The heterogeneity of genetic etiology and the corresponding neural complexity of schizophrenia have rendered the task of understanding disease pathophysiology and developing new improved treatments rather inauspicious. In light of this complexity there is need to identify convergent molecular and neural substrates that can serve as entry points to prevent or reverse disease progression. Along the same lines, identification of mutations or variants that confer protection against disease by disabling protein function via loss-of-function (LoF) effects, akin to those of a therapeutic agent, hold great promise for devising therapeutic schemes to restore or prevent some or all of disease symptoms. During the first iteration of this grant, we characterized the microRNA dysregulation in a model of the 22q11.2 deletion, one of the strongest genetic risk factor for schizophrenia [Df(16)A+/- mice]. We found that postnatal brain upregulation of Mirta22/Emc10, an inhibitor of neuronal maturation, represents the major transcriptional effect of the 22q11.2-associated microRNA dysregulation. Mice where the Df16(A) deficiency is combined with a LoF Mirta22 allele show a profound rescue of core SCZ-related deficits such as sensorimotor gating deficits, working and social memory deficits, as well as several of the underlying synaptic and cellular deficits. Thus several key disease alterations observed in Df(16)A+/? mice can be attributed to the abnormally sustained inhibitory influence of elevated Mirta22 levels. Building on these findings, this competitive renewal aims to elucidate further the nature of neural substrates underlying the protective influences of Mirta22 LoF mutations, compare the effects of normalizing Mirta22 levels during neonatal, adolescent and adult time periods using conditional genetic manipulations in mouse models (including the use of new therapeutic modalities of translatable value) and determine the relevance of our mouse results in human disease neurons. Determining when during the lifespan Mirta22 normalization is most effective at reversing disease phenotypes will be crucial for determining its potential use as a therapeutic target. !

Public Health Relevance

This proposal is inherently translational in nature; it is aimed at clarifying and exploiting the pathological mechanisms leading from a schizophrenia predisposing genomic lesion to impairments in behavior and neurophysiology. The aim is to prevent these impairments by restraining at the appropriate developmental time the levels of an inhibitor of neuronal maturation, which is upregulated as a result of this genomic lesion. If we are successful, these studies could lead to novel treatments for a subset of patients with schizophrenia.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH097879-09
Application #
9964903
Study Section
Developmental Brain Disorders Study Section (DBD)
Program Officer
Panchision, David M
Project Start
2012-06-15
Project End
2022-06-30
Budget Start
2020-07-01
Budget End
2021-06-30
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
Sun, Ziyi; Williams, Damian J; Xu, Bin et al. (2018) Altered function and maturation of primary cortical neurons from a 22q11.2 deletion mouse model of schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 8:85
Choi, Se Joon; Mukai, Jun; Kvajo, Mirna et al. (2018) A Schizophrenia-Related Deletion Leads to KCNQ2-Dependent Abnormal Dopaminergic Modulation of Prefrontal Cortical Interneuron Activity. Cereb Cortex 28:2175-2191
Zaremba, Jeffrey D; Diamantopoulou, Anastasia; Danielson, Nathan B et al. (2017) Impaired hippocampal place cell dynamics in a mouse model of the 22q11.2 deletion. Nat Neurosci 20:1612-1623
Diamantopoulou, Anastasia; Sun, Ziyi; Mukai, Jun et al. (2017) Loss-of-function mutation in Mirta22/Emc10 rescues specific schizophrenia-related phenotypes in a mouse model of the 22q11.2 deletion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114:E6127-E6136
Qi, Yuchen; Zhang, Xin-Jun; Renier, Nicolas et al. (2017) Combined small-molecule inhibition accelerates the derivation of functional cortical neurons from human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biotechnol 35:154-163
Piskorowski, Rebecca A; Nasrallah, Kaoutsar; Diamantopoulou, Anastasia et al. (2016) Age-Dependent Specific Changes in Area CA2 of the Hippocampus and Social Memory Deficit in a Mouse Model of the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Neuron 89:163-76
Takata, Atsushi; Ionita-Laza, Iuliana; Gogos, Joseph A et al. (2016) De Novo Synonymous Mutations in Regulatory Elements Contribute to the Genetic Etiology of Autism and Schizophrenia. Neuron 89:940-7
Hsu, Pei-Ken; Xu, Bin; Mukai, Jun et al. (2015) The BDNF Val66Met variant affects gene expression through miR-146b. Neurobiol Dis 77:228-37
Barr, Ian; Weitz, Sara H; Atkin, Talia et al. (2015) Cobalt(III) Protoporphyrin Activates the DGCR8 Protein and Can Compensate microRNA Processing Deficiency. Chem Biol 22:793-802
Mukai, Jun; Tamura, Makoto; FĂ©nelon, Karine et al. (2015) Molecular substrates of altered axonal growth and brain connectivity in a mouse model of schizophrenia. Neuron 86:680-95

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