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Blume SR, Padival M, Urban JH, Rosenkranz JA. Disruptive effects of repeated stress on basolateral amygdala neurons and fear behavior across the estrous cycle in rats. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12292. [PMID: 31444385 PMCID: PMC6707149 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48683-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is a precipitating factor in depression and anxiety disorders. Patients with these disorders often show amygdala abnormalities. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is integral in mood and emotion, and is sensitive to stress. While much is known about effects of stress on BLA neuron activity and morphology in males, less is known in females. We tested whether repeated stress exerts distinct effects on BLA in vivo neuronal activity and morphology of Golgi-stained BLA neurons [lateral (LAT) and basal (BA) nuclei] in adult female rats. Repeated restraint stress increased BLA neuronal firing and caused hypertrophy of BLA neurons in males, while it decreased LAT and BA neuronal firing and caused hypotrophy of neurons in the LAT of females. BLA neuronal activity and function, such as fear conditioning, shifts across the estrous cycle. Repeated stress disrupted this pattern of BLA activity and fear expression over the estrous cycle. The disruptive effects of stress on the pattern of BLA function across estrous may produce behavior that is non-optimal for a specific phase of the estrous cycle. The contrasting effects of stress may contribute to sex differences in the effects of stress on mood and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon R Blume
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
- AbbVie, Inc., 1 North Waukegan Road, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Mallika Padival
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - Janice H Urban
- Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA
| | - J Amiel Rosenkranz
- Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, The Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA.
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Estrada CM, Ghisays V, Nguyen ET, Caldwell JL, Streicher J, Solomon MB. Estrogen signaling in the medial amygdala decreases emotional stress responses and obesity in ovariectomized rats. Horm Behav 2018; 98:33-44. [PMID: 29248436 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2017] [Revised: 12/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Declining estradiol (E2), as occurs during menopause, increases risk for obesity and psychopathology (i.e., depression, anxiety). E2 modulates mood and energy homeostasis via binding to estrogen receptors (ER) in the brain. The often comorbid and bidirectional relationship between mood and metabolic disorders suggests shared hormonal and/or brain networks. The medial amygdala (MeA) is abundant in ERs and regulates mood, endocrine, and metabolic stress responses; therefore we tested the hypothesis that E2 in the MeA mitigates emotional and metabolic dysfunction in a rodent model of surgical menopause. Adult female rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and received bilateral implants of E2 or cholesterol micropellets aimed at the MeA. E2-MeA decreased anxiety-like (center entries, center time) and depression-like (immobility) behaviors in the open field and forced swim tests (FST), respectively in ovariectomized rats. E2-MeA also prevented hyperphagia, body weight gain, increased visceral adiposity, and glucose intolerance in ovariectomized rats. E2-MeA decreased caloric efficiency, suggestive of increased energy expenditure. E2-MeA also modulated c-Fos neural activity in amygdalar (central and medial) and hypothalamic (paraventricular and arcuate) brain regions that regulate mood and energy homeostasis in response to the FST, a physically demanding task. Given the shared neural circuitry between mood and body weight regulation, c-Fos expression in discrete brain regions in response to the FST may be due to the psychologically stressful and/or metabolic demands of the task. Together, these findings suggest that the MeA is a critical node for mediating estrogenic effects on mood and energy homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Estrada
- Department of Psychology Experimental Psychology Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
| | - Valentina Ghisays
- Department of Psychology Experimental Psychology Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
| | - Elizabeth T Nguyen
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
| | - Jody L Caldwell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
| | - Joshua Streicher
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
| | - Matia B Solomon
- Department of Psychology Experimental Psychology Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States.
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3
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Head shaking in the forced swim test: A robust but unexplored sex difference. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2017; 152:90-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2016.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Shanmugan S, Epperson CN. Estrogen and the prefrontal cortex: towards a new understanding of estrogen's effects on executive functions in the menopause transition. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 35:847-65. [PMID: 23238908 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2012] [Revised: 09/25/2012] [Accepted: 10/03/2012] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Midlife decline in cognition, specifically in areas of executive functioning, is a frequent concern for which menopausal women seek clinical intervention. The dependence of executive processes on prefrontal cortex function suggests estrogen effects on this brain region may be key in identifying the sources of this decline. Recent evidence from rodent, nonhuman primate, and human subject studies indicates the importance of considering interactions of estrogen with neurotransmitter systems, stress, genotype, and individual life events when determining the cognitive effects of menopause and estrogen therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheila Shanmugan
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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5
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Jiang SM, Wu JH, Jia L. Intervention of Mirtazapine on gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia in nude mice with pancreatic carcinoma xenografts. World J Gastroenterol 2012; 18:2867-71. [PMID: 22719198 PMCID: PMC3374993 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i22.2867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2011] [Revised: 04/24/2012] [Accepted: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM: To investigate the effect of Mirtazapine on tumor growth, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status in gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia.
