Kroener, Sven

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/2873

Dr. Kroener is the head of the Cellular and Synaptic Physiology Lab. The lab's research focus is the neuronal circuitry of the prefrontal cortex that underlies higher-order cognitive functions. He is particularly interested in discovering how alterations in synaptic transmission might be related to schizophrenia and drug addiction.

More information about Dr. Kroener may be found on his Research Explorer the Cellular and Synaptic Physiology Lab and ORCID pages.

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    Antioxidant Treatment with N-acetyl Cysteine Prevents the Development of Cognitive and Social Behavioral Deficits That Result from Perinatal Ketamine Treatment
    Phensy, Aarron; Duzdabanian, Hasmik E.; Brewer, Samantha; Panjabi, Anurag; Driskill, Christopher; Berz, Annuska; Peng, George; Kroener, Sven; 0000-0003-1728-8111 (Kroener, S); Phensy, Aarron; Duzdabanian, Hasmik E.; Brewer, Samantha; Panjabi, Anurag; Driskill, Christopher; Berz, Annuska; Peng, George; Kroener, Sven
    Alterations of the normal redox state can be found in all stages of schizophrenia, suggesting a key role for oxidative stress in the etiology and maintenance of the disease. Pharmacological blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors can disrupt natural antioxidant defense systems and induce schizophrenia-like behaviors in animals and healthy human subjects. Perinatal administration of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonist ketamine produces persistent behavioral deficits in adult mice which mimic a range of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms that characterize schizophrenia. Here we tested whether antioxidant treatment with the glutathione (GSH) precursor N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) can prevent the development of these behavioral deficits. On postnatal days (PND) 7, 9 and 11, we treated mice with subanesthetic doses (30 mg/kg) of ketamine or saline. Two groups (either ketamine or saline treated) also received NAC throughout development. In adult animals (PND 70-120) we then assessed behavioral alterations in a battery of cognitive and psychomotor tasks. Ketamine-treated animals showed deficits in a task of cognitive flexibility, abnormal patterns of spontaneous alternation, deficits in novel-object recognition, as well as social interaction. Developmental ketamine treatment also induced behavioral stereotypy in response to an acute amphetamine challenge, and it impaired sensorimotor gating, measured as reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response. All of these behavioral abnormalities were either prevented or strongly ameliorated by NAC co-treatment. These results suggest that oxidative stress is a major factor for the development of the ketamine-induced behavioral dysfunctions, and that restoring oxidative balance during the prodromal stage of schizophrenia might be able to ameliorate the development of several major symptoms of the disease.
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    Deregulation of Mitochondrial F1FO-ATP Synthase via OSCP in Alzheimer's Disease
    (Nature Publishing Group) Beck, Simon J.; Guo, Lan; Phensy, Aarron; Tian, Jing; Wang, Lu; Tandon, Neha; Gauba, Esha; Lu, Lin; Pascual, J. M.; Kroener, Sven; Du, Heng; 0000-0003-1728-8111 (Kroener, S); Beck, Simon J.; Guo, Lan; Phensy, Aarron; Tian, Jing; Wang, Lu; Tandon, Neha; Gauba, Esha; Lu, Lin; Kroener, Sven; Du, Heng
    F1FO-ATP synthase is critical for mitochondrial functions. The deregulation of this enzyme results in dampened mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and activated mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT), defects which accompany Alzheimerâ (tm) s disease (AD). However, the molecular mechanisms that connect F1FO-ATP synthase dysfunction and AD remain unclear. Here, we observe selective loss of the oligomycin sensitivity conferring protein (OSCP) subunit of the F1FO-ATP synthase and the physical interaction of OSCP with amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brains of AD individuals and in an AD mouse model. Changes in OSCP levels are more pronounced in neuronal mitochondria. OSCP loss and its interplay with Aβ disrupt F1FO-ATP synthase, leading to reduced ATP production, elevated oxidative stress and activated mPT. The restoration of OSCP ameliorates Aβ-mediated mouse and human neuronal mitochondrial impairments and the resultant synaptic injury. Therefore, mitochondrial F1FO-ATP synthase dysfunction associated with AD progression could potentially be prevented by OSCP stabilization.
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    Chronic Alcohol Exposure Alters Behavioral and Synaptic Plasticity of the Rodent Prefrontal Cortex
    Kroener, Sven; Mulholland, P. J.; New, N. N.; Gass, J. T.; Becker, H. C.; Chandler, L. J.
    In the present study, we used a mouse model of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure to examine how CIE alters the plasticity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In acute slices obtained either immediately or 1-week after the last episode of alcohol exposure, voltage-clamp recording of excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSCs) in mPFC layer V pyramidal neurons revealed that CIE exposure resulted in an increase in the NMDA/AMPA current ratio. This increase appeared to result from a selective increase in the NMDA component of the EPSC. Consistent with this, Western blot analysis of the postsynaptic density fraction showed that while there was no change in expression of the AMPA GluR1 subunit, NMDA NR1 and NRB subunits were significantly increased in CIE exposed mice when examined immediately after the last episode of alcohol exposure. Unexpectedly, this increase in NR1 and NR2B was no longer observed after 1-week of withdrawal in spite of a persistent increase in synaptic NMDA currents. Analysis of spines on the basal dendrites of layer V neurons revealed that while the total density of spines was not altered, there was a selective increase in the density of mushroom-type spines following CIE exposure. Examination of NMDA-receptor mediated spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) showed that CIE exposure was associated with altered expression of long-term potentiation (LTP). Lastly, behavioral studies using an attentional set-shifting task that depends upon the mPFC for optimal performance revealed deficits in cognitive flexibility in CIE exposed mice when tested up to 1-week after the last episode of alcohol exposure. Taken together, these observations are consistent with those in human alcoholics showing protracted deficits in executive function, and suggest these deficits may be associated with alterations in synaptic plasticity in the mPFC. © 2012 Kröner et al.

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