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Carboni E, Ibba M, Carboni E, Carta AR. Adolescent stress differentially modifies dopamine and norepinephrine release in the medial prefrontal cortex of adult rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 134:111055. [PMID: 38879069 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Adolescent stress (AS) has been associated with higher vulnerability to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, or drug dependence. Moreover, the alteration of brain catecholamine (CAT) transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been found to play a major role in the etiology of psychiatric disturbances. We investigated the effect of adolescent stress on CAT transmission in the mPFC of freely moving adult rats because of the importance of this area in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, and because CAT transmission is the target of a relevant group of drugs used in the therapy of depression and psychosis. We assessed basal dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) extracellular concentrations (output) by brain microdialysis in in the mPFC of adult rats that were exposed to chronic mild stress in adolescence. To ascertain the role of an altered release or reuptake, we stimulated DA and NE output by administering either different doses of amphetamine (0.5 and 1.0 mg / kg s.c.), which by a complex mechanism determines a dose dependent increase in the CAT output, or reboxetine (10 mg/kg i.p.), a selective NE reuptake inhibitor. The results showed the following: (i) basal DA output in AS rats was lower than in controls, while no difference in basal NE output was observed; (ii) amphetamine, dose dependently, stimulated DA and NE output to a greater extent in AS rats than in controls; (iii) reboxetine stimulated NE output to a greater extent in AS rats than in controls, while no difference in stimulated DA output was observed between the two groups. These results show that AS determines enduring effects on DA and NE transmission in the mPFC and might lead to the occurrence of psychiatric disorders or increase the vulnerability to drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezio Carboni
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy.
| | - Marcello Ibba
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy
| | - Elena Carboni
- Unit of Paediatrics, ASST Cremona Maggiore Hospital, Cremona, Italy
| | - Anna R Carta
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy
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2
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Krolick KN, Cao J, Gulla EM, Bhardwaj M, Marshall SJ, Zhou EY, Kiss AJ, Choueiry F, Zhu J, Shi H. Subregion-specific transcriptomic profiling of rat brain reveals sex-distinct gene expression impacted by adolescent stress. Neuroscience 2024; 553:19-39. [PMID: 38977070 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Stress during adolescence clearly impacts brain development and function. Sex differences in adolescent stress-induced or exacerbated emotional and metabolic vulnerabilities could be due to sex-distinct gene expression in hypothalamic, limbic, and prefrontal brain regions. However, adolescent stress-induced whole-genome expression changes in key subregions of these brain regions were unclear. In this study, female and male adolescent Sprague Dawley rats received one-hour restraint stress daily from postnatal day (PD) 32 to PD44. Corticosterone levels, body weights, food intake, body composition, and circulating adiposity and sex hormones were measured. On PD44, brain and blood samples were collected. Using RNA-sequencing, sex-specific differences in stress-induced differentially expressed (DE) genes were identified in subregions of the hypothalamus, limbic system, and prefrontal cortex. Canonical pathways reflected well-known sex-distinct maladies and diseases, substantiating the therapeutic potential of the DE genes found in the current study. Thus, we proposed specific sex distinct, adolescent stress-induced transcriptional changes found in the current study as examples of the molecular bases for sex differences witnessed in stress induced or exacerbated emotional and metabolic disorders. Future behavioral studies and single-cell studies are warranted to test the implications of the DE genes identified in this study in sex-distinct stress-induced susceptibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jingyi Cao
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
| | - Evelyn M Gulla
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
| | - Meeta Bhardwaj
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
| | | | - Ethan Y Zhou
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
| | - Andor J Kiss
- Center for Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
| | - Fouad Choueiry
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
| | - Jiangjiang Zhu
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
| | - Haifei Shi
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.
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3
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Hu YY, Souza R, Muthuraman A, Knapp L, McIntyre C, Dussor G. Glucocorticoid signaling mediates stress-induced migraine-like behaviors in a preclinical mouse model. Cephalalgia 2024; 44:3331024241277941. [PMID: 39211943 DOI: 10.1177/03331024241277941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stress is one of the most common precipitating factors in migraine and is identified as a trigger in nearly 70% of patients. Responses to stress include release of glucocorticoids as an adaptive mechanism, but this may also contribute to migraine attacks. Here, we investigated the role of glucocorticoids on stress-induced migraine-like behaviors. METHODS We have shown previously that repeated stress in mice evokes migraine-like behavioral responses and priming to a nitric oxide donor. Metyrapone, mifepristone, and corticosterone (CORT) were used to investigate whether CORT contributes to the stress-induced effects. Facial mechanical hypersensitivity was evaluated by von Frey testing and grimace scoring assessed the presence of non-evoked pain. We also measured serum CORT levels in control, stress, and daily CORT injected groups of both male and female mice. RESULTS Metyrapone blocked stress-induced responses and priming in male and female mice. However, repeated CORT injections in the absence of stress only led to migraine-like behaviors in females. Both female and male mice showed similar patterns of serum CORT in response to stress or exogenous administration. Finally, administration of mifepristone, the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, prior to each stress session blocked stress-induced behavioral responses in male and female mice. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that while CORT synthesis and receptor activation is necessary for the behavioral responses triggered by repeated stress, it is only sufficient in females. Better understanding of how glucocorticoids contribute to migraine may lead to new therapeutic opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Yu Hu
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- The Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Rimenez Souza
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- Texas Biomedical Device Center, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Athithyaa Muthuraman
- The Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Leela Knapp
- The Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Christa McIntyre
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Gregory Dussor
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
- The Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
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4
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Wang C, Sun Y, Xing Y, Liu K, Xu K. Role of electrophysiological activity and interactions of lateral habenula in the development of depression-like behavior in a chronic restraint stress model. Brain Res 2024; 1835:148914. [PMID: 38580047 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.148914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS) system offers a promising approach for treatment-resistant depression, but identifying universally accepted electrophysiological biomarkers for closed-loop DBS systems targeting depression is challenging. There is growing evidence suggesting a strong association between the lateral habenula (LHb) and depression. Here, we took LHb as a key target, utilizing multi-site local field potentials (LFPs) to study the acute and chronic changes in electrophysiology, functional connectivity, and brain network characteristics during the formation of a chronic restraint stress (CRS) model. Furthermore, our model combining the electrophysiological changes of LHb and interactions between LHb and other potential targets of depression can effectively distinguish depressive states, offering a new way for developing effective closed-loop DBS strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Wang
- Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies (QAAS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100,China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Education Ministry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Yuting Sun
- Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies (QAAS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100,China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Education Ministry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Yanjie Xing
- Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies (QAAS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100,China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Education Ministry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Kezhou Liu
- School of Automation (Artificial Intelligence), Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
| | - Kedi Xu
- Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies (QAAS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100,China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Detection Technology and Medicinal Effectiveness Appraisal, Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Education Ministry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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5
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Halcomb CJ, Philipp TR, Dhillon PS, Cox JH, Aguilar-Alvarez R, Vanderhoof SO, Jasnow AM. Sex divergent behavioral responses in platform-mediated avoidance and glucocorticoid receptor blockade. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 159:106417. [PMID: 37925931 PMCID: PMC10872426 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Women are more likely than men to develop anxiety or stress-related disorders. A core behavioral symptom of all anxiety disorders is avoidance of fear or anxiety eliciting cues. Recent rodent models of avoidance show reliable reproduction of this behavioral phenomenon in response to learned aversive associations. Here, a modified version of platform-mediated avoidance that lacked an appetitive task was utilized to investigate the learning and extinction of avoidance in male and female C57BL6/J mice. Here, we found a robust sex difference in the acquisition and extinction of platform-mediated avoidance. Across three experiments, 63.7% of female mice acquired avoidance according to our criterion, whereas 83.8% of males acquired it successfully. Of those females that acquired avoidance, they displayed persistent avoidance after extinction compared to males. Given their role in regulating stress responses and habitual behaviors, we investigated if glucocorticoid receptors (GR) mediated avoidance learning in males and females. We found that a subcutaneous injection (25 mg/kg) of the GR antagonist, RU486 (Mifepristone), significantly reduced persistent avoidance in females but did not further reduce avoidance in males after extinction. These data suggest that GR activation during avoidance learning may contribute to persistent avoidance in females that is resistant to extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly J Halcomb
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
| | - Trey R Philipp
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
| | - Parker S Dhillon
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
| | - J Hunter Cox
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
| | - Ricardo Aguilar-Alvarez
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA
| | | | - Aaron M Jasnow
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29209, USA.
