Estrogen Receptor α Drives Pro-Resilient Transcription in Mouse Models of Depression
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE110725 | GEO | 2018/02/16
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Depression and anxiety disorders are more prevalent in females, but the majority of research in animal models, the first step in finding new treatments, has focused predominantly on males. Here we report that exposure to subchronic variable stress (SCVS) induces depression-associated behaviors in female mice, whereas males are resilient as they do not develop these behavioral abnormalities. In concert with these different behavioral responses, transcriptional analysis of nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major brain reward region, by use of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed markedly different patterns of stress regulation of gene expression between the sexes. Among the genes displaying sex differences was DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a), which shows a greater induction in females after SCVS. Interestingly, Dnmt3a expression levels were increased in the NAc of depressed humans, an effect seen in both males and females. Local overexpression of Dnmt3a in NAc rendered male mice more susceptible to SCVS, whereas Dnmt3a knock-out in this region rendered females more resilient, directly implicating this gene in stress responses. Associated with this enhanced resilience of female mice upon NAc knock-out of Dnmt3a was a partial shift of the NAc female transcriptome toward the male pattern after SCVS. These data indicate that males and females undergo different patterns of transcriptional regulation in response to stress and that a DNA methyltransferase in NAc contributes to sex differences in stress vulnerability. mRNA profiles of sex-specific in stress response were generated in the Nucleus Accumbens for 3 female control mice, 3 male control mice, 3 stressed female mice, 3 stressed male mice. Cre-mediated Dnmt3a knock-out was performed on stressed mice, with 3 males and 3 females expressing control GFP and 3 males and 3 females expressing CRE/GFP.
2016-08-04 | E-GEOD-85136 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Here we show that ?-catenin mediates pro-resilient and anxiolytic effects in mice in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, an effect that is mediated by ?-catenin signaling in D2-type medium spiny neurons (MSNs) specifically. Conversely, blocking ?-catenin function in NAc promotes susceptibility to chronic stress, and we show evidence of robust suppression of ?-catenin transcriptional activity in the NAc both of depressed humans examined postmortem as well as of mice that display a susceptible phenotype after chronic stress, with a converse upregulation in mice that are stress resilient. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate a global, genome-wide enrichment of ?-catenin in the NAc of resilient mice, and specifically identify Dicer1—important in small RNA (e.g., microRNA [miRNA]) biogenesis—as a critical ?-catenin target gene involved in mediating a resilient phenotype. Small RNA-seq after excising ?-catenin from the NAc in the context of chronic stress reveals dynamic ?-catenin-dependent miRNA regulation associated with resilience. Control: 2 samples, Resilient: 2 samples, Susceptible: 2 samples; DNA input: 1 sample.
2014-11-13 | E-GEOD-61294 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Here we show that ?-catenin mediates pro-resilient and anxiolytic effects in mice in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, an effect that is mediated by ?-catenin signaling in D2-type medium spiny neurons (MSNs) specifically. Conversely, blocking ?-catenin function in NAc promotes susceptibility to chronic stress, and we show evidence of robust suppression of ?-catenin transcriptional activity in the NAc both of depressed humans examined postmortem as well as of mice that display a susceptible phenotype after chronic stress, with a converse upregulation in mice that are stress resilient. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate a global, genome-wide enrichment of ?-catenin in the NAc of resilient mice, and specifically identify Dicer1—important in small RNA (e.g., microRNA [miRNA]) biogenesis—as a critical ?-catenin target gene involved in mediating a resilient phenotype. Small RNA-seq after excising ?-catenin from the NAc in the context of chronic stress reveals dynamic ?-catenin-dependent miRNA regulation associated with resilience. GFP_Control: 12 samples, GFP_Resilient: 12 samples, GFP_Susceptible: 4 samples; CRE_Control: 12 samples, CRE_Susceptible: 8 samples.
