PhD Scientific Days 2025

Poster Session I. - Q: Neurosciences

Exploring trends in interneuronal diversity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and caudate nucleus in primates

Name of the presenter

Berta Katalin

Institute/workplace of the presenter

Semmelweis University

Authors

Berta Katalin¹, Frank Erzsébet¹, Biácsi Alexandra², Sós Endre³, Tóth-Almási Péter⁴, Adorján István¹

1: Semmelweis University
2: Sóstó Zoo
3: Budapest Zoo
4: Zoo Veszprém

Text of the abstract

Introduction: Calretinin (CR)-immunopositive interneurons represent a major class of interneurons both in the caudate nucleus (NC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The diversification of CR-immunopositive interneurons in primate brain evolution has been reported by transcriptomic and neurohistological studies (Krienen et al. 2019). Nevertheless, no comprehensive investigation has been carried out regarding the topography of CR subclasses and their functional diversity in closely related non-human primate species. Clinical relevance of the scope of our study is underlined by the fact that CR-immunopositive interneurons play a prominent role in excitatory/inhibitory imbalance observed in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.
Aims: Our study aims to harness the opportunity provided by the Primate Brain Collection (Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, Semmelweis University) and provide quantitative and qualitative investigation of CR subtypes in several primate species.
Method: Our research mainly involves postmortem quantitative immunohistochemical analysis. The stained section are digitalized by a 3DHistech whole slide scanner and the labeled cells is annotated in Aperio Image Scope software.
Results: In the NC, the density of CR-immunopositive interneurons was lower in the hominoid species Pongo pygmaeus and Papio hamadryas (~1500 cells/cm2) compared to the New World monkeys (more than 2000 cells/cm2). No significant differences were observed between the studied species regarding the frequency distribution of diameters.
Conclusion: The results provide a comprehensive perspective on the cellular changes occuring in the NC and DLPFC throughout primate brain evolution. As ”nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” (Dobzhansky, 1973), investigating trends in primate interneuronal diversity will contribute to understanding the patomechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.
Funding: The project was funded by the Institutional Excellence in Higher Education Grant (FIKP, Semmelweis University), Semmelweis Fund for Science and Innovation 2018-21, Semmelweis Departmental Start-up Grant, the Science and Technology Fund 2019-21 (NKFIH), the ÚNKP-21 Bolyai (MTA) /Bolyai+ (NKFIH) Grants and the Thematic Excellence Programme 2021-25.