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6
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Fushuku S, Ushikai M, Arimura E, Komaki Y, Horiuchi M. Acute repeated cage exchange stress modifies urinary stress and plasma metabolic profiles in male mice. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292649. [PMID: 37815996 PMCID: PMC10564260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to a novel environment is psychologically and physically stressful for humans and animals. The response has been reported to involve enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity, but changes in nutrient levels under stress are not fully understood. As a form of exposure to a novel environment, repeated cage exchange (CE, four times at 2-h intervals for 8 h from 08:00 h) during the light phase with no restraint on movement was applied to A/J mice, a strain particularly prone to stress. Body temperature was measured with a temperature-sensing microchip implanted in the interscapular region. The stress conditions and anxiety level were evaluated by measuring urinary catecholamines and corticosterone and by performing an anxiety-like behavior test, respectively. Major nutrients such as glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids in the plasma were also examined. CE mice showed a significant increase in body temperature with each CE. They also showed a significantly greater reduction of body weight change, more water intake, and higher levels of urinary catecholamines and corticosterone and anxiety-like behavior score than control mice. The model revealed a significantly lower plasma glucose level and higher levels of several essential amino acids, such as branched-chain amino acids and phenylalanine, than those of control mice. Meanwhile, free fatty acids and several amino acids such as arginine, aspartic acid, proline, threonine, and tryptophan in both sets of mice were significantly decreased from the corresponding levels at 08:00 h, while similar plasma levels were exhibited between mice with and without CE. In conclusion, repeated CE stress was associated with changes in glucose and amino acids in plasma. Although further study is needed to clarify how these changes are specifically linked to anxiety-like behavior, this study suggests the potential for nutritional intervention to counter stress in humans exposed to novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayuri Fushuku
- Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Miharu Ushikai
- Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Emi Arimura
- Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
- Major in Food and Nutrition, Department of Life and Environmental Science, Kagoshima Prefectural College, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Yuga Komaki
- Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Masahisa Horiuchi
- Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
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7
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Halcomb CJ, Philipp TR, Dhillon PS, Cox JH, Aguilar-Alvarez R, Vanderhoof SO, Jasnow AM. Sex divergent behavioral responses in platform-mediated avoidance and glucocorticoid receptor blockade. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.26.559122. [PMID: 37808636 PMCID: PMC10557728 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.26.559122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Women are more likely than men to develop anxiety or stress-related disorders. A core behavioral symptom of all anxiety disorders is avoidance of fear or anxiety eliciting cues. Recent rodent models of avoidance show reliable reproduction of this behavioral phenomenon in response to learned aversive associations. Here, a modified version of platform-mediated avoidance that lacked an appetitive task was utilized to investigate the learning and extinction of avoidance in male and female C57BL6/J mice. Here, we found a robust sex difference in the acquisition and extinction of platform-mediated avoidance. Across three experiments, 63.7% of female mice acquired avoidance according to our criterion, whereas 83.8% of males acquired it successfully. Of those females that acquired avoidance, they displayed persistent avoidance after extinction compared to males. Given their role in regulating stress responses and habitual behaviors, we investigated if glucocorticoid receptors (GR) mediated avoidance learning in males and females. Here we found that a subcutaneous injection (25mg/kg) of the GR antagonist, RU486 (mifepristone), significantly reduced persistent avoidance in females but did not further reduce avoidance in males after extinction. These data suggest that GR activation during avoidance learning may contribute to persistent avoidance in females that is resistant to extinction.
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8
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Wang G, Liu YF, Yang Z, Yu CX, Tong Q, Tang YL, Shao YQ, Wang LQ, Xu X, Cao H, Zhang YQ, Zhong YM, Weng SJ, Yang XL. Short-term acute bright light exposure induces a prolonged anxiogenic effect in mice via a retinal ipRGC-CeA circuit. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf4651. [PMID: 36947616 PMCID: PMC10032603 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Light modulates mood through various retina-brain pathways. We showed that mice treated with short-term acute bright light exposure displayed anxiety-related phenotypes in a prolonged manner even after the termination of the exposure. Such a postexposure anxiogenic effect depended upon melanopsin-based intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC) activities rather than rod/cone photoreceptor inputs. Chemogenetic manipulation of specific central nuclei demonstrated that the ipRGC-central amygdala (CeA) visual circuit played a key role in this effect. The corticosterone system was likely to be involved in this effect, as evidenced by enhanced expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein in the CeA and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and by the absence of this effect in animals treated with the GR antagonist. Together, our findings reveal a non-image forming visual circuit specifically designed for "the delayed" extinction of anxiety against potential threats, thus conferring a survival advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ge Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun-Feng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhe Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chen-Xi Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiuping Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Long Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Qi Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li-Qin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xun Xu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai Engineering Center for Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Diseases, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Qiu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong-Mei Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shi-Jun Weng
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiong-Li Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Sex Differences in the Expression of c-fos in a Rat Brain after Exposure to Environmental Noise. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14052798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Noise is an inarticulate stimulus that threatens health and well-being. It compromises audition and induces a strong stress response that activates the brain at several levels. In the present study, we expose male and female rats to environmental noise in order to investigate if acute or chronic stimulation produces differential brain activation patterns. The animals were exposed to a rat’s audiogram-fitted adaptation of a noisy environment and later sacrificed to quantify the expression of the brain activity marker c-fos. Additionally, the serum corticosterone (CORT) levels were measured to elucidate possible the stress-related effects of noise. It was found that environmental noise differentially increased the serum CORT levels in male and female rats. We identified 17 brain regions outside the classical auditory circuits with a high expression of c-fos, including the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, habenular complex, septum, cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, insular cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Overall, we evidenced that females exhibit less intense c-fos expression in most of the examined areas. We concluded that females might be less affected by the changes produced by environmental noise.
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Goel N, Philippe TJ, Chang J, Koblanski ME, Viau V. Cellular and serotonergic correlates of habituated neuroendocrine responses in male and female rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 136:105599. [PMID: 34891046 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Male and females appear equally capable of showing habituated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis output responses to repeated exposures of the same challenge. Whether this reflects, within males and females, common mechanisms of decreased neuronal activity within stress responding, afferents to the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH), the final common pathway to the HPA axis, has not been examined. Here we compared in adult male and female rats the extent to which declines in HPA axis responses to repeated restraint are met by habituated cellular (Fos) responses, in addition to changes in serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) expression and signaling, which normally stimulates the HPA axis. Thus, alterations in this component of HPA axis drive could provide an underlying basis for sex differences in adaptive responses. Males and females showed reliable declines in ACTH and corticosterone responses after 10 daily episodes of repeated restraint, recapitulated, in largest part, by similar regional patterns of Fos habituation, including within the PVH, several stress sensitive cell groups of the limbic forebrain, as well as within the raphe nucleus. Serotonin staining in the dorsal raphe and terminal profiles in the forebrain continued to reflect a higher pre-synaptic capacity for the 5-HT system in females. The sexual dimorphism encountered within the lateral septum and medial preoptic area of control animals was less distinguished in the repeat condition, however, whereas 5-HT varicosities in the PVH increased after repeated restraint only in females. Relative to their singly restrained counterparts, males displayed an increase in 5-HT 1 A receptor expression in the raphe nucleus after repeated restraint, whereas females showed a decrease in 5-HT 1 A mRNA levels in the hippocampus and in the zona incerta, representing the most proximal of cell groups expressing the 5-HT 1 A receptor in the vicinity of the PVH. In conclusion, similar regional profiles of cellular habituation in males and females suggest common CNS substrates of neuroendocrine adaptation. However, this process may be met by underlying sex differences in serotonergic control, given the respective roles for pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT 1 A receptors in mediating serotonin availability and signal transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirupa Goel
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Tristan J Philippe
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Judy Chang
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Maya E Koblanski
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Victor Viau
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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Nosjean A, Granon S. Brain Adaptation to Acute Stress: Effect of Time, Social Buffering, and Nicotinic Cholinergic System. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:3990-4011. [PMID: 34905774 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Both social behavior and stress responses rely on the activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and on cholinergic transmission. We previously showed in adult C57BL/6J (B6) mice that social interaction has a buffering effect on stress-related prefrontal activity, depending on the β2-/- cholinergic nicotinic receptors (nAChRs, β2-/- mice). The latency for this buffer to emerge being short, we question here whether the associated brain plasticity, as reflected by regional c-fos protein quantification and PFC-BLA functional connectivity, is modulated by time. Overall, we show that time normalized the stress-induced PFC hyperactivation in B6 mice and PFC hypo-activation in β2-/- mice, with no effect on BLA. It also triggered a multitude of functional links between PFC subareas, and between PFC and BLA in B6 mice but not β2-/- mice, showing a central role of nAChRs in this plasticity. Coupled with social interaction and time, stress led to novel and drastic diminution of functional connectivity within the PFC in both genotypes. Thus, time, emotional state, and social behavior induced dissociated effects on PFC and BLA activity and important cortico-cortical reorganizations. Both activity and plasticity were under the control of the β2-nAChRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Nosjean
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), 91400 Saclay, France
| | - Sylvie Granon
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), 91400 Saclay, France
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12
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Quigley JA, Logsdon MK, Turner CA, Gonzalez IL, Leonardo NB, Becker JB. Sex differences in vulnerability to addiction. Neuropharmacology 2021; 187:108491. [PMID: 33567305 PMCID: PMC7979496 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This article reviews evidence for sex differences in vulnerability to addiction with an emphasis on the neural mechanisms underlying these differences. Sex differences in the way that the gonadal hormone, estradiol, interacts with the ascending telencephalic dopamine system results in sex differences in motivated behaviors, including drug-seeking. In rodents, repeated psychostimulant exposure enhances incentive sensitization to a greater extent in females than males. Estradiol increases females' motivation to attain psychostimulants and enhances the value of drug related cues, which ultimately increases their susceptibility towards spontaneous relapse. This, along with females' dampened ability to alter decisions regarding risky behaviors, enhances their vulnerability for escalation of drug use. In males, recent evidence suggests that estradiol may be protective against susceptibility towards drug-preference. Sex differences in the actions of estradiol are reviewed to provide a foundation for understanding how future research might enhance understanding of the mechanisms of sex differences in addiction-related behaviors, which are dependent on estradiol receptor (ER) subtype and the region of the brain they are acting in. A comprehensive review of the distribution of ERα, ERβ, and GPER1 throughout the rodent brain are provided along with a discussion of the possible ways in which these patterns differentially regulate drug-taking between the sexes. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the actions of gonadal hormones on the circuitry of the stress system, including the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and regulation of corticotropin-releasing factor. Sex differences in the stress system can also contribute to females' enhanced vulnerability towards addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline A Quigley
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Molly K Logsdon
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Christopher A Turner
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Ivette L Gonzalez
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - N B Leonardo
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Jill B Becker
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA.
