Role of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in psychosis and the modulatory effects of cannabinoids.
Marta Barrera-Conde, Emma Veza-Estévez, Maria Gomis-Gonzalez, Jordi Garcia-Quintana, Amira Trabsa, Laura Martínez-Sadurní, Mitona Pujades, Víctor Perez, Rafael De la Torre, Daniel Bergé, Patricia Robledo
Neurobiology of disease January 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105942 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractCDK5, a kinase that regulates neurotransmission, and its partner PSD95 were studied in olfactory cells from first-episode psychosis patients with and without prior cannabis use, and in a mouse model. Patients who had used cannabis showed less social impairment, lower CDK5, and higher PSD95 than non-users. Treating cells from non-users with a cannabinoid agonist in vitro reduced CDK5. In mice, the NMDA blocker PCP caused social deficits and altered PSD95/CDK5, which were partly reversed by adding a cannabinoid agonist or by blocking CDK5 activity. Increased CDK5 may be an early marker of psychosis-related social deficits, modulated by cannabis.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case-control study with in vitro and animal model Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | First-episode psychosis patients with and without prior cannabis use, and adolescent mice |
| Interventions | WIN-55 212-2 phencyclidine roscovitine |
| Dose | WIN-55,212-2: 1 mg/kg; phencyclidine: 10 mg/kg |
| Duration | WIN-55,212-2 for 21 days; phencyclidine for 10 days |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | First-episode psychosis Human olfactory neuroepithelium Mice models Phencyclidine |
| Key finding | First-episode psychosis patients with prior cannabis use had lower CDK5 and higher PSD95 levels and less social functioning deficits than non-users, and CDK5 blockade in mice reversed social impairments. |
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) is a serine/threonine kinase that has emerged as a key regulator of neurotransmission in complex cognitive processes. Its expression is altered in treated schizophrenia patients, and cannabinoids modulate CDK5 levels in the brain of rodents. However, the role of this kinase, and its interaction with cannabis use in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients is still not known. Hence, we studied the expression changes of CDK5 and its signaling partner, postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) in olfactory neuroepithelial (ON) cells of FEP patients with (FEP/c) and without (FEP/nc) prior cannabis use, and in a dual-hit mouse model of psychosis. In this model, adolescent mice were exposed to the cannabinoid receptor 1 agonist (CB1R) WIN-55,212-2 (WIN: 1 mg/kg) during 21 days, and to the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) blocker phencyclidine (PCP: 10 mg/kg) during 10 days. FEP/c showed less social functioning deficits, lower CDK5 and higher PSD95 levels than FEP/nc. These changes correlated with social skills, but not cognitive deficits. Consistently, exposure of ON cells from FEP/nc patients to WIN in vitro reduced CDK5 levels. Convergent results were obtained in mice, where PCP by itself induced more sociability deficits, and PSD95/CDK5 alterations in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus than exposure to PCP-WIN. In addition, central blockade of CDK5 activity with roscovitine in PCP-treated mice restored both sociability impairments and PSD95 levels. We provide translational evidence that increased CDK5 could be an early indicator of psychosis associated with social deficits, and that this biomarker is modulated by prior cannabis use.