METHODS: Fourteen mice with subcutaneous xenografts of a pancreatic cancer cell line (SW1990) were randomly divided into Mirtazapine and control groups. Either Mirtazapine (10 mg/kg) or saline solution was orally fed to the mice every day after tumor implantation. A model of mild cachexia was then established in both groups by intraperitoneal injection of Gemcitabine (50 mg/kg) 10 d, 13 d, and 16 d after tumor implantation. Tumor size, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status were measured during the experiment. All mice were sacrificed at day 28.
RESULTS: (1) After 7 d of gemcitabine administration, body-weight losses of 5%-7% which suggested mild cachexia were measured; (2) No significant difference in tumor size was detected between the Mirtazapine and control groups (P > 0.05); and (3) During the entire experimental period, food intake and body weight were slightly greater for the Mirtazapine group compared with controls (although these differences were not statistically significant). After 21 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group consumed significantly more food than control mice (3.95 ± 0.14 g vs 3.54 ± 0.10 g, P = 0.004). After 25 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group were also significantly heavier than control mice (17.24 ± 0.53 g vs 18.05 ± 0.68 g, P = 0.014).
CONCLUSION: Mild cachexia model was successfully established by gemcitabine in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. Mirtazapine can improve gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. It was believed to provide a potential therapeutic perspective for further studies on cachexia.
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Furmaga H, Sadhu M, Frazer A. Comparison of ΔFosB immunoreactivity induced by vagal nerve stimulation with that caused by pharmacologically diverse antidepressants. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2012; 341:317-25. [PMID: 22286499 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.111.188953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) has been approved for treatment of refractory depression. However, there have been few, if any, studies directly comparing the effects produced by VNS in animals with those caused by antidepressants, particularly using clinically relevant stimulation parameters in nonanesthetized animals. In this study, ΔFosB immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate different brain regions activated by long-term administration of VNS. Effects of VNS were compared with those caused by sertraline or desipramine (DMI). Double-labeling of ΔFosB and serotonin was used to determine whether serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) were activated by long-term VNS. VNS significantly increased ΔFosB staining in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), parabrachial nucleus (PBN), locus ceruleus (LC), and DRN, as well as in many cortical and limbic areas of brain including those involved in mood and cognition. Most, but not all, of these effects were seen also upon long-term treatments of rats with sertraline or DMI. Some areas where VNS increased ΔFosB (e.g., the NTS, PBN, LC, and peripeduncular nucleus) were not affected significantly by either drug. Sertraline was similar to VNS in causing an increase in the DRN whereas DMI did not. Double-labeling of the DRN with ΔFosB and an antibody for serotonin revealed that only a small percentage of ΔFosB staining in the DRN colocalized with serotonergic neurons. The effects of VNS were somewhat more widespread than those caused by the antidepressants. The increases in ΔFosB produced by VNS were either equivalent to and/or more robust than those seen with antidepressants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Havan Furmaga
- Department of Pharmacology, the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA
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Rubinow DR, Girdler SS. Hormones, heart disease, and health: individualized medicine versus throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Depress Anxiety 2011; 28:E1-E15. [PMID: 21648024 DOI: 10.1002/da.20833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly axiomatic that depression has widespread adverse physiological effects and, conversely, that a variety of physiological systems impact the risk for developing depression. This convergence of depression and altered physiology is particularly dramatic during midlife--a time during which reproductive failure presages dramatic increases in prevalence of both heart disease and depression. The potentially meaningful and illuminating links between estrogen deficiency, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and depression have largely been obscured, first by assertions, subsequently repudiated, that the perimenopause was not a time of increased risk of depression, and more recently by the denegration of hormone replacement therapy by initial reports of the Women's Health Initiative. Increasingly, however, research has led to unavoidable conclusions that CVD and depression share common, mediating pathogenic processes and that these same processes are dramatically altered by the presence or absence of estrogen (E2). This review summarizes data supporting these contentions with the intent of placing depression and estrogen therapy in their proper physiologic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Rubinow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599. USA