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13
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Dong Y, Wang X, Zhou Y, Zheng Q, Chen Z, Zhang H, Sun Z, Xu G, Hu G. Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis imbalance and inflammation contribute to sex differences in separation- and restraint-induced depression. Horm Behav 2020; 122:104741. [PMID: 32165183 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Whether social contact contributes to the underlying mechanisms of depression and the observed sex differences is unclear. In this study, we subjected young male and female mice to separation- and restraint-induced stress for 4 weeks and assessed behaviors, neurotransmitter levels, hormones, and inflammatory cytokines. Results showed that, compared with controls, male mice exposed to stress displayed significant decreases in body weight and sucrose preference after 1 week. In the fourth week, they exhibited a higher degree of anxiety (open field test) and depressive-like behavior (forced swim test). Moreover, the males showed significant decreases in monoamine neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine and dopamine in striatum, and an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β in serum. In contrast, females showed persistent loss of weight during stress and displayed significant decreases in sucrose preference after stress. Importantly, the females but not males showed activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, with significantly higher levels adrenocorticotropic hormone. Additionally, mRNA level of c-fos and AVP showed there was significant interaction between stress and sex. Finally, we conclude that an imbalance of the HPA axis and inflammation might be important contributors to sex differences in separation/restraint-induced depressive behavior and that changes might be mediated by c-fos and AVP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinfeng Dong
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
| | - Xuyang Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated 6th People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Yan Zhou
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Qiaomu Zheng
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zheng Chen
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Hua Zhang
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zhiling Sun
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Guihua Xu
- Department of Medical Care, School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Gang Hu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
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14
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Fernandez-Quezada D, García-Zamudio A, Ruvalcaba-Delgadillo Y, Luquín S, García-Estrada J, Jáuregui Huerta F. Male rats exhibit higher pro-BDNF, c-Fos and dendritic tree changes after chronic acoustic stress. Biosci Trends 2020; 13:546-555. [PMID: 31956226 DOI: 10.5582/bst.2019.01288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged or intense exposure to environmental noise (EN) has been associated with a number of changes in auditory organs as well as other brain structures. Notably, males and females have shown different susceptibilities to acoustic damage as well as different responses to environmental stressors. Rodent models have evidence of sex-specific changes in brain structures involved in noise and sound processing. As a common effect, experimental models have demonstrated that dendrite arborizations reconfigure in response to aversive conditions in several brain regions. Here, we examined the effect of chronic noise on dendritic reorganization and c-Fos expression patterns of both sexes. During 21 days male and female rats were exposed to a rats' audiogram-fitted adaptation of a noisy environment. Golgi-Cox and c-Fos staining were performed at auditory cortices (AC) and hippocampal regions. Sholl analysis and c-Fos counts were conducted for evidence of intersex differences. In addition, pro-BDNF serum levels were also measured. We found different patterns of c-Fos expression in hippocampus and AC. While in AC expression levels showed rapid and intense increases starting at 2 h, hippocampal areas showed slower rises that reached the highest levels at 21 days. Sholl analysis also evidenced regional differences in response to noise. Dendritic trees were reduced after 21 days in hippocampus but not in AC. Meanwhile, pro-BDNF levels augmented after EN exposure. In all analyzed variables, exposed males were the most affected. These findings suggest that noise may exert differential effects on male and female brains and that males could be more vulnerable to the chronic effects of noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Fernandez-Quezada
- Department of Neurosciences, Health Sciences University Centre, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | | | | | - Sonia Luquín
- Department of Neurosciences, Health Sciences University Centre, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - Joaquín García-Estrada
- Department of Neurosciences, Health Sciences University Centre, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
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15
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Brivio E, Lopez JP, Chen A. Sex differences: Transcriptional signatures of stress exposure in male and female brains. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 19:e12643. [PMID: 31989757 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
More than two-thirds of patients suffering from stress-related disorders are women but over two-thirds of suicide completers are men. These are just some examples of the many sex differences in the prevalence and manifestations of stress-related disorders, such as major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders, which have been extensively documented in clinical research. Nonetheless, the molecular origins of this sex dimorphism are still quite obscure. In response to this lack of knowledge, the NIH recently advocated implementing sex as biological variable in the design of preclinical studies across disciplines. As a result, a newly emerging field within psychiatry is trying to elucidate the molecular causes underlying the clinically described sex dimorphism. Several studies in rodents and humans have already identified many stress-related genes that are regulated by acute and chronic stress in a sex-specific fashion. Furthermore, current transcriptomic studies have shown that pathways and networks in male and female individuals are not equally affected by stress exposure. In this review, we give an overview of transcriptional studies designed to understand how sex influences stress-specific transcriptomic changes in rodent models, as well as human psychiatric patients, highlighting the use of different methodological techniques. Understanding which mechanisms are more affected in males, and which in females, may lead to the identification of sex-specific mechanisms, their selective contribution to stress susceptibility, and their role in the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Brivio
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Juan Pablo Lopez
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Department of Neurobiology, Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Neurological Diseases, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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16
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Sex differences in the effects of acute stress on cerebral glucose metabolism: A microPET study. Brain Res 2019; 1722:146355. [PMID: 31356782 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Stress has been considered as a risk factor for the development and aggravation of several diseases. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is one of the main actors for the stress response and homeostasis maintenance. Positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to evaluate neuronal activity and to study brain regions that may be related to the HPA axis response. Since neuroimaging is an important tool in detecting neuroendocrine-related changes, we used fluorodeoxyglucose-18 (18F-FDG) and positron emission microtomography (microPET) to evaluate sexual differences in the glucose brain metabolism after 10, 30 and 40 min of acute stress in Balb/c mice. We also investigated the effects of restraint stress in blood, liver and adrenal gland 18F-FDG biodistribution using a gamma counter. A decreased glucose uptake in the whole brain in both females and males was found. Additionally, there were time and sex-dependent alterations in the 18F-FDG uptake after restraint stress in specific brain regions, indicating that males could be more vulnerable to the short-term effects of acute stress. According to the gamma counter biodistribution, only females showed a significant decreased glucose uptake in the blood, liver and right adrenal after restraint stress. In addition, in comparisons between the sexes, males showed a decreased glucose uptake in the whole brain and in several brain regions compared to females. In conclusion, exposure to acute restraint stress resulted in significant decreased glucose metabolism in the brain, with particular effects in different regions and organs in a sex-specific manner.
