A pharmacological mouse model suggests a novel risk pathway for postpartum psychosis

Humby, Trevor ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1840-1799, Cross, Ellen S., Messer, Lauren, Guerrero, Silvia and Davies, William ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7714-2440 2016. A pharmacological mouse model suggests a novel risk pathway for postpartum psychosis. Psychoneuroendocrinology 74 , pp. 363-370. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.09.019

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Abstract

Postpartum psychosis (PP) is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting a small proportion of new mothers shortly after childbirth. The molecular pathophysiology underlying the disorder is currently poorly understood, and there are no amenable animal models for the condition; maternal deficiency for the enzyme steroid sulfatase has been proposed as a potential risk mechanism. Here we show that inhibition of steroid sulfatase with 667-COUMATE (10 mg/kg p.o.) in new mouse mothers results in behavioural abnormalities that can be partially alleviated by the administration of the clinically-efficacious antipsychotic ziprasidone (0.3–1.0 mg/kg i.p.). The pattern of behavioural abnormalities in 667-COUMATE-treated mice implicated a genetic substrate at 21–23cm on chromosome 15; of the 17 genes within this chromosomal interval, only one (Nov/Ccn3) was significantly differentially expressed in the brains of vehicle and 667-COUMATE-treated mice. Two additional members of the Ccn family (Ccn2/Ctgf and Ccn4/Wisp1) were also significantly differentially expressed between the two groups, as were three further genes co-expressed with Nov/Ccn3 in brain (Arhgdig) or previously implicated in disorder risk by clinical studies (Adcy8 and Ccl2). The expression of Nov/Ccn3, but not of the other differentially-expressed genes, could be normalised by ziprasidone administration (1.0 mg/kg). NOV/CCN3 lies directly under a linkage peak for PP risk at 8q24, and the associated protein possesses numerous characteristics that make it an excellent candidate mediator of PP risk. Our data suggest the 667-COUMATE-treated mouse as a model for PP with some degree of face, construct, and predictive validity, and implicate a novel, and biologically-plausible, molecular risk pathway for PP

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine Psychology MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI)
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	667-COUMATE; Elevated plus maze; Nephroblastoma-overexpressed; Startle response; Steroid sulfatase
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0306-4530
Funders:	Wellcome Trust, MRC, University of Barcelona, Cardiff University
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 September 2016
Date of Acceptance:	21 September 2016
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2024 11:47
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/94917

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