[Memory and attention deficit in migraine: overlooked symptoms]. / Narusheniia pamiati i vnimaniia u patsientov s migren'iu: nedootsenennye simptomy.

AIM: To evaluate the prevalence of objective cognitive impairment (CI) in patients with episodic migraine (EM) during the interictal period and in the chronic migraine (CM) population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-four patients with CM and 42 patients with low-frequency EM (less than 4 headache days a month), aged 18-59, were enrolled. Depression and anxiety were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Cognitive functions were evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA), Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). RESULTS: In the CM group DSST and MoCA performance as well as the RAVLT total learning index were significantly decreased compared to EM; 38% of CM patients scored lower than 26 points of the MoCA scale. Negative correlations between headache frequency and DSST and MoCA results were observed. There was no correlation between cognitive test performance and anxiety/depression levels. CONCLUSION: Patients with EM and CM present with objective CI. The prevalence and severity of cognitive deficits rise with increasing headache frequency.

A pharmacological evidence of positive association between mouse intermale aggression and brain serotonin metabolism.

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is involved in the regulation of mouse intermale aggression. Previously, it was shown that intensity of mouse intermale aggression was positively associated with activity of the key enzyme of 5-HT synthesis - tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) in mouse brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of pharmacological activation or inhibition of 5-HT synthesis in the brain on intermale aggression in two mouse strains differing in the TPH2 activity: C57BL/6J (B6, high TPH2 activity, high aggressiveness) and CC57BR/Mv (BR, low TPH2 activity, low aggressiveness). Administration of 5-HT precursor L-tryptophan (300 mg/kg, i.p.) to BR mice significantly increased the 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels in the midbrain as well as the number of attacks and their duration in the resident-intruder test. And vice versa, administration of TPH2 inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) (300 mg/kg, i.p., for 3 consecutive days) to B6 mice dramatically reduced the 5-HT and 5-HIAA contents in brain structures and attenuated the frequency and the duration of aggressive attacks. At the same time, L-tryptophan or pCPA did not influence the percentage of aggressive mice and the attack latency reflecting the threshold of aggressive reaction. This result indicated that the intensity of intermale aggression, but not the threshold of aggressive reaction is positively dependent on 5-HT metabolism in mouse brain.

[On the role of selective silencer Freud-1 in the regulation of the brain 5-HT(1A) receptor gene expression].

Selective 5-HT(1A) receptor silencer (Freud-1) is known to be one of the main factors for transcriptional regulation of brain serotonin 5-HT(1A) receptor. However, there is a lack of data on implication of Freud-1 in the mechanisms underlying genetically determined and experimentally altered 5-HT(1A) receptor system state in vivo. In the present study we have found a difference in the 5-HT(1A) gene expression in the midbrain of AKR and CBA inbred mouse strains. At the same time no distinction in Freud-1 expression was observed. We have revealed 90.3% of homology between mouse and rat 5-HT(1A) receptor DRE-element, whereas there was no difference in DRE-element sequence between AKR and CBA mice. This indicates the absence of differences in Freud-1 binding site in these mouse strains. In the model of 5-HT(1A) receptor desensitization produced by chronic 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist administration, a significant reduction of 5-HT(1A) receptor gene expression together with considerable increase of Freud-1 expression were found. These data allow us to conclude that the selective silencer of 5-HT(1A) receptor, Freud-1, is involved in the compensatory mechanisms that modulate the functional state of brain serotonin system, although it is not the only factor for 5-HT(1A) receptor transcriptional regulation.

Distribution of the C1473G polymorphism in tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene in laboratory and wild mice.