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17
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Azogu I, Cossette I, Mukunzi J, Ibeke O, Plamondon H. Sex-specific differences in adult cognition and neuroplasticity following repeated combinatory stress and TrkB receptor antagonism in adolescence. Horm Behav 2019; 113:21-37. [PMID: 30995444 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Evidence supports brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its primary receptor tyrosine-related kinase B (TrkB) as targets in the treatment of mood disorders. This study characterized the impact of a 10-day combinatory stress paradigm (alternating days of restraint stress and forced swim) and administration of the selective TrkB antagonist ANA-12 (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) during adolescence in male and female Wistar rats on adulthood behavioral and neurochemical responses. The social interaction/preference (SIT/SP), and Y maze conditioned place preference (YMCPP) and passive avoidance tests (YMPAT), initiated on PND 62, served to determine sex-related behavioral responses. Results support reduced sociability in females in the SIT/SP, but no impact of ANA-12 to regulate sociability or social memory. Blockade of TrkB during adolescence facilitated YMCPP-related reward behavior in both sexes, and reduced YMPAT fear conditioning in females. Following behavioral testing, rats were exposed to 5-min acute forced swim and brains collected 2 h post swim to determine effects of adolescent TrkB blockade and stress exposure on neurochemical regulators of stress and plasticity. Findings show elevated glucocorticoid receptor (GR-) and TrkB-immunoreactivity (ir) in the amygdalar central nucleus, and GR-ir in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of females compared to males. In the hippocampal CA1, BDNF-ir was lower in females versus males, and GR-ir was elevated in stress versus non-stress males. Together, we demonstrate that inherent sex-specific differences, which may modulate impact of adolescence stress exposure and TrkB inhibition, differentially affect male and female adulthood behavior and biochemical response profiles, suggesting that these responses are in part conditioned by prior experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idu Azogu
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Isabelle Cossette
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Joana Mukunzi
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ogechi Ibeke
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Helene Plamondon
- Behavioral Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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18
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Repeated social defeat in female mice induces anxiety-like behavior associated with enhanced myelopoiesis and increased monocyte accumulation in the brain. Brain Behav Immun 2019; 78:131-142. [PMID: 30684650 PMCID: PMC6488440 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety and mood disorders affect both men and women. The majority of experimental models of stress, however, are completed using only male animals. For repeated social defeat (RSD), a rodent model, this is due to the inherent difficulty in eliciting male aggression toward female mice. To address this limitation, a recent study showed that a DREADD-based activation of the ventrolateral subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMHvl) was effective in inducing aggressive behavior in male mice towards females in a social defeat paradigm. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine if this modified version of RSD in females elicited behavioral, physiological, and immune responses similar to those reported in males. Here, we show that female mice subjected to RSD with the male DREADD aggressor developed anxiety-like behavior and social avoidance. These behavioral alterations coincided with enhanced neuronal and microglial activation in threat-appraisal regions of the brain. Moreover, stressed female mice had an enhanced peripheral immune response characterized by increased myelopoiesis, release of myeloid cells into circulation, and monocyte accumulation in the spleen and brain. These results are consistent with previously reported findings that male mice exposed to RSD exhibited increased fear and threat appraisal responses, enhanced myelopoiesis, myeloid cell release and trafficking, and anxiety-like behavior. These findings validate that RSD is a relevant model to study stress responses in female mice.
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19
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Heck AL, Handa RJ. Sex differences in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis' response to stress: an important role for gonadal hormones. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:45-58. [PMID: 30111811 PMCID: PMC6235871 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0167-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 247] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a neuroendocrine network that controls hormonal responses to internal and external challenges in an organism's environment, exhibits strikingly sex-biased activity. In adult female rodents, acute HPA function following a stressor is markedly greater than it is in males, and this difference has largely been attributed to modulation by the gonadal hormones testosterone and estradiol. These gonadal hormones are produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and have been shown to determine sex differences in adult HPA function after acute stress via their activational and organizational effects. Although these actions of gonadal hormones are well supported, the possibility that sex chromosomes similarly influence HPA activity is unexplored. Moreover, questions remain regarding sex differences in the activity of the HPA axis following chronic stress and the underlying contributions of gonadal hormones and sex chromosomes. The present review examines what is currently known about sex differences in the neuroendocrine response to stress, as well as outstanding questions regarding this sex bias. Although it primarily focuses on the rodent literature, a brief discussion of sex differences in the human HPA axis is also included.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley L. Heck
- 0000 0004 1936 8083grid.47894.36Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
| | - Robert J. Handa
- 0000 0004 1936 8083grid.47894.36Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
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20
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Sierra-Fonseca JA, Gosselink KL. Tauopathy and neurodegeneration: A role for stress. Neurobiol Stress 2018; 9:105-112. [PMID: 30450376 PMCID: PMC6234266 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by an irreversible and progressive loss of neuronal structure and function. While many alterations to normal cellular processes occur during neurodegeneration, a pathological accumulation of aggregated proteins constitutes a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's disease, specifically, is pathologically defined by the formation of amyloid plaques and tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Stress has emerged as an important factor in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's. Very little is known, however, regarding the effects of stress on the mechanisms controlling abnormal protein aggregation and clearance. Chronic stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, causing an excessive secretion of glucocorticoids that are capable of impacting diverse physiological and cellular processes. The present review focuses on the influence of stress on a key feature of Alzheimer's disease pathology, emphasizing the relationship between tau phosphorylation and accumulation and its connection to HPA axis dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge A Sierra-Fonseca
- Department of Biological Sciences and Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA
| | - Kristin L Gosselink
- Department of Biological Sciences and Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA
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21
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Pooley AE, Benjamin RC, Sreedhar S, Eagle AL, Robison AJ, Mazei-Robison MS, Breedlove SM, Jordan CL. Sex differences in the traumatic stress response: PTSD symptoms in women recapitulated in female rats. Biol Sex Differ 2018; 9:31. [PMID: 29976248 PMCID: PMC6034295 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-018-0191-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects men and women differently. Not only are women twice as likely as men to develop PTSD, they experience different symptoms and comorbidities associated with PTSD. Yet the dearth of preclinical research on females leaves a notable gap in understanding the underlying neuropathology of this sex difference. Methods Using two standard measures of PTSD-like responses in rats, the acoustic startle response (ASR) and dexamethasone suppression test (DST), we tested the effects of traumatic stress in adult male and female rats using two rodent models of PTSD, single prolonged stress and predator exposure. We then examined the neural correlates underlying these responses with cFos and glucocorticoid receptor immunohistochemistry in brain regions implicated in the traumatic stress response. Results We now report that adult male and female rats across two models of PTSD show consistent sex-specific responses that recapitulate fundamental differences of PTSD in men and women. Trauma-exposed males showed the well-established hyper-responsive phenotype of enhanced ASR and exaggerated negative feedback control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, while the same traumatic event had little effect on these same measures in females. Dramatic sex differences in how trauma affected cFos and glucocorticoid receptor expression in the brain lend further support to the idea that the trauma response of male and female rats is fundamentally different. Conclusions Two standard measures, ASR and DST, might suggest that females are resilient to the effects of traumatic stress, but other measures make it clear that females are not resilient, but simply respond differently to trauma. The next important question to answer is why. We conclude that males and females show fundamentally different responses to trauma that do not simply reflect differences in resilience. The divergent effects of trauma in the brains of males and females begin to shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of these sex differences, paving the way for improved diagnostics and therapeutics that effectively treat both men and women. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13293-018-0191-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apryl E Pooley
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
| | - Rebecca C Benjamin
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Susheela Sreedhar
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Andrew L Eagle
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.,Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, 2201 BPS, 567 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Alfred J Robison
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.,Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, 2201 BPS, 567 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Michelle S Mazei-Robison
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.,Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, 2201 BPS, 567 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - S Marc Breedlove
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Cynthia L Jordan
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, 293 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
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22