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Rubinow DR, Girdler SS. Hormones, heart disease, and health: individualized medicine versus throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Depress Anxiety 2011; 28:282-96. [PMID: 21456038 DOI: 10.1002/da.20810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly axiomatic that depression has widespread adverse physiological effects, and conversely that a variety of physiological systems impact the risk for developing depression. This convergence of depression and altered physiology is particularly dramatic during midlife-a time during which reproductive failure presages dramatic increases in prevalence of both heart disease and depression. The potentially meaningful and illuminating links between estrogen (E2) deficiency, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and depression have largely been obscured, first by assertions, subsequently repudiated that the perimenopause was not a time of increased risk of depression, and more recently by the denegration of hormone replacement therapy by initial reports of the Women's Health Initiative. Increasingly, however, research has led to unavoidable conclusions that CVD and depression share common and mediating pathogenic processes and that these same processes are dramatically altered by the presence or absence of E2. This review summarizes data supporting this contention with the intent of placing depression and E2 therapy in their proper physiologic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Rubinow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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The prefrontal cortex communicates with the amygdala to impair learning after acute stress in females but not in males. J Neurosci 2011; 30:16188-96. [PMID: 21123565 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2265-10.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute stress exposure enhances classical eyeblink conditioning in male rats, whereas exposure to the same event dramatically impairs performance in females (Wood and Shors, 1998; Wood et al., 2001). We hypothesized that stress affects learning differently in males and females because different brain regions and circuits are being activated. In the first experiment, we determined that neuronal activity within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during the stressful event is necessary to disrupt learning in females. In both males and females, the mPFC was bilaterally inactivated with GABA agonist muscimol before the stressor. Inactivation prevented only the impaired performance in females; it had no consequence for performance in males. However, in the second experiment, excitation of the mPFC alone with GABA antagonist picrotoxin was insufficient to elicit the stress effect that was prevented through the inactivation of this region in females. Therefore, we hypothesized that the mPFC communicates with the basolateral amygdala to disrupt learning in females after the stressor. To test this hypothesis, these structures were disconnected from each other with unilateral excitotoxic (NMDA) lesions on either the same or opposite sides of the brain. Females with contralateral lesions, which disrupt the connections on both sides of the brain, were able to learn after the stressful event, whereas those with ipsilateral lesions, which disrupt only one connection, did not learn after the stressor. Together, these data indicate that the mPFC is critically involved in females during stress to impair subsequent learning and does so via communication with the amygdala.
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Hinwood M, Tynan RJ, Day TA, Walker FR. Repeated social defeat selectively increases δFosB expression and histone H3 acetylation in the infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2010; 21:262-71. [PMID: 20513656 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to social stress has been linked to the development and maintenance of mood-related psychopathology; however, the underlying neurobiological changes remain uncertain. In this study, we examined numbers of δFosB-immunoreactive cells in the forebrains of rats subjected to 12 episodes of social defeat. This was achieved using the social conflict model whereby animals are introduced into the home cage of older males ("residents") trained to attack and defeat all such "intruders"; importantly, controls were treated identically except that the resident was absent. Our results indicated that the only region in which δFosB-positive cells were found in significantly higher numbers in intruders than in controls was the infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). This same effect was not apparent using another psychological stressor, noise stress. Cells of the infralimbic mPFC also displayed evidence of chromatin remodeling. We found that exposure to repeated episodes of social defeat increased numbers of cells immunoreactive for histone H3 acetylation, but not for histone H3 phosphoacetylation, in the infralimbic mPFC. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of the infralimbic mPFC in responding to social stress-a finding that provides insight into the possible neurobiological alterations associated with stress-induced psychiatric illness.
