Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39824806›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2025

Linking altered neuronal and synaptic properties to nicotinic receptor Alpha5 subunit gene dysfunction: a translational investigation in rat mPFC and human cortical layer 6.

Danqing Yang, Guanxiao Qi, Daniel Delev, Uwe Maskos, Dirk Feldmeyer

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Article in Translational psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Danqing Yang *Research Center Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 10, Research Center Juelich, Juelich, Germany. d.yang@fz-juelich.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7893-9446
Guanxiao Qi *Research Center Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 10, Research Center Juelich, Juelich, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7054-1249
Daniel DelevDepartment of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
Uwe MaskosInstitut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, Neurobiologie Intégrative des Systèmes Cholinergiques, CNRS UMR3571, Paris, Cedex 15, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2029-1437
Dirk FeldmeyerResearch Center Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 10, Research Center Juelich, Juelich, Germany. d.feldmeyer@fz-juelich.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1716-8972

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Genetic variation in the α5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit of mice results in behavioral deficits linked to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). rs16969968 is the primary Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in CHRNA5 strongly associated with nicotine dependence and schizophrenia in humans. We performed single cell-electrophysiology combined with morphological reconstructions on layer 6 (L6) excitatory neurons in the medial PFC (mPFC) of wild type (WT) rats, rats carrying the human coding polymorphism rs16969968 in Chrna5 and α5 knockout (KO) rats. Neuronal and synaptic properties were determined for the three rat genotypes. Compared with neurons in WT rats, L6 regular spiking (RS) neurons in the α5KO group exhibited altered electrophysiological properties, while those in α5SNP rats remained unchanged. L6 RS neurons in mPFC of α5SNP and α5KO rats differed from WT rats in dendritic morphology, spine density and spontaneous synaptic activity. Galantamine was applied to identified L6 neuron populations to specifically boost the nicotinic responses mediated by α5*nAChRs. Remarkably, it restored nicotinic modulation in neurons of α5SNP rats, while no such effect was observed in α5KO rats. Additionally, galantamine functioned as a positive allosteric modulator of α5*nAChRs in RS neurons, both in rat and human cortical L6, but did not affect burst spiking (BS) neurons. Our findings suggest that dysfunction in the α5 subunit gene leads to aberrant neuronal and synaptic properties, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms of cognitive deficits observed in human populations carrying α5SNPs. They highlight a potential pharmacological target for restoring the relevant behavioral output.

Indexed as

NeuronsPrefrontal CortexReceptors, NicotinicAnimalsHumansMaleNerve Tissue ProteinsPolymorphism, Single NucleotideRatsSynapsesCHRNA5 protein, humanNerve Tissue ProteinsReceptors, Nicotinic

Identifiers

PMID39824806
PMCPMC11748723

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.