Sex-Dependent Modulation of Acute Stress Reactivity After Early Life Stress in Mice: Relevance of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Expression.

ABSTRACT: Early life stress (ELS) is considered a major risk factor for developing psychopathology. Increasing evidence points towards sex-dependent dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as a contributing mechanism. Additionally, clinical studies suggest that the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) may further confer genetic vulnerability/resilience on a background of ELS. The link between ELS, sex and the HPA axis and how this interacts with MR genotype is understudied, yet important to understand vulnerability/resilience to stress. We used the early life-limited nesting and bedding model to test the effect of ELS on HPA properties in adult female and male mice carrying a forebrain-specific heterozygous knockout for MR. Basal HPA axis activity was measured by circadian peak and

SUBMITTER: Bonapersona V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6693524 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature