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Ren Z, Xiao L, Xie Y, Huang Z, Lin S, Si L, Wang G. Effects of testosterone dose on depression-like behavior among castrated adult male rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107046. [PMID: 38626557 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107046] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
Previous research has shown a decrease in serum testosterone levels in male patients with depression. In recent years, the results of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to improve depression have been mixed. Using the classic CUMS model, we induced depressive-like behaviors in rats and observed a decrease in their serum testosterone levels along with an increase in androgen receptor expression in the hippocampus. We then performed castration and sham surgery on male rats and found that testosterone deprivation led to the manifestation of depressive-like behavior that could be ameliorated by TRT. Through a repeated measures experiment consisting of five blocks over a period of 25 days, we discovered that the reduction in depressive-like behavior in testosterone-deprived rats began 22 days after drug administration (0.5 and 0.25 mg/rat). Furthermore, rats in 0.5mgT group showed the most significant improvements. Subsequently, this dose was used in CUMS rats and reduced the occurrence of depressive-like behaviors. Our study has demonstrated the complex interplay between depression and testosterone, as well as the intricate dose-response relationship between TRT and reduction in depression. Our research supports the use of TRT to alleviate depression, but dosage and duration of treatment are critical factors in determining efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyu Ren
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Ling Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China; Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinping Xie
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China; Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengyuan Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Shanshan Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Lujia Si
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China
| | - Gaohua Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China; Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China; Taikang center for life and medical sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, People's Republic of China.
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2
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Bove M, Morgese MG, Dimonte S, Sikora V, Agosti LP, Palmieri MA, Tucci P, Schiavone S, Trabace L. Increased stress vulnerability in the offspring of socially isolated rats: Behavioural, neurochemical and redox dysfunctions. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 131:110945. [PMID: 38242425 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.110945] [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: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Stressful events during pregnancy impact on the progeny neurodevelopment. However, little is known about preconceptional stress effects. The rat social isolation represents an animal model of chronic stress inducing a variety of dysfunctions. Moreover, social deprivation during adolescence interferes with key neurodevelopmental processes. Here, we investigated the development of behavioural, neurochemical and redox alterations in the male offspring of socially isolated female rats before pregnancy, reared in group (GRP) or in social isolation (ISO) from weaning until young-adulthood. To this aim, females were reared in GRP or in ISO conditions, from PND21 to PND70, when they were mated. Their male offspring was housed in GRP or ISO conditions through adolescence and until PND70, when passive avoidance-PA, novel object recognition-NOR and open field-OF tests were performed. Levels of noradrenaline (NA), serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), glutamate (GLU) and GABA were assessed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Moreover, cortical ROS levels were quantified, as well as NF-kB and the NADPH oxidase NOX2 expression, redox status (expressed as GSH:GSSG ratio) and SOD1 amount. A significant decrease of the latency time in the PA was observed in the offspring of ISO females. In the NOR test, while a significant increase in the exploratory activity towards the novel object was observed in the offspring of GRP females, no significant differences were found in the offspring of ISO females. No significant differences were found in the OF test among experimental groups. Theoffspring of ISO females showed increased NA and 5-HIAA levels, whereas in the offspring persistently housed in isolation condition from weaninguntil adulthood, we detected reduced 5-HT levels and ehnanced 5-HIAA amount. No significant changes in GLU concentrations were detected, while decreased GABA content was observed in the offspring of ISO females exposed to social isolation. Increased ROS levels as well as reduced NF-κB, NOX2 expression were detected in the offspring of ISO females. This was accompanied by reduced redox status and enhanced SOD1 levels. In conclusion, our results suggest that female exposure to chronic social stress before pregnancy might have a profound influence on the offspring neurodevelopment in terms of cognitive, neurochemical and redox-related alterations, identifying this specific time window for possible preventive and therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Bove
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Morgese
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Stefania Dimonte
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Vladyslav Sikora
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Lisa Pia Agosti
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Maria Adelaide Palmieri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Paolo Tucci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
| | - Stefania Schiavone
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy.
| | - Luigia Trabace
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 20, Foggia 71122, Italy
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Seabrook LT, Peterson CS, Noble D, Sobey M, Tayyab T, Kenney T, Judge AK, Armstrong M, Lin S, Borgland SL. Short- and Long-Term High-Fat Diet Exposure Differentially Alters Phasic and Tonic GABAergic Signaling onto Lateral Orbitofrontal Pyramidal Neurons. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8582-8595. [PMID: 37793910 PMCID: PMC10727176 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0831-23.2023] [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: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The chronic consumption of caloric dense high-fat foods is a major contributor to increased body weight, obesity, and other chronic health conditions. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critical in guiding decisions about food intake and is altered with diet-induced obesity. Obese rodents have altered morphologic and synaptic electrophysiological properties in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC). Yet the time course by which exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) induces these changes is poorly understood. Here, male mice are exposed to either short-term (7 d) or long-term (90 d) HFD. Long-term HFD exposure increases body weight, and glucose signaling compared with short-term HFD or a standard control diet (SCD). Both short and long-term HFD exposure increased the excitability of lOFC pyramidal neurons. However, phasic and tonic GABAergic signaling was differentially altered depending on HFD exposure length, such that tonic GABAergic signaling was decreased with early exposure to the HFD and phasic signaling was changed with long-term diet exposure. Furthermore, alterations in the short-term diet exposure were transient, as removal of the diet restored electrophysiological characteristics similar to mice fed SCD, whereas long-term HFD electrophysiological changes were persistent and remained after HFD removal. Finally, we demonstrate that changes in reward devaluation occur early with diet exposure. Together, these results suggest that the duration of HFD exposure differentially alters lOFC function and provides mechanistic insights into the susceptibility of the OFC to impairments in outcome devaluation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study provides mechanistic insight on the impact of short-term and long-term high-fat diet (HFD) exposure on GABAergic function in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), a region known to guide decision-making. We find short-term HFD exposure induces transient changes in firing and tonic GABA action on lOFC pyramidal neurons, whereas long-term HFD induces obesity and has lasting changes on firing, tonic GABA and inhibitory synaptic transmission onto lOFC neurons. Given that GABAergic signaling in the lOFC can influence decision-making around food, these results have important implications in present society as palatable energy dense foods are abundantly available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren T Seabrook
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Colleen S Peterson
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Duncan Noble
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Marissa Sobey
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Temoor Tayyab
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Tyra Kenney
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Allap K Judge
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Mataea Armstrong
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Shihao Lin
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Stephanie L Borgland
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada
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Mulholland PJ, Berto S, Wilmarth PA, McMahan C, Ball LE, Woodward JJ. Adaptor protein complex 2 in the orbitofrontal cortex predicts alcohol use disorder. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4766-4776. [PMID: 37679472 PMCID: PMC10918038 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02236-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a life-threatening disease characterized by compulsive drinking, cognitive deficits, and social impairment that continue despite negative consequences. The inability of individuals with AUD to regulate drinking may involve functional deficits in cortical areas that normally balance actions that have aspects of both reward and risk. Among these, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critically involved in goal-directed behavior and is thought to maintain a representation of reward value that guides decision making. In the present study, we analyzed post-mortem OFC brain samples collected from age- and sex-matched control subjects and those with AUD using proteomics, bioinformatics, machine learning, and reverse genetics approaches. Of the 4,500+ total unique proteins identified in the proteomics screen, there were 47 proteins that differed significantly by sex that were enriched in processes regulating extracellular matrix and axonal structure. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that proteins differentially expressed in AUD cases were involved in synaptic and mitochondrial function, as well as transmembrane transporter activity. Alcohol-sensitive OFC proteins also mapped to abnormal social behaviors and social interactions. Machine learning analysis of the post-mortem OFC proteome revealed dysregulation of presynaptic (e.g., AP2A1) and mitochondrial proteins that predicted the occurrence and severity of AUD. Using a reverse genetics approach to validate a target protein, we found that prefrontal Ap2a1 expression significantly correlated with voluntary alcohol drinking in male and female genetically diverse mouse strains. Moreover, recombinant inbred strains that inherited the C57BL/6J allele at the Ap2a1 interval consumed higher amounts of alcohol than those that inherited the DBA/2J allele. Together, these findings highlight the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on the human OFC proteome and identify important cross-species cortical mechanisms and proteins that control drinking in individuals with AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Mulholland
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
| | - Stefano Berto
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Phillip A Wilmarth
- Proteomics Shared Resource, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Christopher McMahan
- School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Clemson-MUSC Artificial Intelligence Hub, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634-0975, USA
| | - Lauren E Ball
- Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - John J Woodward
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
- Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
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5
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Lai NHY, Mohd Zahir IA, Liew AKY, Ogawa S, Parhar I, Soga T. Teleosts as behaviour test models for social stress. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1205175. [PMID: 37744951 PMCID: PMC10512554 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1205175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is an important aspect of our everyday life and exposure to it is an unavoidable occurrence. In humans, this can come in the form of social stress or physical stress from an injury. Studies in animal models have helped researchers to understand the body's adaptive response to stress in human. Notably, the use of behavioural tests in animal models plays a pivotal role in understanding the neural, endocrine and behavioural changes induced by social stress. Under socially stressed conditions, behavioural parameters are often measured physiological and molecular parameters as changes in behaviour are direct responses to stress and are easily assessed by behavioural tests. Throughout the past few decades, the rodent model has been used as a well-established animal model for stress and behavioural changes. Recently, more attention has been drawn towards using fish as an animal model. Common fish models such as zebrafish, medaka, and African cichlids have the advantage of a higher rate of reproduction, easier handling techniques, sociability and most importantly, share evolutionary conserved genetic make-up, neural circuitry, neuropeptide molecular structure and function with mammalian species. In fact, some fish species exhibit a clear diurnal or seasonal rhythmicity in their stress response, similar to humans, as opposed to rodents. Various social stress models have been established in fish including but not limited to chronic social defeat stress, social stress avoidance, and social stress-related decision-making. The huge variety of behavioural patterns in teleost also aids in the study of more behavioural phenotypes than the mammalian species. In this review, we focus on the use of fish models as alternative models to study the effects of stress on different types of behaviours. Finally, fish behavioural tests against the typical mammalian model-based behavioural test are compared and discussed for their viability.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Tomoko Soga
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
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6
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Warren ID, Knowles AJ. Social Experience during Adolescence Shapes Maturation of Parvalbumin-Positive Interneurons in the Left Orbitofrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6109-6111. [PMID: 37648447 PMCID: PMC10476634 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0792-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ian D Warren
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
| | - Asante J Knowles
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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7
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Mulholland PJ, Berto S, Wilmarth PA, McMahan C, Ball LE, Woodward JJ. Adaptor protein complex 2 in the orbitofrontal cortex predicts alcohol use disorder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.28.542637. [PMID: 37398482 PMCID: PMC10312445 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.28.542637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a life-threatening disease characterized by compulsive drinking, cognitive deficits, and social impairment that continue despite negative consequences. The inability of individuals with AUD to regulate drinking may involve functional deficits in cortical areas that normally balance actions that have aspects of both reward and risk. Among these, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critically involved in goal-directed behavior and is thought to maintain a representation of reward value that guides decision making. In the present study, we analyzed post-mortem OFC brain samples collected from age- and sex-matched control subjects and those with AUD using proteomics, bioinformatics, machine learning, and reverse genetics approaches. Of the 4,500+ total unique proteins identified in the proteomics screen, there were 47 proteins that differed significantly by sex that were enriched in processes regulating extracellular matrix and axonal structure. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that proteins differentially expressed in AUD cases were involved in synaptic and mitochondrial function, as well as transmembrane transporter activity. Alcohol-sensitive OFC proteins also mapped to abnormal social behaviors and social interactions. Machine learning analysis of the post-mortem OFC proteome revealed dysregulation of presynaptic (e.g., AP2A1) and mitochondrial proteins that predicted the occurrence and severity of AUD. Using a reverse genetics approach to validate a target protein, we found that prefrontal Ap2a1 expression significantly correlated with voluntary alcohol drinking in male and female genetically diverse mouse strains. Moreover, recombinant inbred strains that inherited the C57BL/6J allele at the Ap2a1 interval consumed higher amounts of alcohol than those that inherited the DBA/2J allele. Together, these findings highlight the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on the human OFC proteome and identify important cross-species cortical mechanisms and proteins that control drinking in individuals with AUD.