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Borrow AP, Bales NJ, Stover SA, Handa RJ. Chronic Variable Stress Induces Sex-Specific Alterations in Social Behavior and Neuropeptide Expression in the Mouse. Endocrinology 2018; 159:2803-2814. [PMID: 29788320 PMCID: PMC6692887 DOI: 10.1210/en.2018-00217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to stressors impairs the function of multiple organ systems and has been implicated in increased disease risk. In the rodent, the chronic variable stress (CVS) paradigm has successfully modeled several stress-related illnesses. Despite striking disparities between men and women in the prevalence and etiology of disorders associated with chronic stress, most preclinical research examining chronic stressor exposure has focused on male subjects. One potential mediator of the consequences of CVS is oxytocin (OT), a known regulator of stress neurocircuitry and behavior. To ascertain the sex-specific effects of CVS in the C57BL/6 mouse on OT and the structurally similar neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP), the numbers of immunoreactive and mRNA-containing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) were determined using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. In addition, the mice underwent a battery of behavioral tests to determine whether CVS affects social behaviors known to be regulated by OT and AVP. Six weeks of CVS increased sociability in the female mouse and decreased PVN OT immunoreactivity (ir) and AVP mRNA. In the male mice, CVS decreased PVN OT mRNA but had no effect on social behavior, AVP, or OT-ir. CVS also increased the soma volume for PVN OT neurons. In contrast, OT and AVP neurons in the SON were unaffected by CVS treatment. These findings demonstrate clear sex differences in the effects of CVS on neuropeptides in the mouse, suggest a pathway through which CVS alters sociability and stress-coping responses in females and reveals a vulnerability to CVS in the C57BL/6 mouse strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda P Borrow
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Natalie J Bales
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Sally A Stover
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Robert J Handa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
- Correspondence: Robert J. Handa, PhD, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 1617 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523. E-mail:
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23
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Petersen CL, Hurley LM. Putting it in Context: Linking Auditory Processing with Social Behavior Circuits in the Vertebrate Brain. Integr Comp Biol 2018; 57:865-877. [PMID: 28985384 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Context is critical to the adaptive value of communication. Sensory systems such as the auditory system represent an important juncture at which information on physiological state or social valence can be added to communicative information. However, the neural pathways that convey context to the auditory system are not well understood. The serotonergic system offers an excellent model to address these types of questions. Serotonin fluctuates in the mouse inferior colliculus (IC), an auditory midbrain region important for species-specific vocalizations, during specific social and non-social contexts. Furthermore, serotonin is an indicator of the valence of event-based changes within individual social interactions. We propose a model in which the brain's social behavior network serves as an afferent effector of the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus in order to gate contextual release of serotonin in the IC. Specifically, discrete vasopressinergic nuclei within the hypothalamus and extended amygdala that project to the dorsal raphe are functionally engaged during contexts in which serotonin fluctuates in the IC. Since serotonin strongly influences the responses of IC neurons to social vocalizations, this pathway could serve as a feedback loop whereby integrative social centers modulate their own sources of input. The end result of this feedback would be to produce a process that is geared, from sensory input to motor output, toward responding appropriately to a dynamic external world.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura M Hurley
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405 IN, USA
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24
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Green MR, McCormick CM. Sex and stress steroids in adolescence: Gonadal regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2016; 234:110-6. [PMID: 26851306 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
This review provides an overview of the current understanding of the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stressors. HPA function is influenced by both organizational (programming) and activational effects of gonadal hormones. Typically, in adult rats, estradiol increases and androgens decrease the HPA response to stressors, thereby contributing to sex differences in HPA function, and sensitivity of the HPA axis to gonadal steroids is in part determined by exposure to these hormones in early development. Although developmental differences in HPA function are well characterized, the extent to which gonadal steroids contribute to age differences in HPA function is not well understood. Deficits in the understanding of the relationships between the HPA and HPG axes are greatest for the adolescent period of development. The critical outstanding questions are, when do gonadal hormones begin to regulate HPA function in adolescence, and what mechanisms precipitate change in sensitivity of the HPA axis to the HPG axis at this stage of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Green
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Cheryl M McCormick
- Department of Psychology, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada; Centre for Neuroscience, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.
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Hiroi R, Carbone DL, Zuloaga DG, Bimonte-Nelson HA, Handa RJ. Sex-dependent programming effects of prenatal glucocorticoid treatment on the developing serotonin system and stress-related behaviors in adulthood. Neuroscience 2016; 320:43-56. [PMID: 26844389 PMCID: PMC4840233 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.01.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2015] [Revised: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal stress and overexposure to glucocorticoids (GC) during development may be associated with an increased susceptibility to a number of diseases in adulthood including neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. In animal models, prenatal overexposure to GC results in hyper-responsiveness to stress in adulthood, and females appear to be more susceptible than males. Here, we tested the hypothesis that overexposure to GC during fetal development has sex-specific programming effects on the brain, resulting in altered behaviors in adulthood. We examined the effects of dexamethasone (DEX; a synthetic GC) during prenatal life on stress-related behaviors in adulthood and on the tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TpH2) gene expression in the adult dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). TpH2 is the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin (5-HT) synthesis and has been implicated in the etiology of human affective disorders. Timed-pregnant rats were treated with DEX from gestational days 18-22. Male and female offspring were sacrificed on the day of birth (postnatal day 0; P0), P7, and in adulthood (P80-84) and brains were examined for changes in TpH2 mRNA expression. Adult animals were also tested for anxiety- and depressive- like behaviors. In adulthood, prenatal DEX increased anxiety- and depressive- like behaviors selectively in females, as measured by decreased time spent in the center of the open field and increased time spent immobile in the forced swim test, respectively. Prenatal DEX increased TpH2 mRNA selectively in the female caudal DRN at P7, whereas it decreased TpH2 mRNA selectively in the female caudal DRN in adulthood. In animals challenged with restraint stress in adulthood, TpH2 mRNA was significantly lower in rostral DRN of prenatal DEX-treated females compared to vehicle-treated females. These data demonstrated that prenatal overexposure to GC alters the development of TpH2 gene expression and these alterations correlated with lasting behavioral changes found in adult female offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Hiroi
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
| | - D L Carbone
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
| | - D G Zuloaga
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
| | - H A Bimonte-Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
| | - R J Handa
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
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Trujillo V, Durando PE, Suárez MM. Maternal separation in early life modifies anxious behavior and Fos and glucocorticoid receptor expression in limbic neurons after chronic stress in rats: effects of tianeptine. Stress 2016; 19:91-103. [PMID: 26452320 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2015.1105958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life adversity can lead to long-term consequence persisting into adulthood. Here, we assess the implications of an adverse early environment on vulnerability to stress during adulthood. We hypothesized that the interplay between early and late stress would result in a differential phenotype regarding the number of neurons immunoreactive for glucocorticoid receptor (GR-ir) and neuronal activity as assessed by Fos immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in brain areas related to stress responses and anxiety-like behavior. We also expected that the antidepressant tianeptine could correct some of the alterations induced in our model. Male Wistar rats were subjected to daily maternal separation (MS) for 4.5 h during the first 3 weeks of life. As adults, the rats were exposed to chronic stress for 24 d and they were treated daily with tianeptine (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal) or vehicle (isotonic saline). Fos-ir was increased by MS in all structures analyzed. Chronic stress reduced Fos-ir in the hippocampus, but increased it in the paraventricular nucleus. Furthermore, chronic stress increased GR-ir in hippocampus (CA1) and amygdala in control non-MS rats. By contrast, when MS and chronic stress were combined, GR-ir was decreased in these structures. Additionally, whereas tianeptine did not affect Fos-ir, it regulated GR-ir in a region-dependent manner, in hippocampus and amygdala opposing in some cases the stress or MS effects. Furthermore, tianeptine reversed the MS- or stress-induced anxious behavior. The interplay between MS and chronic stress observed indicates that MS rats have a modified phenotype, which is expressed when they are challenged by stress in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Trujillo
- a Laboratorio De Fisiología Animal , Facultad De Ciencias Exactas, Físicas Y Naturales, Universidad Nacional De Córdoba , Córdoba , Argentina
| | - Patricia E Durando
- a Laboratorio De Fisiología Animal , Facultad De Ciencias Exactas, Físicas Y Naturales, Universidad Nacional De Córdoba , Córdoba , Argentina
| | - Marta M Suárez
- a Laboratorio De Fisiología Animal , Facultad De Ciencias Exactas, Físicas Y Naturales, Universidad Nacional De Córdoba , Córdoba , Argentina
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Kacheva S, Kolk K, Morgenthaler NG, Brabant G, Karges W. Gender-specific co-activation of arginine vasopressin and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during stress. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2015; 82:570-6. [PMID: 25200793 DOI: 10.1111/cen.12608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2014] [Revised: 07/21/2014] [Accepted: 09/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To study the interaction between copeptin and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation in men and women during hypoglycaemic stress. DESIGN AND PATIENTS A prospective study in 118 patients (mean age 47·7 ± 13·6 years, n = 52 women) undergoing insulin tolerance testing for suspected pituitary dysfunction. MEASUREMENTS Serum copeptin was measured in serially collected blood samples and assessed in relation to ACTH, cortisol and other endocrine parameters. RESULTS Symptomatic hypoglycaemia (mean glucose nadir, 1·6 ± 0·5 mmol/l) resulted in a rapid significant increase of serum copeptin. Individuals with impaired pituitary function had lower stress-induced copeptin levels (median, 6·26 pmol/l) than patients with intact pituitary (8·46 pmol/l, P < 0·001). A weak overall correlation between stress-induced copeptin and cortisol levels was observed (rs = 0·31, P < 0·001). In female individuals, there was a positive correlation between stress-induced copeptin and ACTH (rs = 0·47, P < 0·001) or cortisol levels (rs = 0·42, P = 0·002), while in males, no correlation with ACTH levels (rs = 0·03, P = 0·75) and poor correlation with cortisol levels (rs = 0·24, P = 0·045) was observed. Patients with central diabetes insipidus showed lowest baseline (2·20 pmol/l) and stimulated copeptin levels (3·68 pmol/l). CONCLUSIONS The data from this study indicate that stress-induced release of AVP in women, but not in men, is linked to the co-activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kacheva