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12
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Covington HE, Vialou V, Nestler EJ. From synapse to nucleus: novel targets for treating depression. Neuropharmacology 2009; 58:683-93. [PMID: 20018197 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2009.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2009] [Accepted: 12/07/2009] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The need for newer compounds to treat depression is an ever-growing concern due to the enormous societal and financial ramifications of this disorder. Here, we review some of the candidate systems that could potentially be involved in depression, or an inherent resistance to depression termed resilience, and the numerous protein targets for these systems. A substantial body of literature provides strong evidence that neurotrophic factors, glutamate receptors, hypothalamic feeding peptides, nuclear hormone receptors, and epigenetic mechanisms, among others, will make for interesting targets when examining depressive behavior or resilience in preclinical models, and eventually clinical trials. Although some of these targets for depression already appear promising, new waves of more selective compounds for any molecular system should promote a better understanding of this complex disease and perhaps improved treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herbert E Covington
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY 10029, USA
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Reilly W, Koirala B, Devaud LL. Sex differences in acoustic startle responses and seizure thresholds between ethanol-withdrawn male and female rats. Alcohol Alcohol 2009; 44:561-6. [PMID: 19745208 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agp049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS We have found consistent and significant sex differences in recovery from the increased seizure susceptibility observed during ethanol withdrawal (EW) in our rat model system. The main objective of the present study was to determine if sex differences in EW generalized to an additional behavioral measure startle reactivity. METHODS Acoustic startle or seizure threshold responses were measured in separate groups of rats at 1 day or 3 days of EW. RESULTS Both pair-fed control and EW males showed greater increases in acoustic startle responses than either the female or ovariectomized female (OVX) counterparts. There was a selective effect of pregnanolone on acoustic startle in that it reduced peak force of response only at 3 days EW in male rats. Unexpectedly, it modestly increased startle reactivity in control female and OVX rats. Acute treatment with low-dose ethanol trended toward reducing startle responses in control animals, as expected, while generally enhancing startle responses during EW. All sex conditions showed an enhanced startle response during EW following administration of the higher dose of estradiol compared to control animals. Estradiol did not alter seizure thresholds in control animals. However, it was anticonvulsant for males at 3 days EW, females and OVX at 1 day EW. CONCLUSIONS Observed sex differences in the startle reactivity during EW were consistent with earlier findings comparing EW seizure risk in male and female rats. Responses of OVX suggested that both hormones and differences in brain structures between males and females have a role in these sex differences. Our findings add weight to recommendations that treatment of alcohol withdrawal in humans should consider hormonal status as well as withdrawal time.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Reilly
- Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA
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Kokras N, Antoniou K, Polissidis A, Papadopoulou-Daifoti Z. Antidepressants induce regionally discrete, sex-dependent changes in brain's glutamate content. Neurosci Lett 2009; 464:98-102. [PMID: 19666087 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2009] [Revised: 07/21/2009] [Accepted: 08/04/2009] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests the involvement of glutamate in mood disorders and in the response to antidepressants. However, there is no information regarding a hypothesized sex-dependent glutamatergic modulation following treatment in animal models of depression. We comparatively assayed in male and female Flinders and control Sprague-Dawley rats glutamate and aspartate tissue levels in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens following 14-day treatment with either 10mg/kg clomipramine or mirtazapine, intraperitoneally. Clomipramine increased cortical glutamate in both sexes and hippocampal glutamate only in female Flinders rodents. Mirtazapine had no effect on cortical glutamate content but increased hippocampal glutamate in both Flinders sexes. Neither mirtazapine nor clomipramine altered glutamate levels in the nucleus accumbens. There were no any significant differences in aspartate levels. However, in control male SD rats clomipramine and mirtazapine significantly decreased cortical aspartate levels. Our results indicate that two different types of established antidepressants induce a brain region-specific effect on glutamate content. This effect is also characterized by sex-dependent differences mainly in the hippocampus, highlighting a differentiated response of glutamate to distinct antidepressants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Kokras
- Department of Experimental Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Athens, 75 Mikras Asias st, 11527 Athens, Greece
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Solomon MB, Herman JP. Sex differences in psychopathology: of gonads, adrenals and mental illness. Physiol Behav 2009; 97:250-8. [PMID: 19275906 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 196] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2009] [Revised: 02/10/2009] [Accepted: 02/20/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression are disproportionately prevalent in women. Women are more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders during periods of marked hormonal fluctuations, suggesting that gonadal hormones are involved in stress pathology. Depression and anxiety are both associated with aberrant secretion of glucocorticoids, which also show marked fluctuations across the reproductive cycle and in response to gonadal steroids. Thus, interactions between gonadal and stress hormones may play a major role in predisposing females to stress-related disease. The purpose of this brief review is to highlight preclinical data regarding the role of estrogens in depression and anxiety-like behaviors. While it is evident the exogenous estrogens modulate affective behavior in rodents, there is some disagreement in the literature, perhaps related to experimental designs that vary with respect to administration parameters and stress. Beneficial effects of estrogens on mood are most likely due to estrogen receptor (ER)beta signaling. The antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of ERbeta are consistent with its role in attenuating glucocorticoid responses to stress, suggesting that estrogens, acting at ERbeta, may improve mood by suppressing glucocorticoid hyperactivity. However, additional studies demonstrate that ERbeta signaling in the hippocampus is sufficient to induce antidepressant and anxiolytic behaviors. Thus, ERbeta may improve mood via primary actions on hypothalamic (i.e., paraventricular nucleus) and/or extra-hypothalamic sites. Overall, the preclinical research suggests that selective ER modulators targeting ERbeta may be an attractive alternative or adjunct treatment to currently prescribed antidepressants or anxiolytics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matia B Solomon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, Genome, Research Institute, Reading, OH 45237, USA.
