In:
Translational Psychiatry, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 11, No. 1 ( 2021-10-30)
Abstract:
Lithium is a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder, where it acts as a mood-stabilizing agent. Although its precise mechanism remains unclear, neuroimaging studies have shown that lithium accumulates in the hippocampus and that chronic use amongst bipolar disorder patients is associated with larger hippocampal volumes. Here, we tested the chronic effects of low (0.75 mM) and high (2.25 mM) doses of lithium on human hippocampal progenitor cells and used immunocytochemistry to investigate the effects of lithium on cell parameters implicated in neurogenesis. Corresponding RNA-sequencing and gene-set enrichment analyses were used to evaluate whether genes affected by lithium in our model overlap with those regulating the volume of specific layers of the dentate gyrus. We observed that high-dose lithium treatment in human hippocampal progenitors increased the generation of neuroblasts ( P ≤ 0.01), neurons ( P ≤ 0.01), and glia ( P ≤ 0.001), alongside the expression of genes, which regulate the volume of the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. This study provides empirical support that adult hippocampal neurogenesis and gliogenesis are mechanisms that could contribute to the effects of lithium on human hippocampal volume.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2158-3188
DOI:
10.1038/s41398-021-01695-y
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2609311-X