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Goel N, Workman JL, Lee TT, Innala L, Viau V. Sex differences in the HPA axis. Compr Physiol 2015; 4:1121-55. [PMID: 24944032 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c130054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 245] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a major component of the systems that respond to stress, by coordinating the neuroendocrine and autonomic responses. Tightly controlled regulation of HPA responses is critical for maintaining mental and physical health, as hyper- and hypo-activity have been linked to disease states. A long history of research has revealed sex differences in numerous components of the HPA stress system and its responses, which may partially form the basis for sex disparities in disease development. Despite this, many studies use male subjects exclusively, while fewer reports involve females or provide direct sex comparisons. The purpose of this article is to present sex comparisons in the functional and molecular aspects of the HPA axis, through various phases of activity, including basal, acute stress, and chronic stress conditions. The HPA axis in females initiates more rapidly and produces a greater output of stress hormones. This review focuses on the interactions between the gonadal hormone system and the HPA axis as the key mediators of these sex differences, whereby androgens increase and estrogens decrease HPA activity in adulthood. In addition to the effects of gonadal hormones on the adult response, morphological impacts of hormone exposure during development are also involved in mediating sex differences. Additional systems impinging on the HPA axis that contribute to sex differences include the monoamine neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin. Diverse signals originating from the brain and periphery are integrated to determine the level of HPA axis activity, and these signals are, in many cases, sex-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirupa Goel
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Bohacek J, Manuella F, Roszkowski M, Mansuy IM. Hippocampal gene expression induced by cold swim stress depends on sex and handling. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015; 52:1-12. [PMID: 25459888 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2014] [Revised: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/31/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Stress-related disorders such as PTSD and depression are more prevalent in women than men. One reason for such discordance may be that brain regions involved in stress responses are more sensitive to stress in females. Here, we compared the effects of acute stress on gene transcription in the hippocampus of female and male mice, and also examined the involvement of two key stress-related hormones, corticosterone and corticotropin releasing hormone (Crh). Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), we measured gene expression of Fos, Per1 and Sgk1 45 min after exposure to brief cold swim stress. Stress induced a stronger increase in Fos and Per1 expression in females than males. The handling control procedure increased Fos in both sexes, but occluded the effects of stress in males. Further, handling increased Per1 only in males. Sgk1 was insensitive to handling, and increased in response to stress similarly in males and females. The transcriptional changes observed after swim stress were not mimicked by corticosterone injections, and the stress-induced increase in Fos, Per1 and Sgk1 could neither be prevented by pharmacologically blocking glucocorticoid receptor (GR) nor by blocking Crh receptor 1 (Crhr1) before stress exposure. Finally, we demonstrate that the effects are stressor-specific, as the expression of target genes could not be increased by brief restraint stress in either sex. In summary, we find strong effects of acute swim stress on hippocampal gene expression, complex interactions between handling and sex, and a remarkably unique response pattern for each gene. Overall, females respond to a cold swim challenge with stronger hippocampal gene transcription than males, independent of two classic mediators of the stress response, corticosterone and Crh. These findings may have important implications for understanding the higher vulnerability of women to certain stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Bohacek
- Brain Research Institute, Neuroscience Center Zürich, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Francesca Manuella
- Brain Research Institute, Neuroscience Center Zürich, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Roszkowski
- Brain Research Institute, Neuroscience Center Zürich, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle M Mansuy
- Brain Research Institute, Neuroscience Center Zürich, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Chakraborti A, Gulati K, Ray A. Possible role of nitric oxide (NO) in the regulation of gender related differences in stress induced anxiogenesis in rats. Nitric Oxide 2014; 43:74-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2014.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Revised: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Mo C, Renoir T, Hannan AJ. Effects of chronic stress on the onset and progression of Huntington's disease in transgenic mice. Neurobiol Dis 2014; 71:81-94. [PMID: 25088714 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a tandem repeat mutation encoding an expanded polyglutamine tract. Our previous work showed that memory deficits in HD transgenic mice could be accelerated by increased levels of stress hormone, while memory in WT mice remained unaffected. HD patients experience higher levels of stress compared to the general population and symptoms of HD also include motor, cognitive, psychiatric, sexual and olfactory abnormalities, and an associated decline in activities of daily living. Therefore we investigated the impact of a robust stressor (i.e. restraint) on the onset and progression of a range of behavioral phenotypes in R6/1 transgenic HD mice. Restraint was administered for 1h daily from 6weeks of age and continued until R6/1 mice were clearly motor symptomatic at 14weeks of age. Serum corticosterone levels in both R6/1 and WT littermates were elevated immediately after the last restraint session and weight gain was suppressed in restrained animals throughout the treatment period. Motor coordination and locomotor activity were enhanced by chronic restraint in males, regardless of genotype. However, there was no effect of restraint on motor performances in female animals. At 8weeks of age, olfactory sensitivity was impaired by restraint in R6/1 HD female mice, but not in WT mice. In male R6/1 mice, the olfactory deficit was exacerbated by restraint and olfaction was also impaired in male WT mice. The development of deficits in saccharin preference, Y-maze memory, nest-building and sexually-motivated vocalizations was unaffected by chronic restraint in R6/1 and had little impact on such behavioral performances in WT animals. We provide evidence that chronic stress can negatively modulate specific endophenotypes in HD mice, while the same functions were affected to a lesser extent in WT mice. This vulnerability in HD animals seems to be sex-specific depending on the stress paradigm used. It is hoped that our work will stimulate clinical investigations into the effects of stress on both pre-symptomatic and symptomatic gene-positive members of HD families, and inform the development of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Mo
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Thibault Renoir
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Kenneth Myer Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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Zuloaga DG, Johnson LA, Agam M, Raber J. Sex differences in activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by methamphetamine. J Neurochem 2014; 129:495-508. [PMID: 24400874 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.12651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2013] [Revised: 12/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Dysregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation is associated with changes in addiction-related behaviors. In this study, we tested whether sex differences in the acute effects of methamphetamine (MA) exposure involve differential activation of the HPA axis. Male and female mice were injected with MA (1 mg/kg) or saline for comparison of plasma corticosterone and analysis of the immediate early gene c-Fos in brain. There was a prolonged elevation in corticosterone levels in female compared to male mice. C-Fos was elevated in both sexes following MA in HPA axis-associated regions, including the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), central amygdala, cingulate, and CA3 hippocampal region. MA increased the number of c-Fos and c-Fos/glucocorticoid receptor (GR) dual-labeled cells to a greater extent in males than females in the cingulate and CA3 regions. MA also increased the number of c-fos/vasopressin dual-labeled cells in the PVN as well as the number and percentage of c-Fos/GR dual-labeled cells in the PVN and central amygdala, although no sex differences in dual labeling were found in these regions. Thus, sex differences in MA-induced plasma corticosterone levels and activation of distinct brain regions and proteins involved in HPA axis regulation may contribute to sex differences in acute effects of MA on the brain. Methamphetamine induces a prolonged plasma corticosterone response in females compared to males. This may be mediated by increased neural activation, involving a greater activation of glucocorticoid receptor-positive cells, in males in the CA3 and cingulate brain regions, which are involved in negative feedback functions. These findings indicate a sex difference in the neural regulation of methamphetamine-induced plasma corticosterone release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damian G Zuloaga
- Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University Portland, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Goel N, Innala L, Viau V. Sex differences in serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptor regulation of HPA axis and dorsal raphe responses to acute restraint. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014; 40:232-41. [PMID: 24485495 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2013] [Revised: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptor subtype has been implicated as an important mediator for the stimulatory influence of serotonin on stress hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity, at least in males. Females show greater HPA axis responses to stress compared to males. To determine the nature by which the 5-HT 1A receptor contributes to the sex difference in stress, we examined neuroendocrine and cellular (Fos) responses in male and female rats receiving systemic injections of the 5-HT 1A receptor antagonist, WAY 100635, prior to acute restraint exposure. WAY decreased the corticosterone response in males, but not in females. In the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH), WAY produced similar decrements in the restraint-induced activation (Fos) of neuroendocrine neurons in males and females. In contrast to the PVH, WAY administration increased total Fos activation in the dorsal raphe nucleus, but only in males. WAY also provoked higher Fos responses within subsets of dorsal raphe cells identified as serotonergic (tryptophan hydroxylase-, TPH-ir) in both males and females. These data provide evidence to suggest a differential influence of presynaptic 5-HT 1A receptors to regulate the stress-induced recruitment of non-serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons in males and females. At present, we cannot rule out a possible role for estrogen in females to alter 5-HT outflow to the HPA axis. There was a negative correlation between estrogen and Fos responses within TPH-positive cells in the dorsal raphe of WAY-administered females, whereas a positive correlation was found between estrogen and 5-HT 1A mRNA expression localized to the region of the zona incerta in close proximity to the PVH. As the raphe complex and 5-HT system impinge on several central autonomic, behavioral and neuroendocrine control systems, the current findings provide an important framework for future studies directed at sex differences in adaptive homeostatic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nirupa Goel
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3
| | - Leyla Innala
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3
| | - Victor Viau
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3.