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16
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Sex differences in stress responses: focus on ovarian hormones. Physiol Behav 2009; 97:239-49. [PMID: 19275910 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2008] [Revised: 02/03/2009] [Accepted: 02/20/2009] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Women in the reproductive age are more vulnerable to develop affective disorders than men. This difference may attribute to anatomical differences, hormonal influences and environmental factors such as stress. However, the higher prevalence in women normalizes once menopause is established, suggesting that ovarian hormones may play an important role in the development of depression in women. Ovarian hormones such as estrogen can pass the brain-blood barrier and bind to cytoplasmatic estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha and ER-beta in different areas of the limbic system. During stress, estrogen can modulate the behavioral and neurobiological response depending on the concentrations of estrogen. In this review we present evidence for disparate effects of chronic stress on neuroplasticity and brain activity in male and female rats. Furthermore, we will demonstrate that effects of social support on coping with stress can be mimicked by social housing of rats and that this model can be used for identification of underlying neurobiological mechanisms, including behavior, phosphorylation of CREB and ERK1/2, and brain activity changes as measured with fos expression. Using cyclic administration of estrogen in ovariectomized female rats we could specifically address effects of different plasma estrogen levels and antidepressants on stress-induced neuroplasticity and activity changes. In this model we also studied effects of estrogen on recovery after chronic stress. We conclude that the female brain has a different innate strategy to handle stress than the male brain and that female animal models are necessary for studying the underlying mechanisms and options for treatment.
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Jia L, Shang YY, Li YY. Effect of antidepressants on body weight, ethology and tumor growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. World J Gastroenterol 2008. [PMID: 18666329 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.14.4377.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/29/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM To investigate the effects of mirtazapine and fluoxetine, representatives of the noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant respectively, on body weight, ingestive behavior, locomotor activity and tumor growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. METHODS A subcutaneous xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 was established in nude mice. The tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into mirtazapine group (10 mg/kg per day), fluoxetine group (10 mg/kg per day) and control group (an equivalent normal saline solution) (7 mice in each group). Doses of all drugs were administered orally, once a day for 42 d. Tumor volume and body weight were measured biweekly. Food intake was recorded once a week. Locomotor activity was detected weekly using an open field test (OFT). RESULTS Compared to the fluoxetine, mirtazapine significantly increased food intake from d 14 to 42 and attenuated the rate of weight loss from d 28 to 42 (t = 4.38, P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, food intake was significantly suppressed from d 21 to 42 and weight loss was promoted from d 35 to 42 in the fluoxetine group (t = 2.52, P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in body weight of the mice after removal of tumors among the three groups. The body weight of mice was the heaviest (13.66 +/- 1.55 g) in the mirtazapine group and the lightest (11.39 +/- 1.45 g) in the fluoxetine group (F( (2,12) ) = 11.43, P < 0.01). The behavioral test on d 7 showed that the horizontal and vertical activities were significantly increased in the mirtazapine group compared with the fluoxetine and control groups (F( (2,18) ) = 10.89, P < 0.01). These effects disappeared in the mirtazapine and fluoxetine groups during 2-6 wk. The grooming activity was higher in the mirtazapine group than in the fluoxetine group (10.1 +/- 2.1 vs 7.1 +/- 1.9 ) (t = 2.40, P < 0.05) in the second week. There was no significant difference in tumor volume and tumor weight of the three groups. CONCLUSION Mirtazapine and fluoxetine have no effect on the growth of pancreatic tumor. However, mirtazapine can significantly increase food intake and improve nutrition compared with fluoxetine in a pancreatic cancer mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Jia
- Department of Digestive Diseases, Guangzhou Municipal First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical College, No. 1 Panfu Road, Guangzhou 510180, Guangdong Province, China.
