TY - JOUR
T1 - The Stress-Induced Transcription Factor NR4A1 Adjusts Mitochondrial Function and Synapse Number in Prefrontal Cortex
AU - Jeanneteau, Freddy
AU - Barrère, Christian
AU - Vos, Mariska
AU - de Vries, Carlie J. M.
AU - Rouillard, Claude
AU - Levesque, Daniel
AU - Dromard, Yann
AU - Moisan, Marie-Pierre
AU - Duric, Vanja
AU - Franklin, Tina C.
AU - Duman, Ronald S.
AU - Lewis, David A.
AU - Ginsberg, Stephen D.
AU - Arango-Lievano, Margarita
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The energetic costs of behavioral chronic stress are unlikely to be sustainable without neuronal plasticity. Mitochondria have the capacity to handle synaptic activity up to a limit before energetic depletion occurs. Protective mechanisms driven by the induction of neuronal genes likely evolved to buffer the consequences of chronic stress on excitatory neurons in prefrontal cortex (PFC), as this circuitry is vulnerable to excitotoxic insults. Little is known about the genes involved in mitochondrial adaptation to the buildup of chronic stress. Using combinations of genetic manipulations and stress for analyzing structural, transcriptional, mitochondrial, and behavioral outcomes, we characterized NR4A1 as a stress-inducible modifier of mitochondrial energetic competence and dendritic spine number in PFC. NR4A1 acted as a transcription factor for changing the expression of target genes previously involved in mitochondrial uncoupling, AMP-activated protein kinase activation, and synaptic growth. Maintenance of NR4A1 activity by chronic stress played a critical role in the regressive synaptic organization in PFC of mouse models of stress (male only). Knockdown, dominant-negative approach, and knockout of Nr4a1 in mice and rats (male only) protected pyramidal neurons against the adverse effects of chronic stress. In human PFC tissues of men and women, high levels of the transcriptionally active NR4A1 correlated with measures of synaptic loss and cognitive impairment. In the context of chronic stress, prolonged expression and activity of NR4A1 may lead to responses of mitochondria and synaptic connectivity that do not match environmental demand, resulting in circuit malfunction between PFC and other brain regions, constituting a pathological feature across disorders
AB - The energetic costs of behavioral chronic stress are unlikely to be sustainable without neuronal plasticity. Mitochondria have the capacity to handle synaptic activity up to a limit before energetic depletion occurs. Protective mechanisms driven by the induction of neuronal genes likely evolved to buffer the consequences of chronic stress on excitatory neurons in prefrontal cortex (PFC), as this circuitry is vulnerable to excitotoxic insults. Little is known about the genes involved in mitochondrial adaptation to the buildup of chronic stress. Using combinations of genetic manipulations and stress for analyzing structural, transcriptional, mitochondrial, and behavioral outcomes, we characterized NR4A1 as a stress-inducible modifier of mitochondrial energetic competence and dendritic spine number in PFC. NR4A1 acted as a transcription factor for changing the expression of target genes previously involved in mitochondrial uncoupling, AMP-activated protein kinase activation, and synaptic growth. Maintenance of NR4A1 activity by chronic stress played a critical role in the regressive synaptic organization in PFC of mouse models of stress (male only). Knockdown, dominant-negative approach, and knockout of Nr4a1 in mice and rats (male only) protected pyramidal neurons against the adverse effects of chronic stress. In human PFC tissues of men and women, high levels of the transcriptionally active NR4A1 correlated with measures of synaptic loss and cognitive impairment. In the context of chronic stress, prolonged expression and activity of NR4A1 may lead to responses of mitochondria and synaptic connectivity that do not match environmental demand, resulting in circuit malfunction between PFC and other brain regions, constituting a pathological feature across disorders
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2793-17.2017
DO - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2793-17.2017
M3 - Article
C2 - 29295823
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 38
SP - 1335
EP - 1350
JO - Journal of neuroscience
JF - Journal of neuroscience
IS - 6
ER -