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Sex differences after chronic stress in the expression of opioid-, stress- and neuroplasticity-related genes in the rat hippocampus.

ABSTRACT: Opioid peptides and their receptors re-organize within hippocampal neurons of female, but not male, rats following chronic immobilization stress (CIS) in a manner that promotes drug-related learning. This study was conducted to determine if there are also sex differences in gene expression in the hippocampus following CIS. Adult female and male rats were subjected to CIS (30?min/day) for 10 days. Twenty-four hours after the last stressor, the rats were euthanized, the brains were harvested and the medial (dentate gyrus/CA1) and lateral (CA2/CA3) dorsal hippocampus were isolated. Following total RNA isolation, cDNA was prepared for gene expression analysis using a RT² Profiler PCR expression array. This custom designed qPCR expression array contained genes for opioid peptides and receptors, as well as genes involved in stress-responses and candidate genes involved in synaptic plasticity, including those upregulated following oxycodone self-administration in mice. Few sex differences are seen in hippocampal gene expression in control (unstressed) rats. In response to CIS, gene expression in the hippocampus was altered in males but not females. In males, opioid, stress, plasticity and kinase/signaling genes were all down-regulated following CIS, except for the gene that codes for corticotropin releasing hormone, which was upregulated. Changes in opioid gene expression following chronic stress were limited to the CA2 and CA3 regions (lateral sample). In conclusion, modest sex- and regional-differences are seen in expression of the opioid receptor genes, as well as genes involved in stress and plasticity responses in the hippocampus following CIS.

SUBMITTER: Randesi M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5991341 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex differences after chronic stress in the expression of opioid-, stress- and neuroplasticity-related genes in the rat hippocampus.

Randesi Matthew M Zhou Yan Y Mazid Sanoara S Odell Shannon C SC Gray Jason D JD Correa da Rosa J J McEwen Bruce S BS Milner Teresa A TA Kreek Mary Jeanne MJ

Neurobiology of stress 20180111

Opioid peptides and their receptors re-organize within hippocampal neurons of female, but not male, rats following chronic immobilization stress (CIS) in a manner that promotes drug-related learning. This study was conducted to determine if there are also sex differences in gene expression in the hippocampus following CIS. Adult female and male rats were subjected to CIS (30 min/day) for 10 days. Twenty-four hours after the last stressor, the rats were euthanized, the brains were harvested and t ...[more]

PMID: 29888302

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Project description:Rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have increased in women by 84% over the past ten years relative to a 35% increase in men. This substantive increase in female drinking is alarming given that women experience greater alcohol-related health consequences compared to men. Stress is strongly associated with all phases of alcohol addiction, including drinking initiation, maintenance, and relapse for both women and men, but plays an especially critical role for women. The purpose of the present narrative review is to highlight what is known about sex differences in the relationship between stress and drinking. The critical role stress reactivity and negative affect play in initiating and maintaining alcohol use in women is addressed, and the available evidence for sex differences in drinking for negative reinforcement as it relates to brain stress systems is presented. This review discusses the critical structures and neurotransmitters that may underlie sex differences in stress-related alcohol use (e.g., prefrontal cortex, amygdala, norepinephrine, corticotropin releasing factor, and dynorphin), the involvement of sex and stress in alcohol-induced neurodegeneration, and the role of ovarian hormones in stress-related drinking. Finally, the potential avenues for the development of sex-appropriate pharmacological and behavioral treatments for AUD are identified. Overall, women are generally more likely to drink to regulate negative affect and stress reactivity. Sex differences in the onset and maintenance of alcohol use begin to develop during adolescence, coinciding with exposure to early life stress. These factors continue to affect alcohol use into adulthood, when reduced responsivity to stress, increased affect-related psychiatric comorbidities and alcohol-induced neurodegeneration contribute to chronic and problematic alcohol use, particularly for women. However, current research is limited regarding the examination of sex in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol use. Probing brain stress systems and associated brain regions is an important future direction for developing sex-appropriate treatments to address the role of stress in AUD.

Dataset Information

Sex differences after chronic stress in the expression of opioid-, stress- and neuroplasticity-related genes in the rat hippocampus.

Publications

Sex differences after chronic stress in the expression of opioid-, stress- and neuroplasticity-related genes in the rat hippocampus.

Similar Datasets

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