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Deurveilher S, Cumyn EM, Peers T, Rusak B, Semba K. Estradiol replacement enhances sleep deprivation-induced c-Fos immunoreactivity in forebrain arousal regions of ovariectomized rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2008; 295:R1328-40. [DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.90576.2008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
To understand how female sex hormones influence homeostatic mechanisms of sleep, we studied the effects of estradiol (E2) replacement on c-Fos immunoreactivity in sleep/wake-regulatory brain areas after sleep deprivation (SD) in ovariectomized rats. Adult rats were ovariectomized and implanted subcutaneously with capsules containing 17β-E2(10.5 μg; to mimic diestrous E2levels) or oil. After 2 wk, animals with E2capsules received a single subcutaneous injection of 17β-E2(10 μg/kg; to achieve proestrous E2levels) or oil; control animals with oil capsules received an oil injection. Twenty-four hours later, animals were either left undisturbed or sleep deprived by “gentle handling” for 6 h during the early light phase, and killed. E2treatment increased serum E2levels and uterus weights dose dependently, while attenuating body weight gain. Regardless of hormonal conditions, SD increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in all four arousal-promoting areas and four limbic and neuroendocrine nuclei studied, whereas it decreased c-Fos labeling in the sleep-promoting ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO). Low and high E2treatments enhanced the SD-induced c-Fos immunoreactivity in the laterodorsal subnucleus of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis and the tuberomammillary nucleus, and in orexin-containing hypothalamic neurons, with no effect on the basal forebrain and locus coeruleus. The high E2treatment decreased c-Fos labeling in the VLPO under nondeprived conditions. These results indicate that E2replacement modulates SD-induced or spontaneous c-Fos expression in sleep/wake-regulatory and limbic forebrain nuclei. These modulatory effects of E2replacement on neuronal activity may be, in part, responsible for E2's influence on sleep/wake behavior.
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Jia L, Shang YY, Li YY. Effect of antidepressants on body weight, ethology and tumor growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14:4377-82. [PMID: 18666329 PMCID: PMC2731192 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.14.4377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM: To investigate the effects of mirtazapine and fluoxetine, representatives of the noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant respectively, on body weight, ingestive behavior, locomotor activity and tumor growth of human pancreatic carcinoma xenografts in nude mice.
METHODS: A subcutaneous xenograft model of human pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 was established in nude mice. The tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into mirtazapine group [10 mg/(kg·d)], fluoxetine group [10 mg/(kg·d)] and control group (an equivalent normal saline solution) (7 mice in each group). Doses of all drugs were administered orally, once a day for 42 d. Tumor volume and body weight were measured biweekly. Food intake was recorded once a week. Locomotor activity was detected weekly using an open field test (OFT).
RESULTS: Compared to the fluoxetine, mirtazapine significantly increased food intake from d 14 to 42 and attenuated the rate of weight loss from d 28 to 42 (t = 4.38, P < 0.05). Compared to the control group, food intake was significantly suppressed from d 21 to 42 and weight loss was promoted from d 35 to 42 in the fluoxetine group (t = 2.52, P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in body weight of the mice after removal of tumors among the three groups. The body weight of mice was the heaviest (13.66 ± 1.55 g) in the mirtazapine group and the lightest (11.39 ± 1.45 g) in the fluoxetine group (F(2,12) = 11.43, P < 0.01). The behavioral test on d 7 showed that the horizontal and vertical activities were significantly increased in the mirtazapine group compared with the fluoxetine and control groups (F(2,18) = 10.89, P < 0.01). These effects disappeared in the mirtazapine and fluoxetine groups during 2-6 wk. The grooming activity was higher in the mirtazapine group than in the fluoxetine group (10.1 ± 2.1 vs 7.1 ± 1.9 ) (t = 2.40, P < 0.05) in the second week. There was no significant difference in tumor volume and tumor weight of the three groups.
