scholarly journals Splenic NKG2D confers resilience versus susceptibility in mice after chronic social defeat stress: beneficial effects of (R)-ketamine

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Akemi Sakamoto ◽  
Lijia Chang ◽  
Youge Qu ◽  
Siming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Nkg2d Expression ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Stress Susceptibility

AbstractThe spleen is a large immune organ that plays a key role in the immune system. The precise molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between the spleen and stress-related psychiatric disorders are unknown. Here we investigated the role of spleen in stress-related psychiatric disorders. FACS analysis was applied to determine the contribution of the spleen to susceptibility and resilience in mice that were subjected to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). We found a notable increase in splenic volume and weight in CSDS-susceptible mice compared to control (no CSDS) mice and CSDS-resilient mice. The number of granulocytes, but not of T cells and B cells, in the spleen of susceptible mice was higher than in the spleen of both control and resilient mice. Interestingly, NKG2D (natural killer group 2, member D) expression in the spleen of CSDS-susceptible mice was higher than that in control mice and CSDS-resilient mice. In addition, NKG2D expression in the spleen of patients with depression was higher than that in controls. Both increased splenic weight and increased splenic NKG2D expression in CSDS-susceptible mice were ameliorated after a subsequent administration of (R)-ketamine. The present findings indicate a novel role of splenic NKG2D in stress susceptibility versus resilience in mice subjected to CSDS. Furthermore, abnormalities in splenic functions in CSDS-susceptible mice were ameliorated after subsequent injection of (R)-ketamine. Thus, the brain–spleen axis might, at least in part, contribute to the pathogenesis of stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression.

scholarly journals Chronic stress impairs male spermatogenesis function and nectin-3 protein expression in the testis

2020 ◽  
pp. 297-306
Author(s):  
T. Li ◽  
J. Yao ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
Q. Li ◽  
J. Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Histological Structure ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Corticotropin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Control Male ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress

Chronic stress is a crucial public issue that occurs when a person is repetitively stimulated by various stressors. Previous researches have reported that chronic stress induces spermatogenesis dysfunction in the reproductive system, but its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The nectin protein family, including nectin-1 to nectin-4, is Ca(2+)-independent immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecules, that are widely expressed in the hippocampus, testicular tissue, epithelial cells and other sites. Nectin-3 contributes to the sperm development at the late stage, and the abnormal expression of nectin-3 impairs spermatogenesis. Some recent studies have demonstrated that stress induces a decrease in nectin-3 expression in the hippocampus via corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) to corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) pathway. Here, we tested whether chronic stress also caused a reduction in nectin-3 expression in the testis. We established a chronic social defeat stress paradigm, which provides naturalistic and complex chronic stress in male C57BL/6 mice. After 25 days of chronic social defeat stress, the mice showed weight loss, thymic atrophy and some other typical symptoms of chronic stress (e.g. anxiety-like behavior and social avoidance behavior). We found gonad atrophy, testicular histological structure changes and semen quality reductions in the stressed mice. The stressed male mice significantly spent more time to impregnate the female mice than the control male mice. Moreover, nectin-3 protein levels in stressed mice were significantly decreased in the testes compared with those in control mice. In addition, we found that the CRHR1 expression level was increased in the testes of stressed mice. Therefore, we demonstrated a decreased level of nectin-3 expression and an increase in CRHR1 expression in the testis after exposure to chronic stress, which may provide a potential therapeutic target for the spermatogenesis dysfunction induced by chronic stress.

scholarly journals The protective role of Neuregulin1-ErbB4 signaling in a chronic social defeat stress model

Neuroreport ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 678-685
Author(s):  
Wenjuan Wang ◽  
Yong Qiao ◽  
Huiying Qu ◽  
Lin Zhu ◽  
Linlin Mu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Defeat ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Stress Model ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress

scholarly journals Histone Lysine Demethylase JMJD2D/KDM4D and Family Members Mediate Effects of Chronic Social Defeat Stress on Mouse Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Mood Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 833
Author(s):  
Swati Maitra ◽  
Nitin Khandelwal ◽  
Scherazad Kootar ◽  
Pooja Sant ◽  
Salil S. Pathak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mood Disorders ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Histone Lysine ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Proliferation And Differentiation ◽  
Lysine Residues ◽  
Induced Changes