2014-11-13 | E-GEOD-61295 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Depression and anxiety disorders are more prevalent in females, but the majority of research in animal models, the first step in finding new treatments, has focused predominantly on males. Here we report that exposure to subchronic variable stress (SCVS) induces depression-associated behaviors in female mice, whereas males are resilient as they do not develop these behavioral abnormalities. In concert with these different behavioral responses, transcriptional analysis of nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major brain reward region, by use of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed markedly different patterns of stress regulation of gene expression between the sexes. Among the genes displaying sex differences was DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a), which shows a greater induction in females after SCVS. Interestingly, Dnmt3a expression levels were increased in the NAc of depressed humans, an effect seen in both males and females. Local overexpression of Dnmt3a in NAc rendered male mice more susceptible to SCVS, whereas Dnmt3a knock-out in this region rendered females more resilient, directly implicating this gene in stress responses. Associated with this enhanced resilience of female mice upon NAc knock-out of Dnmt3a was a partial shift of the NAc female transcriptome toward the male pattern after SCVS. These data indicate that males and females undergo different patterns of transcriptional regulation in response to stress and that a DNA methyltransferase in NAc contributes to sex differences in stress vulnerability.
2016-08-04 | GSE85136 | GEO
Project description:Here we show that β-catenin mediates pro-resilient and anxiolytic effects in mice in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, an effect that is mediated by β-catenin signaling in D2-type medium spiny neurons (MSNs) specifically. Conversely, blocking β-catenin function in NAc promotes susceptibility to chronic stress, and we show evidence of robust suppression of β-catenin transcriptional activity in the NAc both of depressed humans examined postmortem as well as of mice that display a susceptible phenotype after chronic stress, with a converse upregulation in mice that are stress resilient. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate a global, genome-wide enrichment of β-catenin in the NAc of resilient mice, and specifically identify Dicer1—important in small RNA (e.g., microRNA [miRNA]) biogenesis—as a critical β-catenin target gene involved in mediating a resilient phenotype. Small RNA-seq after excising β-catenin from the NAc in the context of chronic stress reveals dynamic β-catenin-dependent miRNA regulation associated with resilience.
2014-11-13 | GSE61295 | GEO
Project description:Here we show that β-catenin mediates pro-resilient and anxiolytic effects in mice in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, an effect that is mediated by β-catenin signaling in D2-type medium spiny neurons (MSNs) specifically. Conversely, blocking β-catenin function in NAc promotes susceptibility to chronic stress, and we show evidence of robust suppression of β-catenin transcriptional activity in the NAc both of depressed humans examined postmortem as well as of mice that display a susceptible phenotype after chronic stress, with a converse upregulation in mice that are stress resilient. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate a global, genome-wide enrichment of β-catenin in the NAc of resilient mice, and specifically identify Dicer1—important in small RNA (e.g., microRNA [miRNA]) biogenesis—as a critical β-catenin target gene involved in mediating a resilient phenotype. Small RNA-seq after excising β-catenin from the NAc in the context of chronic stress reveals dynamic β-catenin-dependent miRNA regulation associated with resilience.
2014-11-13 | GSE61294 | GEO
Project description:Stressful circumstances are significant contributors to mental illnesses, such as major depressive disorder. Anhedonia, which is the loss of the ability to enjoy pleasure, including rewarding activities or social contexts, is considered a key symptom of depression. Although stress-induced depression is associated with anhedonia in humans and animals, the underlying molecular mechanisms of anhedonic responses remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted RNA sequencing to profile the medial prefrontal cortex which was substantially associated with the CUS-induced anhedonic behavioral phenotypes. Employing chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), we determined two subpopulations based on sucrose preference, which was highly correlated with social reward: susceptible (SUS, anhedonic) vs. resilient (RES, non-anhedonic) groups. We identified Syt4 as a hub gene in a gene network unique to anhedonia by conducting a weighted gene co-expression network analysis of the RNA sequencing data from the mPFC of SUS and RES mice. We also confirmed that Syt4 overexpression in the mPFC was pro-susceptible, while the Syt4 knockdown was pro-resilient; the pro-susceptible effects of SYT4 were mediated through the reduction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) signaling in the mPFC. These findings suggested that SYT4-BDNF interactions in the mPFC could be a crucial regulatory mechanism of anhedonic susceptibility to chronic stress.