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Kormos V, Gaszner B. Role of neuropeptides in anxiety, stress, and depression: from animals to humans. Neuropeptides 2013; 47:401-19. [PMID: 24210138 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2013.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2013] [Revised: 10/07/2013] [Accepted: 10/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Major depression, with its strikingly high prevalence, is the most common cause of disability in communities of Western type, according to data of the World Health Organization. Stress-related mood disorders, besides their deleterious effects on the patient itself, also challenge the healthcare systems with their great social and economic impact. Our knowledge on the neurobiology of these conditions is less than sufficient as exemplified by the high proportion of patients who do not respond to currently available medications targeting monoaminergic systems. The search for new therapeutical strategies became therefore a "hot topic" in neuroscience, and there is a large body of evidence suggesting that brain neuropeptides not only participate is stress physiology, but they may also have clinical relevance. Based on data obtained in animal studies, neuropeptides and their receptors might be targeted by new candidate neuropharmacons with the hope that they will become important and effective tools in the management of stress related mood disorders. In this review, we attempt to summarize the latest evidence obtained using animal models for mood disorders, genetically modified rodent models for anxiety and depression, and we will pay some attention to previously published clinical data on corticotropin releasing factor, urocortin 1, urocortin 2, urocortin 3, arginine-vasopressin, neuropeptide Y, pituitary adenylate-cyclase activating polypeptide, neuropeptide S, oxytocin, substance P and galanin fields of stress research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktória Kormos
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Szigeti u. 12, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; Molecular Pharmacology Research Group, János Szentágothai Research Center, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 20, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Szigeti u. 12, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
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Narayan EJ, Parnell T, Clark G, Martin-Vegue P, Mucci A, Hero JM. Faecal cortisol metabolites in Bengal (Panthera tigris tigris) and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Gen Comp Endocrinol 2013; 194:318-25. [PMID: 24140710 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Revised: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 10/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The tiger (Panthera tigris) faces a great risk of extinction as its wild numbers have plummeted due to poaching and habitat destruction so ex-situ conservation programs are becoming ever more necessary. Reliable non-invasive biomarkers of the stress hormone (cortisol) are necessary for assessing the health and welfare of tigers in captivity. To our knowledge, non-invasive stress endocrinology methods have not been tested as widely in tigers. The first aim of this study was to describe and validate a faecal cortisol metabolite enzyme-immmunoassay (FCM EIA) for two tiger sub-species, the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). Individual tigers (n=22) were studied in two large Zoos in Queensland, Australia (Dreamworld Theme Park and Australia Zoo). Fresh faecal samples (<12 h old) were collected each morning from both Zoos over a study period of 21 days. Biological validation was conducted separately by collecting feces 5 days before and 5 days after blood was taken from four male and five female tigers. Results showed that mean FCM levels increased by 138% and 285% in the male and female tigers within 1 day after bloods were taken, returning to baseline in 5 days. Laboratory validations of the FCM EIA were done using an extraction efficiency test and parallelism. Results showed >89% recovery of the cortisol standard that was added to tiger faecal extract. We also obtained parallel displacement of the serially diluted cortisol standard against serially diluted tiger faecal extract. Our second aim was to determine whether the FCM levels were significantly different between tiger sub-species and sex. Results showed no significant difference in mean FCM levels between the Bengal and Sumatran tiger sub-species. Mean levels of FCMs were significantly higher in females than in male tigers. Those male and female tigers with reported health issues during the study period expressed higher FCM levels than the reportedly healthy tigers. Interestingly, those tigers that took part in some activity (such as walks, photos, presentations and guest feeds) expressed moderately higher FCM levels at Dreamworld and lower FCM levels at Australia Zoo in comparison to those tigers that did not take part in such activities. These results indicate potential habituation in some tigers for routine activity through specialized training and pre-conditioning. In conclusion, the FCM EIA described in this study provides a reliable non-invasive method for evaluating the stress status of tigers in Zoos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward J Narayan
- Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222, Australia.
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Hanson JL, Hurley LM. Context-dependent fluctuation of serotonin in the auditory midbrain: the influence of sex, reproductive state and experience. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 217:526-35. [PMID: 24198252 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.087627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
In the face of changing behavioral situations, plasticity of sensory systems can be a valuable mechanism to facilitate appropriate behavioral responses. In the auditory system, the neurotransmitter serotonin is an important messenger for context-dependent regulation because it is sensitive to both external events and internal state, and it modulates neural activity. In male mice, serotonin increases in the auditory midbrain region, the inferior colliculus (IC), in response to changes in behavioral context such as restriction stress and social contact. Female mice have not been measured in similar contexts, although the serotonergic system is sexually dimorphic in many ways. In the present study, we investigated the effects of sex, experience and estrous state on the fluctuation of serotonin in the IC across contexts, as well as potential relationships between behavior and serotonin. Contrary to our expectation, there were no sex differences in increases of serotonin in response to a restriction stimulus. Both sexes had larger increases in second exposures, suggesting experience plays a role in serotonergic release in the IC. In females, serotonin increased during both restriction and interactions with males; however, the increase was more rapid during restriction. There was no effect of female estrous phase on the serotonergic change for either context, but serotonin was related to behavioral activity in females interacting with males. These results show that changes in behavioral context induce increases in serotonin in the IC by a mechanism that appears to be uninfluenced by sex or estrous state, but may depend on experience and behavioral activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Hanson
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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37
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Lenglos C, Mitra A, Guèvremont G, Timofeeva E. Sex differences in the effects of chronic stress and food restriction on body weight gain and brain expression of CRF and relaxin-3 in rats. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2013; 12:370-87. [PMID: 23425370 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2012] [Revised: 11/05/2012] [Accepted: 02/17/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated sex-specific effects of repeated stress and food restriction on food intake, body weight, corticosterone plasma levels and expression of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the hypothalamus and relaxin-3 in the nucleus incertus (NI). The CRF and relaxin-3 expression is affected by stress, and these neuropeptides produce opposite effects on feeding (anorexigenic and orexigenic, respectively), but sex-specific regulation of CRF and relaxin-3 by chronic stress is not fully understood. Male and female rats were fed ad libitum chow (AC) or ad libitum chow and intermittent palatable liquid Ensure without food restriction (ACE), or combined with repeated food restriction (60% chow, 2 days per week; RCE). Half of the rats were submitted to 1-h restraint stress once a week. In total, seven weekly cycles were applied. The body weight of the RCE stressed male rats significantly decreased, whereas the body weight of the RCE stressed female rats significantly increased compared with the respective control groups. The stressed female RCE rats considerably overate chow during recovery from stress and food restriction. The RCE female rats showed elevated plasma corticosterone levels and low expression of CRF mRNA in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus but not in the medial preoptic area. The NI expression of relaxin-3 mRNA was significantly higher in the stressed RCE female rats compared with other groups. An increase in the expression of orexigenic relaxin-3 and misbalanced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity may contribute to the overeating and increased body weight seen in chronically stressed and repeatedly food-restricted female rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lenglos
- Département Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Faculté de Médecine, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
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38
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Yuan Q, Su H, Chau WH, Toa Ng C, Huang JD, Wu W, Lin ZX. Behavioral stress fails to accelerate the onset and progression of plaque pathology in the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53480. [PMID: 23326437 PMCID: PMC3543430 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2012] [Accepted: 11/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflicting findings exist regarding the link between environmental factors and development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a variety of transgenic mouse models of AD. In the present study, we investigated the effect of behavioral stress on the onset and progression of Aβ pathology in the brains of TgCRND8 mice, a transgenic mouse model of AD. One group of TgCRND8 mice was subjected to restraint stress starting at 1 month of age until they were 3 months old, while restraint stress in the second group started at 4 months of age until they were 6 months old. After 2 months of treatment, no differences in the soluble, formic acid extracted, or histologically detected Aβ deposition in the cortical and hippocampal levels were found between non-stressed and stressed mice. These results showed that restraint stress alone failed to aggravate amyloid pathology when initiated either before or after the age of amyloid plaque deposition in TgCRND8 mice, suggesting that if stress aggravated AD phenotype, it may not be via an amyloid-related mechanism in the TgCRND8 mice. These findings are indicative that plaque load per se may not be used as a significant criterion for evaluating the effect of stress on AD patients.
