceived stress and high serum levels of inflammatory cytokines may correlate with specific methylation sites within the BNDF exon IV promoter. To address these questions, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 82 adult women teachers working in basic education in Brazil. The perceived stress scale was used to assess stress and blood samples were collected for the measurement of inflammatory markers and BNDF methylation through flow cytometry assay and DNA pyrosequencing, respectively. We detected differentially methylated CpG sites in the <em>BNDF</em> gene, where 5 CpG sites were directly correlated with high stress levels. However, 4 CpG sites showed inverse effects, indicating that changes in methylation levels in those sites could lead to a protective effect on perceived stress. About inflammatory markers, IL-6 and IL-8 were associated with high perceived stress. However, only IL-8 and IL-10 showed simultaneous modulation of perceived stress, while IL-10 and IL12p70 correlated with DNAm. We found that higher levels in IL-10 and IL-12p70 serum decrease methylation in CpG11. A direct relationship was also found to IL-12p70, where higher levels in serum increase methylation in CpG5 and 13, respectively. Taken as a whole, our findings reinforce the hypothesis regarding stress-sensitive regions within the BDNF gene, mainly for CpG5, 11, and 13. In addition to these results, CpG7 and 9 may be regarded as stress-protective regions. Our data suggest that BDNF DNAm in the blood may represent a novel biomarker for early detection of adverse effects of chronic exposure to stress in healthy individuals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142573238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Repurposing doxycycline for Alzheimer's treatment: Challenges from a nano-based drug delivery perspective","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100894","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100894","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drug repurposing, also known as drug repositioning, involves identifying new applications for drugs whose effects in a disease are already established. Doxycycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic belonging to the tetracycline class, has demonstrated potential activity against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, despite its promise, the repurposed use of doxycycline encounters challenges in reaching the brain in adequate concentrations to exert its effects. To address this issue, nanostructured systems offer an innovative approach that can enhance brain targeting and the desired therapeutic outcomes. This review discusses the advances in doxycycline repurposing for Alzheimer's disease, presenting physicochemical and biological aspects that permeate doxycycline's repositioning and its application in nano-based delivery systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142539321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Associations between uric acid and depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of immunoinflammatory: Findings from rural older adults","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100893","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100893","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>In the low-resource rural areas, older adults may experience prolonged and severe depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between uric acid, depressive symptoms and immunoinflammatory among rural older adults.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>This case-control study was conducted in 17 rural villages in Hunan Province, China, between January 2023 and April 2024. This study included 180 participants: (1) Rural Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms group:90 patients with first-time diagnosed with depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale-15, GDS-15 ≥ 5 scores); (2) Control group: 90 individually matched (age and sex) healthy subjects (GDS-15 < 5 scores) who were aged ≥60 years.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Both males and females, depressive symptoms were associated with higher uric acid levels and C-reactive protein levels (All <em>P</em> < 0.05). Whereas in females, depressive symptoms were also linked to higher procalcitonin (<em>P</em> = 0.005) and serum amyloid A (<em>P</em> = 0.008) levels. In addition, C-reactive protein plays a significant mediating role between uric acid and depressive symptoms in males.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Further investigation is necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms, examine gender-specific disparities, and assess potential therapeutic interventions targeting uric acid and inflammation levels to mitigate mental disorders risk.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142554918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inflammation is associated with pain and fatigue in older adults","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Increasing evidence suggests that inflammation may play a pivotal role in the development of chronic pain and fatigue in aging individuals. This study investigated the relationship between three inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP, and TNFα) and pain and fatigue, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, in a sample of older adults from the Saint Louis Personality and Aging (SPAN) study.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>SPAN study participants provided blood samples at two in-person sessions approximately 2 years apart for the analysis of the inflammatory biomarkers IL-6, CRP, and TNFα. Pain and fatigue were assessed using the RAND-36 Health Status Inventory. Correlations (with false discovery rate correction for multiple testing) and follow-up linear regressions including potentially confounding demographic (e.g., annual household income) and health (e.g., BMI, medication use) covariates were used to estimate cross sectional and longitudinal associations. Analytic ns ranged from 533 to 815.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Cross-sectional analyses revealed that higher IL-6 and CRP were associated with greater reported pain and fatigue, even after accounting for covariates (βs > .098, <em>p</em>s < .05). TNFα was associated with greater fatigue only (β = .100, <em>p</em> = .012). Longitudinally, CRP and IL-6 predicted future pain and fatigue, although only the relationship between CRP and future fatigue survived the inclusion of covariates (β = .104, <em>p</em> = .022). Both pain and fatigue predicted higher levels of IL-6 and CRP approximately 2 years later, although only the associations with IL-6 survived the inclusion of covariates (βs > .12, <em>ps</em> < .01).