2024-03-06 | GSE226576 | GEO
Project description:Despite depression being one of the most prevalent and debilitating disorders worldwide, it has been difficult to understand its pathophysiology and to develop more effective treatments. Maladaptive transcriptional regulation within limbic neural circuits, including reward processing regions such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), in response to chronic stress is thought to be a major contributor to the development of the syndrome. Epigenetic events?in particular, histone writers and erasers?that alter chromatin structure to regulate programs of gene expression have increasingly been associated with depression-related behavioral abnormalities in animal models and in depressed humans examined postmortem. However, very little is known about the ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers that control nucleosome positioning and the packing state of chromatin. Here we show that the ACF complex, part of the ISWI family of chromatin remodelers, is persistently and selectively upregulated in the NAc of mice that are susceptible to chronic social stress, as well as in the NAc of depressed human. We further establish that ACF induction is both necessary and sufficient for susceptibility to stress-induced depressive-like behaviors. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate that altered ACF binding after chronic stress is strongly correlated with altered nucleosome positioning, in particular, around the transcriptional start sites of affected genes. These alterations in ACF binding and nucleosome repositioning are associated with repressed expression of a subset of genes in animals that are susceptible to chronic stress. Together, these findings establish that active ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling by the ACF complex is a key regulator in the repression of genes that mediate susceptibility to social stress, and provide novel candidate targets for improved therapeutics of depression and other stress-related disorders. c57bl/6 mice underwent chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), and social interaction test was used to separate animals into control, susceptible and resilient groups. Nucleus accumbens (NAc) tissue was collected 48 hours after the last defeat session, and then Acf1, SNF2H ChIP-seq or H3 MNase-seq were performed based on the control, susceptible, and resilient groups. Three sequencing replicates were performed on each group.
2015-09-21 | E-GEOD-54263 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling proteins are being implicated increasingly in the regulation of complex behaviors, including models of several psychiatric disorders. Here, we demonstrate that Baz1b, an accessory subunit of the ISWI family of chromatin remodeling complexes, is upregulated in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, in both chronic cocaine-treated mice and mice that are resilient to chronic social defeat stress. In contrast, no regulation is seen in mice that are susceptible to this chronic stress. Viral-mediated overexpression of Baz1b, along with its associated subunit Smarca5, in mouse NAc is sufficient to potentiate both rewarding responses to cocaine, including cocaine self-administration, and resilience to chronic social defeat stress. However, despite these similar, proreward behavioral effects, genome-wide mapping of BAZ1B in NAc revealed mostly distinct subsets of genes regulated by these chromatin remodeling proteins after chronic exposure to either cocaine or social stress. Together, these findings suggest important roles for BAZ1B and its associated chromatin remodeling complexes in NAc in the regulation of reward behaviors to distinct emotional stimuli and highlight the stimulus-specific nature of the actions of these regulatory proteins. BAZ1B (WSTF) ChIP-seq of mouse. Cocaine vs Saline, 3 biological replicates. In social defeat model: Normal control vs Susceptible vs Resilient, 3 biological replicates.
2016-07-30 | E-GEOD-85005 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Animals susceptible to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) exhibit depression-related behaviors, and show aberrant transcription across several limbic brain regions. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) in particular shows unique susceptible versus resilient phenotypes at the transcriptional, neuroanatomical, and physiological levels. Early life stress (ELS) promotes susceptibility to CSDS in adulthood, but associated enduring changes in transcriptional control mechanisms in NAc have not yet been investigated. Here, we examined long-lasting changes in histone modifications induced in NAc by ELS and studied their underlying mechanisms in mediating heightened lifelong stress susceptibility in male and female mice. We identify methylation of lysine 79 of histone H3 (H3K79me) and the enzymes that control this modification, selectively in D2-type medium spiny neurons, as crucial for the expression of ELS-induced stress susceptibility, and reveal the transcriptional networks regulated by this mechanism. Finally, we demonstrate the potential clinical viability of this approach by showing that systemic delivery of a small molecule inhibitor of H3K79me reverses ELS-induced behavioral deficits.
2020-12-09 | GSE133889 | GEO