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8
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Ferrara NC, Trask S, Padival M, Rosenkranz JA. Maturation of a cortical-amygdala circuit limits sociability in male rats. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:8391-8404. [PMID: 37032624 PMCID: PMC10321102 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad124] [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: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Prefrontal cortical maturation coincides with adolescent transitions in social engagement, suggesting that it influences social development. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is important for social interaction, including ACC outputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA). However, little is known about ACC-BLA sensitivity to the social environment and if this changes during maturation. Here, we used brief (2-hour) isolation to test the immediate impact of changing the social environment on the ACC-BLA circuit and subsequent shifts in social behavior of adolescent and adult rats. We found that optogenetic inhibition of the ACC during brief isolation reduced isolation-driven facilitation of social interaction across ages. Isolation increased activity of ACC-BLA neurons across ages, but altered the influence of ACC on BLA activity in an age-dependent manner. Isolation reduced the inhibitory impact of ACC stimulation on BLA neurons in a frequency-dependent manner in adults, but uniformly suppressed ACC-driven BLA activity in adolescents. This work identifies isolation-driven alterations in an ACC-BLA circuit, and the ACC itself as an essential region sensitive to social environment and regulates its impact on social behavior in both adults and adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C Ferrara
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
| | - Sydney Trask
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 3rd Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States
| | - Mallika Padival
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
| | - Jeremy Amiel Rosenkranz
- Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
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9
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Si L, Xiao L, Xie Y, Xu H, Yuan G, Xu W, Wang G. Social isolation after chronic unpredictable mild stress perpetuates depressive-like behaviors, memory deficits and social withdrawal via inhibiting ERK/KEAP1/NRF2 signaling. J Affect Disord 2023; 324:576-588. [PMID: 36584714 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.12.092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social withdrawal in patients with depression can aggravate depressive symptoms. However, few studies focus on the behavioral changes of social isolation after CUMS. NRF2 had been reported to be down-regulated after CUMS. But whether NRF2 participates in behavioral changes induced by social isolation after CUMS remains unclear. This study aims to develop a new model combined social isolation with CUMS, and investigate whether such behavioral changes are related to NRF2 signaling. METHODS This study included two stages. In Stage 1, rats were subjected to 4-week CUMS and CUMS-susceptible rats were selected. In Stage 2, the CUMS-susceptible rats received 4-week social isolation or social support. Behavioral tests were carried out to observe behavioral changes, including sucrose preference test, forced swimming test, open field test, novel object recognition and social interaction test. QRT-PCR, western blot and immunofluorescence staining detected the ERK/KEAP1/NRF2 signaling. RESULTS CUMS-susceptible rats exhibited depressive-like behaviors accompanied by the down-regulated ERK/KEAP1/NRF2 signaling in hippocampus. In Stage 2, compared with 4-week social support (group CUMSG), 4-week social isolation (group CUMSI) perpetuated the depressive-like behaviors, memory deficits and social withdrawal in CUMS-susceptible rats, as well as lower levels of p-ERK, NRF2, p-NRF2, HO-1 and NQO1, and the higher levels of KEAP1 in hippocampus. CONCLUSION These findings suggested that social isolation after CUMS perpetuated depressive-like behaviors, memory deficits and social withdrawal via inhibiting ERK/KEAP1/NRF2 signaling. This study provided molecular evidence for the effects of post-stress social isolation on mental health, and the antioxidant stress signaling might be a target to rescue these.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lujia Si
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ling Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinping Xie
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Guohao Yuan
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenqian Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Gaohua Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei, People's Republic of China; Taikang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
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