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MESH Headings
- Aging/pathology
- Alzheimer Disease/blood
- Alzheimer Disease/complications
- Alzheimer Disease/pathology
- Alzheimer Disease/psychology
- Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Brain/metabolism
- Brain/pathology
- Cerebral Cortex/metabolism
- Cerebral Cortex/pathology
- Corticosterone/blood
- Disease Models, Animal
- Disease Progression
- Humans
- Hypothalamus/metabolism
- Hypothalamus/pathology
- Mice
- Mice, Transgenic
- Neurons/metabolism
- Neurons/pathology
- Plaque, Amyloid/blood
- Plaque, Amyloid/complications
- Plaque, Amyloid/pathology
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism
- Restraint, Physical
- Stress, Psychological/blood
- Stress, Psychological/complications
- Stress, Psychological/pathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuju Yuan
- School of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Huanxing Su
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China
| | - Wing Hin Chau
- Department of Biochemistry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Cheung Toa Ng
- Department of Biochemistry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jian-Dong Huang
- Department of Biochemistry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wutian Wu
- Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
- Research Center of Reproduction, Development and Growth, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
- Institute of Central Nervous System Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (WW); (Z-XL)
| | - Zhi-Xiu Lin
- School of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- * E-mail: (WW); (Z-XL)
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Babb JA, Masini CV, Day HEW, Campeau S. Sex differences in activated corticotropin-releasing factor neurons within stress-related neurocircuitry and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis hormones following restraint in rats. Neuroscience 2013; 234:40-52. [PMID: 23305762 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.12.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2012] [Revised: 12/20/2012] [Accepted: 12/28/2012] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Women may be more vulnerable to certain stress-related psychiatric illnesses than men due to differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis function. To investigate potential sex differences in forebrain regions associated with HPA axis activation in rats, these experiments utilized acute exposure to a psychological stressor. Male and female rats in various stages of the estrous cycle were exposed to 30min of restraint, producing a robust HPA axis hormonal response in all animals, the magnitude of which was significantly higher in female rats. Although both male and female animals displayed equivalent c-fos expression in many brain regions known to be involved in the detection of threatening stimuli, three regions had significantly higher expression in females: the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), the anteroventral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTav), and the medial preoptic area (MPOA). Dual fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of neurons containing c-fos and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA in these regions revealed significantly more c-fos and CRF single-labeled neurons, as well as significantly more double-labeled neurons in females. Surprisingly, there was no effect of the estrous cycle on any measure analyzed, and an additional experiment revealed no demonstrable effect of estradiol replacement following ovariectomy on HPA axis hormone induction following stress. Taken together, these data suggest sex differences in HPA axis activation in response to perceived threat may be influenced by specific populations of CRF neurons in key stress-related brain regions, the BSTav, MPOA, and PVN, which may be independent of circulating sex steroids.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Babb
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
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40
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Piroli GG, Reznikov LR, Grillo CA, Hagar JM, Fadel JR, Reagan LP. Tianeptine modulates amygdalar glutamate neurochemistry and synaptic proteins in rats subjected to repeated stress. Exp Neurol 2012; 241:184-93. [PMID: 23262120 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2012] [Revised: 11/20/2012] [Accepted: 12/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Stress is a common environmental factor associated with depressive illness and the amygdala is thought to be integral for this association. For example, repeated stress impairs amygdalar neuroplasticity in rodents and these defects parallel amygdalar deficits in depressive illness patients. Because the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is important in neuroplasticity, we hypothesized that alterations in amygdalar glutamatergic systems may serve as key players in depressive illness. Moreover, restoration of amygdalar glutamatergic systems may serve as important therapeutic targets in the successful management of multiple stress-related mood disorders. To address these hypotheses, we measured glutamate efflux in the basolateral and central amygdalar complexes via in vivo microdialysis, as well as the expression of synaptic proteins that regulate vesicular glutamate packaging and release, in rats subjected to repeated stress and treated daily with saline or the antidepressant tianeptine. Glutamate efflux was significantly reduced in the central amygdalar complex of animals subjected to repeated stress. In addition, repeated stress nearly eliminated amygdalar vGLUT2 expression, thereby proving a potential mechanism through which repeated stress impairs amygdalar glutamate neurochemistry. These stress-induced changes in glutamate efflux and vGLUT2 expression were inhibited by daily tianeptine administration. Moreover, tianeptine administration increased the vesicular localization of SNAP-25, which could account for the ability of tianeptine to modify glutamatergic tone in non-stressed control rats. Collectively, these results demonstrate that repeated stress differentially affects amygdalar glutamate systems and further supports our previous studies indicating that tianeptine's antidepressant efficacy may involve targeting amygdalar glutatamatergic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo G Piroli
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, 6439 Garners Ferry Rd, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
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41
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Bourke CH, Harrell CS, Neigh GN. Stress-induced sex differences: adaptations mediated by the glucocorticoid receptor. Horm Behav 2012; 62:210-8. [PMID: 22426413 PMCID: PMC3384757 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2011] [Revised: 02/22/2012] [Accepted: 02/24/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Clinical evidence has indicated that women are more susceptible to stress-related and autoimmune disorders than men. Although females may be more susceptible to some disease states, males do not escape unscathed and are more susceptible to metabolic dysfunction. The hypothalamic-pituitary-axis plays a pivotal role in the sexually dimorphic effects of chronic stress through alterations in negative feedback. Recent evidence has implicated the glucocorticoid receptor and its co-chaperones in the etiology of psychiatric and somatic diseases. Gonadal hormones heavily interact with both glucocorticoid receptor expression and glucocorticoid receptor action either through direct or indirect effects on proteins in the chaperone and co-chaperone complex. Diverse systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis, the immune system, and metabolism are affected differently in males and females, possibly through the glucocorticoid receptor system. New considerations of glucocorticoid regulation through the co-chaperone complex in the brain will be vital to the development of treatment strategies for men and women afflicted by neuropsychiatric and somatic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase H. Bourke
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Constance S. Harrell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- Department of Physiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Gretchen N. Neigh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- Department of Physiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA
- Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Child and Adolescent Mood Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
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42
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Bingham B, Wang NXR, Innala L, Viau V. Postnatal aromatase blockade increases c-fos mRNA responses to acute restraint stress in adult male rats. Endocrinology 2012; 153:1603-8. [PMID: 22315450 DOI: 10.1210/en.2011-1749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that the aromatization of testosterone to estrogen is important for the organizing effects of neonatal testosterone on neuroendocrine responses to acute challenges. However, the extent to which neonatal inhibition of aromatase alters the stress-induced activation of neural pathways has not been examined. Here we assessed central patterns of c-fos mRNA induced by 30 min of restraint in 65-d-old adult male rats that were implanted with sc capsules of the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD), introduced within 12 h of birth and removed on d 21 of weaning. Neonatal ATD decreased the expression of arginine vasopressin within extrahypothalamic regions in adults, confirming reduced estrogen exposure during development. As adults, ATD-treated animals showed higher corticosterone responses at 30 min of restraint exposure compared with control animals as well as higher c-fos expression levels in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. ATD treatment also increased stress-induced c-fos within several limbic regions of the forebrain, in addition to areas involved in somatosensory processing. Based on these results, we propose that the conversion of testosterone to estrogen during the neonatal period exerts marked, system-wide effects to organize adult neuroendocrine responses to homeostatic threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda Bingham
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Centre, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
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