The neurotransmitter serotonin is implicated in the regulation of various forms of behavior, including aggression, sexual behavior and stress response. The rate of brain serotonin synthesis is determined by the activity of neuronal-specific enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase 2. The missense C1473G substitution in mouse tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene has been shown to lower the enzyme activity and brain serotonin level. Here, the C1473G polymorphism was investigated in 84 common laboratory inbred strains, 39 inbred and semi-inbred strains derived from wild ancestors (mostly from Eurasia) and in 75 wild mice trapped in different locations in Russia and Armenia. Among all the classical inbred strains studied, only substrains of BALB/c, A and DBA, as well as the IITES/Nga and NZW/NSlc strains were homozygous for the 1473G allele. In contrast to laboratory strains, the 1473G allele was not present in any of the samples from wild and wild-derived mice, although the wild mice varied substantially in the C1477T neutral substitution closely linked to the C1473G polymorphism. According to these results, the frequency of the 1473G allele in natural populations does not exceed 0.5%, and the C1473G polymorphism is in fact a rare mutation that is possibly eliminated by the forces of natural selection.

Effect of mouse chromosome 13 terminal fragment on liability to catalepsy and expression of tryptophane hydroxylase-2, serotonin transporter, and 5-HT1A receptor genes in the brain.

Congenic mice obtained by genome fragments transfer from one strain to another are a potent tool for studies of the molecular mechanisms of behavioral mutations. The 59-70 cM fragment of chromosome 13 containing the locus determining predisposition to freezing reaction (catalepsy) and the gene encoding 5-HT(1A) receptor were transferred from cataleptic CBA/Lac mice into the genome of catalepsy-resistant AKR/J mice. The impact of this fragment for the severity of catalepsy and expression of genes encoding tryptophane hydroxylase-2, serotonin transporter, and 5-HT(1A) receptor was studied. Half of mice of the resultant congenic AKR.CBA-D13Mit76 strain exhibited pronounced catalepsy, similarly to donor CBA animals. The expression of 5-HT(1A) receptor gene in the midbrain of AKR animals was significantly higher than in CBA. The level of 5-HT(1A) receptor mRNA in AKR.CBA-D13Mit76 animals was significantly higher than in the donor strain. Mice of parental AKR and CBA strains did not differ from each other and from AKR.CBA-D13Mit76 animals by the levels of tryptophane hydroxylase-2 and serotonin transporter genes mRNA. These data prove the location of catalepsy regulating gene in the distal fragment of chromosome 13. The recipient strain genome enhanced the expression of 5-HT(1A) receptor gene in the brain without modulating the expression of catalepsy gene.

[The C1473G polymorphism in gene tph2 is the main factor mediating the genetically defined variability of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 activity in the mouse brain].

Brain neurotransmitter serotonin is involved in the regulation of many physiological functions and types of behavior. The key enzyme of serotonin synthesis in the brain is tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH-2). An association of the C1473G polymorphism in gene tph2 causing the replacement of Pro447 by Arg447 in TPH-2 molecule with enzyme activity in the mouse brain of 10 inbred strains was found. Association of the polymorphism with the TPH-2 activity in the brain of F2 hybrids between strains C57BL/6 and CC57BR was shown. The results indicate that the C1473G polymorphism in gene tph2 is the main factor determining the genetic defined variability of enzyme activity in the mouse brain.

Association between Tph2 gene polymorphism, brain tryptophan hydroxylase activity and aggressiveness in mouse strains.

The brain neurotransmitter serotonin is involved in the regulation of aggressive behavior. The main factor determining the brain serotonin level is the activity of the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter--tryptophan hydroxylase isoform (TPH) 2 encoded by the Tph2 gene. Recently the C1473G single-nucleotide polymorphism in the Tph2 gene was reported. Here we study the C1473G polymorphism in 10 inbred mouse strains (C57BL/6J, AKR/J, DD/He, C3H/HeJ, YT/Y, BALB/cJLac, CC57BR/Mv and A/He) and demonstrate the association of the polymorphism with brain TPH activity and intermale aggressiveness. TPH activity in the midbrain of mice homozygous for the 1473C allele was higher than that in mice carrying 1473G alleles. A close association of the 1473C allele with increased number of attacks towards another male was found. The results support a link between the C1473G polymorphism in Tph2 gene, tryptophan hydroxylase activity and intensity of intermale aggression.