</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Our study adds to a growing body of literature showing that inflammation is associated with greater pain and fatigue in older adults. Our longitudinal data showing temporal bidirectional associations is consistent with evidence from non-human animal models that heightened inflammation causally contributes to fatigue and also suggests that the experience of pain and fatigue may contribute to inflammation. It will be important for future work to identify how lifestyle factors associated with pain and fatigue (e.g., physical activity) may contribute to these associations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142528569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinical features and predictive nomogram for fatigue sequelae in non-severe patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Shanghai, China","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100889","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100889","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-2019) infections may still experience long-term effects, with fatigue being one of the most frequent ones. Clinical research on the long COVID in the Chinese population after infection is comparatively lacking.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To collect and analyze the long-term effects of non-severe COVID-19 infection patients and to develop a model for the prediction of fatigue symptoms.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>223 non-severe COVID-19 patients admitted to one designated hospital were enrolled after finish all the self-designed clinical information registration form and nine-month follow-up. We explored the frequency and symptom types of long COVID. Correlation analysis was done on the neuropsychological scale results. After cluster analysis, lasoo regression and logistic regressions, a nomogram prediction model was produced as a result of investigating the risk factors for fatigue.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 108 (48.4%) of the 223 non-severe COVID-19 patients reported sequelae for more than 4 weeks, and of these, 35 (15.7%) had fatigue sequelae that were scale-confirmed. Other sequelae of more than 10% were brain fog (<em>n</em> = 37,16.6%), cough (<em>n</em> = 26,11.7%) and insomnia (n = 23,10.3%). A correlation between depression and fatigue was discovered following the completion of neuropsychological scale. The duration of hospitalization, the non-use of antiviral medications in treatment, IL-6 and CD16+CD56<sup>+</sup> cell levels in blood are the main independent risk factors and predictors of fatigue sequelae in long COVID. Additionally, the neurology diseases and vaccination status may also influence the fatigue sequelae.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Nearly half of the patients infected with COVID-19 Omicron variant complained of sequelae, and fatigue was the most common symptom, which was correlated with depression. Significant predictors of fatigue sequelae included length of hospitalization, non-use of antiviral drug, and immune-related serum markers of IL-6 and CD16+CD56<sup>+</sup> NK cell levels. The presence of neurology diseases and a lack of vaccination could also predict the occurrence of fatigue sequelae.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142528017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interleukin-18 interacts with NKCC1 to mediate brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100890","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100890","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interleukin 18 (IL-18), a proinflammatory cytokine, has been implicated in various neurological disorders, including cerebrovascular disease and psychiatric disorders. In a previous study, IL-18 was observed to activate microglia and enhance the inflammatory response following intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we found that IL-18 and IL-18 receptor (IL-18 R) are primarily secreted by neurons during the early stages after ICH, with microglia becoming the predominant source at 12–24 h after ICH. Meanwhile, the expression level of IL-18 R increased following ICH, along with an augmentation in the binding affinity of IL-18 R to IL-18. Subsequently, the deficiency of IL-18 R mitigated neurological impairment and subsequent activation of inflammatory pathways in mice post-ICH. Moreover, our findings suggest that IL-18-induced neurological injury after ICH may be mediated by the interaction between IL18R and NKCC1. Significantly, the NKCC1 inhibitor rescued the neurologic injury after ICH. In conclusion, our study suggests that targeting the IL-18/IL-18R/NKCC1 pathway could be an effective therapeutic strategy to attenuate secondary brain injury after ICH.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142528568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contributions of maternal prenatal infection and antibiotic exposure to offspring infection and risk for allergic respiratory conditions through age 5","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100892","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100892","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To determine if maternal prenatal infection increases risk of offspring postnatal infections through age 5 or diagnosis of respiratory allergy at age 5, independent of prenatal/postnatal antibiotic exposure. To evaluate if frequency of offspring infections mediates an association between prenatal infection and respiratory allergy at age 5.</div></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><div>Secondary data analyses were performed from the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS), a prospective, longitudinal birth cohort that enrolled pregnant women from 1959 to 1966 (N = 19,044 live births). The sample included a subset of mother-offspring dyads (<em>n</em> = 2062) with abstracted medical record data from the prenatal period through age 5 that included information on antibiotic use, infection, and offspring respiratory allergy.