CONCLUSION: Mirtazapine and fluoxetine have no effect on the growth of pancreatic tumor. However, mirtazapine can significantly increase food intake and improve nutrition compared with fluoxetine in a pancreatic cancer mouse model.
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Lin Y, Westenbroek C, Bakker P, Termeer J, Liu A, Li X, Ter Horst GJ. Effects of Long-Term Stress and Recovery on the Prefrontal Cortex and Dentate Gyrus in Male and Female Rats. Cereb Cortex 2008; 18:2762-74. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Khurana RC, Devaud LL. Sex differences in neurotransmission parameters in response to repeated mild restraint stress exposures in intact male, female and ovariectomised female rats. J Neuroendocrinol 2007; 19:511-20. [PMID: 17532795 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2007.01557.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present study determined whether a repeated mild restraint stress exposure would differentially alter neuronal activity in male and female rats to gain insights into neurobiological substrates involved in sex differences in stress-induced behavioural responses. In our first set of experiments, we used Western blot analysis to determine whether alterations in several synaptic proteins were elicited by the repeated stress treatment. We found bidirectional changes in synaptophysin levels in female cerebral cortex and hippocampus that diverged between intact and ovariectomised females. There were persistent elevations in spinophilin levels in the male, but not female, hippocampus following the repeated mild restraint stress exposure. By contrast, levels of the NMDA receptor scaffolding protein, PSD-95, were altered only in intact female cerebral cortex and ovariectomised female hippocampus. We next used immunohistochemical evaluation of Fos expression as a marker for neuronal activation. We found significant increases in Fos immunoreactivity in all sex conditions across multiple brain regions in response to the repeated mild stress. Fos protein induction was greatest in the frontal cortex, piriform cortex and amygdala, with the degree of induction varying by sex condition. Fos induction was dramatically higher in amygdala and piriform cortex only in intact females following repeated stress compared to a single restraint stress exposure, suggestive of sensitisation rather than habituation. By contrast, the frontal cortex of intact and ovariectomised females showed habituation to the repeated stressor. Males displayed modest sensitisation in both the frontal cortex and dentate gyrus with no changes in other brain areas. Taken together, these findings show that exposure to a mild repeated stress results in sex differences in synaptic adaptations and patterns of brain activation that likely contribute to observed sex differences in stress-induced behaviours. This approach provides valuable insights into interactions between the hormonal milieu and responses to a repeated mild stress, and further supports the importance of considering hormonal status in treatment of stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C Khurana
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Biomedical Research Institute, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209-8334, USA
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Tolmacheva EA, van Luijtelaar G. The role of ovarian steroid hormones in the regulation of basal and stress induced absence seizures. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2007; 104:281-8. [PMID: 17493800 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2007.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Ovarian hormones play an important role in the regulation of absence seizures in patients as well as in animal models. The present study examined whether chronic progesterone exposure would induce tolerance for the occurrence of absence seizures and whether reduction in gonadal steroids (via ovariectomy) would alter the number of basal and stress induced absence seizures in WAG/Rij rats, a genetic model for absence epilepsy. METHODS In Experiment 1, female WAG/Rij rats equipped with EEG electrodes received progesterone (P) (20 mg/kg) or cyclodextrin (CD, solvent) i.p. injections once a day for 3 days while a third group received CD injections on Days 1 and 2 and P on Day 3. The EEG was recorded on the day preceding the injections and at each day after injections. In Experiment 2, female WAG/Rij rats equipped with EEG electrodes, were ovariectomized (OVX) or sham operated. EEG recordings were made before and at the 4th, 8th, 10th, 20th, and 35th day after surgery. Rats were then exposed to three series of 10 foot-shocks (FS, 1.5 mA, 1 s) over 3 days. The EEG was recorded 1 h before and 2 h after each FS series. RESULTS Tolerance developed after a single P injection and the effect of P on SWDs was facilitated by two preceding control injections. No differences were found between OVX and sham-operated females in the occurrence of SWDs either in resting conditions or after acute FS exposure. However, OVX females showed a more prominent day-to-day aggravation in SWDs after repeated FS administration. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest an important interaction between hormones of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axes in seizure control. On the one hand, stress interferes with and facilitates the acute effects of progesterone on the occurrence of SWDs and, on the other hand, rats with an intact hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis can better regulate the stress response and develop tolerance to the stressor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena A Tolmacheva
- Department of Biological Psychology, NICI, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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