Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors
Background: The presence of treatment resistance in neuropsychiatric disease suggests that novel mechanism-based discoveries and therapies could benefit the field, with a viable candidate being transfer RNA (tRNA) epitranscriptomics. Nsun2 tRNA methyltransferase depletion in mature neurons elicits c...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174324001459 |
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| author | Jennifer Blaze Viviana Dolores Evans Jessica Abigail Feria Pliego Petr Unichenko Behnam Javidfar Soeren Heissel Hanan Alwaseem Zachary Pennington Denise Cai Henrik Molina Christian Henneberger Schahram Akbarian |
| author_facet | Jennifer Blaze Viviana Dolores Evans Jessica Abigail Feria Pliego Petr Unichenko Behnam Javidfar Soeren Heissel Hanan Alwaseem Zachary Pennington Denise Cai Henrik Molina Christian Henneberger Schahram Akbarian |
| author_sort | Jennifer Blaze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The presence of treatment resistance in neuropsychiatric disease suggests that novel mechanism-based discoveries and therapies could benefit the field, with a viable candidate being transfer RNA (tRNA) epitranscriptomics. Nsun2 tRNA methyltransferase depletion in mature neurons elicits changes in complex behaviors relevant for fear, anxiety, and other neuropsychiatric phenotypes. However, it remains unclear whether this is due to dysregulated tRNAs or metabolic shifts that impact the neuronal translatome by activation of stress messengers together with alterations in amino acid supply. Methods: To link specific molecular alterations resulting from neuronal Nsun2 ablation to neuropsychiatric phenotypes, we used drug-induced phosphoactivation of stress response translation initiation factors together with disruption of NSUN2-regulated glycine tRNAs and cell type–specific ablation of the glycine cleavage system modeling the excessive upregulation of this amino acid in the Nsun2-deficient brain. Changes in extracellular glycine levels were monitored by an optical glycine Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor in the hippocampus, and behavioral phenotyping included cognition, anxiety-like behavior, and behavioral despair. Results: Increased motivated escape behaviors were specifically observed in mice with neuron-specific ablation of Gldc, resulting in an excess in cortical glycine levels comparable to a similar phenotype in mice after deletion of neuronal Nsun2. None of these phenotypes were observed in mice treated with tunicamycin for chemoactivation of integrative stress response pathways or in mice genetically engineered for decreased glycine tRNA gene dosage. In the Nsun2-deficient brain, dynamic glycine profiles in the hippocampal extracellular space were fully maintained at baseline and in the context of neuronal activity. Conclusions: Alterations in neuronal glycine metabolism, resulting from targeted ablation of the glycine cleavage system or disruption of the tRNA regulome, elicit changes in complex behaviors in mice relevant for neuropsychiatric phenotypes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b03a03de0ee94f659dea24d73d3fa3dd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-1743 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-b03a03de0ee94f659dea24d73d3fa3dd2025-01-23T05:27:55ZengElsevierBiological Psychiatry Global Open Science2667-17432025-03-0152100432Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex BehaviorsJennifer Blaze0Viviana Dolores Evans1Jessica Abigail Feria Pliego2Petr Unichenko3Behnam Javidfar4Soeren Heissel5Hanan Alwaseem6Zachary Pennington7Denise Cai8Henrik Molina9Christian Henneberger10Schahram Akbarian11Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Address correspondence to Jennifer Blaze, Ph.D.Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New YorkInstitute of Cellular Neurosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyInstitute of Cellular Neurosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New YorkProteomics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New YorkProteomics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New YorkDepartment of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New YorkDepartment of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New YorkProteomics Resource Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New YorkInstitute of Cellular Neurosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New YorkBackground: The presence of treatment resistance in neuropsychiatric disease suggests that novel mechanism-based discoveries and therapies could benefit the field, with a viable candidate being transfer RNA (tRNA) epitranscriptomics. Nsun2 tRNA methyltransferase depletion in mature neurons elicits changes in complex behaviors relevant for fear, anxiety, and other neuropsychiatric phenotypes. However, it remains unclear whether this is due to dysregulated tRNAs or metabolic shifts that impact the neuronal translatome by activation of stress messengers together with alterations in amino acid supply. Methods: To link specific molecular alterations resulting from neuronal Nsun2 ablation to neuropsychiatric phenotypes, we used drug-induced phosphoactivation of stress response translation initiation factors together with disruption of NSUN2-regulated glycine tRNAs and cell type–specific ablation of the glycine cleavage system modeling the excessive upregulation of this amino acid in the Nsun2-deficient brain. Changes in extracellular glycine levels were monitored by an optical glycine Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensor in the hippocampus, and behavioral phenotyping included cognition, anxiety-like behavior, and behavioral despair. Results: Increased motivated escape behaviors were specifically observed in mice with neuron-specific ablation of Gldc, resulting in an excess in cortical glycine levels comparable to a similar phenotype in mice after deletion of neuronal Nsun2. None of these phenotypes were observed in mice treated with tunicamycin for chemoactivation of integrative stress response pathways or in mice genetically engineered for decreased glycine tRNA gene dosage. In the Nsun2-deficient brain, dynamic glycine profiles in the hippocampal extracellular space were fully maintained at baseline and in the context of neuronal activity. Conclusions: Alterations in neuronal glycine metabolism, resulting from targeted ablation of the glycine cleavage system or disruption of the tRNA regulome, elicit changes in complex behaviors in mice relevant for neuropsychiatric phenotypes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174324001459Cell metabolismEpitranscriptomeGlycineNeuropsychiatrictRNAs |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer Blaze Viviana Dolores Evans Jessica Abigail Feria Pliego Petr Unichenko Behnam Javidfar Soeren Heissel Hanan Alwaseem Zachary Pennington Denise Cai Henrik Molina Christian Henneberger Schahram Akbarian Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science Cell metabolism Epitranscriptome Glycine Neuropsychiatric tRNAs |
| title | Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors |
| title_full | Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors |
| title_fullStr | Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors |
| title_short | Neuron-Specific Glycine Metabolism Links Transfer RNA Epitranscriptomic Regulation to Complex Behaviors |
| title_sort | neuron specific glycine metabolism links transfer rna epitranscriptomic regulation to complex behaviors |
| topic | Cell metabolism Epitranscriptome Glycine Neuropsychiatric tRNAs |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667174324001459 |
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