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Second trimester maternal infection was associated with an increased risk of offspring infection (IRR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.09–1.39; <em>p</em> = 0.001). No significant direct associations were detected between prenatal infection and diagnosis of offspring respiratory allergy. Offspring infection (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.13–1.20; <em>p</em> < 0.001) and antibiotic exposure (OR = 1.28; 95% CI = 1.22–1.33; <em>p</em> < 0.001) were significantly associated with a diagnosis of offspring respiratory allergy. Respiratory allergy diagnosis risk was greater with increasing offspring infection exposure and antibiotics. There was a significant indirect effect of second trimester maternal infection on offspring respiratory allergy, due to infections and not antibiotic use, via offspring infection, indicating a partially mediated effect.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Prenatal maternal infection may contribute to increase risk for early childhood infections, which in turn, may increase risk for allergic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142528016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"SARS-CoV-2 infection in microglia and its sequelae: What do we know so far?","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100888","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100888","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the COVID-19 pandemic. After the success of therapeutics and worldwide vaccination, the long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infections are yet to be determined. Common symptoms of COVID-19 include the loss of taste and smell, suggesting SARS-CoV-2 infection has a potentially detrimental effect on neurons within the olfactory/taste pathways, with direct access to the central nervous system (CNS). This could explain the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in the brains of COVID-19 patients. Different viruses display neurotropism that causes impaired neurodevelopment and/or neurodegeneration. Hence, it is plausible that COVID-19-associated neuropathologies are directly driven by SARS-CoV-2 infection in the CNS. Microglia, resident immune cells of the brain, are constantly under investigation as their surveillance role has been suggested to act as a friend or a foe impacting the progression of neurological disorders. Herein, we review the current literature suggesting microglia potentially been a susceptible target by SARS-CoV-2 virions and their role in viral dissemination within the CNS. Particular attention is given to the different experimental models and their translational potential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prophylactic clemastine treatment improves influenza A virus-induced cognitive dysfunction in mice.","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100891","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100891","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Respiratory infection by influenza A virus (IAV) is known to cause systemic inflammation, neuroinflammation, and cognitive impairment. We previously found that experimental infection with IAV affected oligodendrocyte homeostasis, which was associated with altered expression of genes involved in myelin maintenance as well as the lipidome. In this study, we sought to determine if clemastine, an antihistamine with myelin promoting properties, could reverse the effects of IAV on oligodendrocyte (OL) specific genes, as well as mitigate infection-induced cognitive impairment. Male and female C57BL/6J mice were randomized into experimental groups based on clemastine treatment, infection, and sex. Treatment with vehicle or clemastine (10mg/kg/d) commenced seven days prior to inoculation with either saline or IAV and continued throughout the experiment. Body weight was measured throughout the infection. Spatial learning and memory were assessed by Morris water maze. Sickness behavior was assessed by measuring burrowing response. Immune cell responses were determined by flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, antigen recall assays and ELISA, and viral load assessed by RT-qPCR. Hippocampal levels of neuroinflammatory (<em>Tnf, Cdkn1a</em>) and myelin (<em>Plp1</em>, <em>Mag</em>, <em>Ugt8a</em>) genes were determined by RT-qPCR. Mice infected with IAV developed weight loss, impaired cognitive flexibility, reduced burrowing behavior, altered lung immune cell infiltration, increased circulating anti-viral IgM and IgG levels and increased T cell responses to IAV epitopes. Infection increased hippocampal levels of genes associated with neuroinflammation and decreased levels of genes involved in myelination. Clemastine treatment resulted in earlier recovery of weight loss in males and increased IgM levels for both sexes, but neither affected expression levels of <em>Tnf</em> or <em>Cdkn1a</em>, nor rescued changes to oligodendrocyte genes. However, treatment mitigated infection-induced neurocognitive impairment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142419577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The influence of light on Interleukin-10: A preliminary study","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100887","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100887","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Light influences circadian rhythms, including that of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, has been observed to promote expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. It is thus of interest whether the cytokine IL-10 is also influenced by light, perhaps in accord with the diurnal variations in cortisol. Hence, this highly standardized preliminary sleep laboratory study in healthy adult men investigated a potential influence of different light exposure on IL-10 and cortisol concentrations in blood. In a between-subject design, <em>N</em> = 42 participants were exposed to either bright, dim, blue or red light after wake-up. Two mixed-model analyses with the factors of light condition and time (across eight IL-10 and cortisol sampling points) were conducted. Additionally, area under the curve measurements (AUCg and AUCi) were calculated for both cortisol and IL-10. Across all conditions, IL-10 and cortisol concentrations significantly changed over time. However, none of the light conditions exerted a greater influence on IL-10 or cortisol levels than others. For cortisol, there was greater total output (AUCg) in the blue-light condition in particular. Further research is needed to gain insight into whether or not types of light or cortisol levels have a hand in influencing natural IL-10 concentrations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72454,"journal":{"name":"Brain, behavior, & immunity - health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142419579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}