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Chronic exposure of alcohol triggers microglia-mediated synaptic elimination inducing cognitive impairment
Lan L, Wang H, Zhang X, Shen Q, Li X, He L, Rong X, Peng J et al.. Experimental neurology, 2022-04-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background and aims Long-term alcohol intake leads to cognitive impairment and dementia. The impairment of the cerebral cortex and limbic structures in alcoholics is associated with the loss of synapses instead of neurons. Synapse loss is considered to be an early and key feature of many neurodegenerative diseases, in which microglia-mediated synapse elimination is vital. However, the underlying mechanisms of synapse loss and cognitive impairment caused by long-term alcohol intake are still largely unknown. Methods We investigated the relationship of synapse impairment, the microglial innate immune receptor-TREM2, and microglia-mediated synaptic elimination in long-term alcohol exposure. Results We found that long-term alcohol exposure increased expression of TREM2, decreased expression of synaptic proteins and glutamate receptor subunits, reduced dendrite spine density, and impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus. Minocycline reduced the amount of the postsynaptic marker PSD95 in microglia, attenuated dendrite spine density loss, and slow down the forgetting process of already-formed memory. Furthermore, we found that TREM2 participated in microglia-mediated synapse elimination in chronic alcohol exposure in vivo. Significantly fewer PSD95 were detectable in microglial phagolysosomes in TREM2 knockdown mice. Besides, TREM2 gene silencing ameliorated synapse loss, LTP impairment, and forgetting of remote memories. Conclusions Our data suggests that TREM2 is associated with synaptic plasticity impairment and memory deficits, indicating microglia-mediated synaptic pruning might be the underlying mechanism involved in synapse loss and memory impairment induced by long-term alcohol intake. These findings provide new evidence for the receptor's participation in neurodegeneration diseases.
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APA 7th
Lan, L., Wang, H., Zhang, X., Shen, Q., Li, X., He, L., et al. (2022). Chronic exposure of alcohol triggers microglia-mediated synaptic elimination inducing cognitive impairment. Experimental neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114061
Vancouver
Lan L, Wang H, Zhang X, Shen Q, Li X, He L, et al. Chronic exposure of alcohol triggers microglia-mediated synaptic elimination inducing cognitive impairment. Experimental neurology. 2022. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114061. PMID: 35367455.
BibTeX
@article{lan2022-35367455,
author = {Lan, L. and Wang, H. and Zhang, X. and Shen, Q. and Li, X. and He, L. and Rong, X. and Peng, J. and others},
title = {{Chronic exposure of alcohol triggers microglia-mediated synaptic elimination inducing cognitive impairment}},
journal = {Experimental neurology},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114061},
pmid = {35367455},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114061}
}
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Key findings
- The impairment of the cerebral cortex and limbic structures in alcoholics is associated with the loss of synapses instead of neurons.
- Results We found that long-term alcohol exposure increased expression of TREM2, decreased expression of synaptic proteins and glutamate receptor subunits, reduced dendrite spine density, and impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus.
- Furthermore, we found that TREM2 participated in microglia-mediated synapse elimination in chronic alcohol exposure in vivo.
- Significantly fewer PSD95 were detectable in microglial phagolysosomes in TREM2 knockdown mice.
- Conclusions Our data suggests that TREM2 is associated with synaptic plasticity impairment and memory deficits, indicating microglia-mediated synaptic pruning might be the underlying mechanism involved in synapse loss and memory impairment induced by long-term alcohol intake.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Experimental neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35367455) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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