Biology subjects

Periandri, E. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Periandri, E. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

ACSS2 mediates prenatal alcohol exposure-related morphological and behavioral phenotypes

The metabolic enzyme Acetyl-CoA Synthetase 2 (ACSS2) recently emerged as an unexpected regulator of molecular and behavioral changes associated with alcohol use. Its role during prenatal exposure, however, remains unknown. Here, we use a combination of proteomic, genomic and behavioral approaches to establish ACSS2 as a key mediator of prenatal alcohol exposure-related phenotypes. We define the developmental window during which ACSS2 translocates to nuclei in the mouse brain, and show that alcohol-derived acetate is incorporated into fetal brain histone acetylation in utero. Using genetically engineered mice not expressing ACSS2, we demonstrate that loss of this enzyme attenuates chronic prenatal alcohol exposure-induced craniofacial abnormalities, motor function deficits, cognitive impairments as well as associated chromatin and gene expression changes in the dorsal hippocampus and the cerebellar vermis. Our results outline a previously unknown mechanism underlying prenatal alcohol exposure-related phenotypes regulated by ACSS2, which will inform the development of future therapeutic interventions. HIGHLIGHTSO_LIACSS2 translocates to nuclei during in utero brain development C_LIO_LIAlcohol-derived acetate is incorporated into fetal brain histone acetylation C_LIO_LIPrenatal alcohol exposure results in long-lasting and ACSS2-dependent chromatin and gene expression changes in the hippocampus and cerebellar vermis C_LIO_LILoss of ACSS2 attenuates molecular changes, craniofacial abnormalities and cognitive impairments linked to prenatal alcohol exposure C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Ketogenic diet dampens excitatory neurotransmission by shrinking synaptic vesicle pools

HIGHLIGHTSO_LIKD rewires gene expression in the hippocampus, particularly impacting synaptic genes. C_LIO_LIKD profoundly alters epigenetic modifications in the hippocampus. C_LIO_LIKD reduces excitatory synaptic gain and dampens integration of synaptic inputs. C_LIO_LIKD reduces the readily releasable vesicle pool in excitatory synapses. C_LI The ketogenic diet (KD) is a common dietary intervention for treating seizures in intractable childhood epilepsies and has been proposed to improve disease outcome in neurodegenerative disorders. Despite its clinical applications, we know little about how this diet impacts brain circuitry and neuronal function to elicit its protective effects. Here, we examined the impact of the KD on hippocampal function through integrative analysis of gene expression, epigenetics and neurotransmission. We found that KD induces profound transcriptional reprogramming of the hippocampus, including dampened expression of numerous synaptic genes. Through proteomic analysis of histone variants and post-translational modifications, we uncovered significant changes in activating and repressive histone marks in the hippocampus of KD mice. To determine how transcriptional rewiring of the hippocampus under KD impacts neurotransmission, we performed electrophysiological recordings of neurotransmission and synaptic dynamics at excitatory CA3-CA1 synapses. We found that KD diminishes synaptic gain and dampens short-term plasticity at excitatory synapses, resulting in reduced integration of synaptic inputs at the circuit level. Combining electrophysiology and electron microscopy, we determined that effects of KD in excitatory synapses are caused by a reduction in size of the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles, as well as the total vesicle pool. Our findings show that the ketogenic diet triggers synaptic remodeling in the hippocampus, driven by broad transcriptional and epigenetic changes that reduce synaptic vesicle pools and short-term plasticity at excitatory synapses ultimately dampening excitatory synaptic gain and integration at the circuit level. These synaptic adaptations may represent a major mechanism underlying the anti-epileptic effects of this diet.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Decreased voluntary alcohol intake and ventral striatal epigenetic and transcriptional remodeling in male Acss2 KO mice

Metabolic-epigenetic interactions are emerging as key pathways in regulating alcohol-related transcriptional changes in the brain. We previously demonstrated that this is mediated by the metabolic enzyme Acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (Acss2), which is nuclear and chromatin-bound in neurons. Mice lacking Acss2 fail to deposit alcohol-derived acetate onto histones in the brain and show no conditioned place preference for ethanol reward. Here, we explored the role of this pathway during voluntary alcohol intake. We found that Acss2 KO mice consumed significantly less alcohol during drinking-in-the-dark, and this effect was primarily driven by males. We performed genome-wide transcriptional profiling of 7 key brain regions implicated in alcohol and drug use, and found that, following drinking, Acss2 KO mice exhibited blunted gene expression in the ventral striatum, and similar to the behavioral differences, transcriptional dysregulation was more pronounced in male mice. Further, we found that the gene expression changes were associated with depletion of ventral striatal histone acetylation (H3K27ac) in Acss2 KO mice compared to WT. Taken together, our data suggest that Acss2 plays an important role in orchestrating ventral striatal epigenetic and transcriptional changes during voluntary alcohol drinking, especially in males. Consequently, targeting this pathway could be a promising new therapeutic avenue.

neuroscience↗