No abstract

Neural plasticity plays a critical role in mediating short- and long-term brain responses to environmental stimuli. A major effector of plasticity throughout many regions of the brain is stress. Activation of the locus coeruleus (LC) is a critical step in mediating the neuroendocrine and behavioral limbs of the stress response. During stressor exposure, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis promotes release of corticotropin-releasing factor in LC, where its signaling promotes a number of physiological and cellular changes. While the acute effects of stress on LC physiology have been described, its long-term effects are less clear. This review will describe how stress changes LC neuronal physiology, function, and morphology from a genetic, cellular, and neuronal circuitry/transmission perspective. Specifically, we describe morphological changes of LC neurons in response to stressful stimuli and signal transduction pathways underlying them. Also, we will review changes in excitatory glutamatergic synaptic transmission in LC neurons and possible stress-induced modifications of AMPA receptors. This review will also address stress-related behavioral adaptations and specific noradrenergic receptors responsible for them. Finally, we summarize the results of several human studies which suggest a link between stress, altered LC function, and pathogenesis of posttraumatic stress disorder.

The phosphorylated form of LRRK2, pS935 LRRK2, has been proposed as a target modulation biomarker for LRRK2 inhibitors. The primary aim of the study was to characterize and qualify this biomarker for therapeutic trials of LRRK2 inhibitors in Parkinson's disease (PD). To this end, analytically validated assays were used to monitor levels of pS935 LRRK2 and total LRRK2 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the following donor groups: healthy controls, idiopathic PD, and G2019S carriers with and without PD. Neither analyte correlated with age, gender, or disease severity. While total LRRK2 levels were similar across the four groups, there was a significant reduction in pS935 LRRK2 levels in disease-manifesting G2019S carriers compared to idiopathic PD. In aggregate, these data indicate that phosphorylation of LRRK2 at S935 may reflect a state marker for G2019S LRRK2-driven PD, the underlying biology for which requires investigation in future studies. This study also provides critical foundational data to inform the integration of pS935 and total LRRK2 levels as biomarkers in therapeutic trials of LRRK2 kinase inhibitors.

Changes in striatal cholinergic interneuron (ChI) activity are thought to contribute to Parkinson's disease pathophysiology and dyskinesia from chronic L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) treatment, but the physiological basis of these changes is unknown. We find that dopamine lesion decreases the spontaneous firing rate of ChIs, whereas chronic treatment with L-DOPA of lesioned mice increases baseline ChI firing rates to levels beyond normal activity. The effect of dopamine loss on ChIs was due to decreased currents of both hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) and small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels. L-DOPA reinstatement of dopamine normalized HCN activity, but SK current remained depressed. Pharmacological blockade of HCN and SK activities mimicked changes in firing, confirming that these channels are responsible for the molecular adaptation of ChIs to dopamine loss and chronic L-DOPA treatment. These findings suggest that targeting ChIs with channel-specific modulators may provide therapeutic approaches for alleviating L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in PD patients.

The cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between white matter hyperintensities and dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease: a retrospective analysis of 132 patients in a single center.