Depression, anxiety and related mood disorders are major psychiatric illnesses worldwide, and chronic stress appears to be one of the primary underlying causes. Therapeutics to treat these debilitating disorders without a relapse are limited due to the incomplete molecular understanding of their etiopathology. In addition to the well-studied genetic component, research in the past two decades has implicated diverse epigenetic mechanisms in mediating the negative effects of chronic stressful events on neural circuits. This includes the cognitive circuitry, where the dynamic hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis gets affected in depression and related affective disorders. Most of these epigenetic studies have focused on the impact of acetylation/deacetylation and methylation of several histone lysine residues on neural gene expression. However, there is a dearth of investigation into the role of demethylation of these lysine residues in chronic stress-induced changes in neurogenesis that results in altered behaviour. Here, using the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) paradigm to induce depression and anxiety in C57BL/6 mice and ex vivo DG neural stem/progenitor cell (NSCs/NPCs) culture we show the role of the members of the JMJD2/KDM4 family of histone lysine demethylases (KDMs) in mediating stress-induced changes in DG neurogenesis and mood disorders. The study suggests a critical role of JMJD2D in DG neurogenesis. Altered enrichment of JMJD2D on the promoters of Id2 (inhibitor of differentiation 2) and Sox2 (SRY-Box Transcription Factor 2) was observed during proliferation and differentiation of NSCs/NPCs obtained from the DG. This would affect the demethylation of repressive epigenetic mark H3K9, thus activating or repressing these and possibly other genes involved in regulating proliferation and differentiation of DG NSCs/NPCs. Treatment of the NSCs/NPCs culture with Dimethyloxallyl Glycine (DMOG), an inhibitor of JMJDs, led to attenuation in their proliferation capacity. Additionally, systemic administration of DMOG in mice for 10 days induced depression-like and anxiety-like phenotype without any stress exposure.

scholarly journals What it takes to be at the top: The interrelationship between chronic social stress and social dominance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merima Šabanović ◽  
He Liu ◽  
Vongai Mlambo ◽  
Hala Aqel ◽  
Dipesh Chaudhury
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Social Preference ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Chronic Social Stress ◽  
Hierarchy Formation ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Stress Susceptibility

AbstractDominance hierarchies of social animal groups are influenced by complex factors such as stress. Stress experienced by an animal prior to social interactions with a conspecific may be a determinant of their future social dynamics. Additionally, long-term occupancy of a specific hierarchical rank can have psychophysiological effects, leading to vulnerability to future stress.The current study aimed to delineate differential effects of stress acting before or after hierarchy formation. Using the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) paradigm we performed behavioural investigations to determine whether exposure to CSDS before hierarchy formation predicted the new dominance status. Moreover, in another study we investigated whether social rank predicted stress vulnerability.We found that CSDS did not impede the establishment of dominance in new hierarchies as both stress-susceptible (socially avoidant) and –resilient (social) mice were able to attain dominant ranks. In contrast, within newly established hierarchies of stress-naïve mice, the subordinate, but not dominant, mice exhibit significantly greater avoidance of novel social targets. However, following exposure to CSDS, both lowest- and highest-ranked mice exhibit strong susceptibility to stress as measured by decreased interactions with a novel social target.These results suggest that the response to chronic social stress did not determine social rank in new cohorts, but low-status mice in newly established groups exhibited lower sociability to novel social targets. Interestingly, exposure of a hierarchical social group to chronic social stress led to stress-susceptibility in both high- and low-status mice as measured by social interaction.HighlightsStress susceptibility to chronic social defeat did not impede the establishment of dominance in new hierarchies.Subordinate mice exhibit reduced social preference after hierarchy formation.Following chronic social defeat stress, both subordinate and dominant mice exhibit susceptible-like reduction in social interaction, but dominant mice exhibit the greater decrease in social preference as compared to baseline.

scholarly journals Transcriptome-Wide Identification of G-to-A RNA Editing in Chronic Social Defeat Stress Mouse Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Tao ◽  
Chun-Yan Ren ◽  
Zhi-Yuan Wei ◽  
Fuquan Zhang ◽  
Jinyu Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Editing ◽  
Mouse Models ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Social Defeat ◽  
Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Chronic Social Defeat Stress ◽  
Solute Carrier ◽  
The Brain

Emerging evidence suggests that RNA editing is associated with stress, neurological diseases, and psychiatric disorders. However, the role of G-to-A RNA editing in chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) remains unclear. We herein identified G-to-A RNA editing and its changes in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key region of the brain reward system, in CSDS mouse models under emotional stress (ES) and physiological stress (PS) conditions. Our results revealed 3812 high-confidence G-to-A editing events. Among them, 56 events were significantly downregulated while 23 significantly upregulated in CSDS compared to controls. Moreover, divergent editing patterns were observed between CSDS mice under ES and PS conditions, with 42 and 21 events significantly upregulated in PS and ES, respectively. Interestingly, differential RNA editing was enriched in genes with multiple editing events. Genes differentially edited in CSDS included those genetically associated with mental or neurodevelopmental disorders, especially mood disorders, such as FAT atypical cadherin 1 and solute carrier family 6 member 1. Notably, changes of G-to-A RNA editing were also implicated in ionotropic glutamate receptors, a group of well-known targets of adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing. Such results demonstrate dynamic G-to-A RNA editing changes in the brain of CSDS mouse models, underlining its role as a potential molecular mechanism of CSDS and stress-related diseases.

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