Neurobehavioral abnormalities following prenatal psychosocial stress are differentially modulated by maternal environment

ABSTRACT: The goal of this study was to compare transcriptional profiles of the amygdala from control and (PS) prenatally stressed male and female offspring to elucidate sex-specific molecular mechanisms underlying behavioral and neuroendocrine abnormalities observed after in-utero psychosocial stress exposure. Amygdalar mRNA profiles of 28 day old control and PS male and female mice were generated by preparing sequencing libraries using the NEBNext Ultr II Directional RNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina. After indexing, enrichment through 8 cycles of PCR, and passing initial quality control metrics, individually indexed and compatible libraries were proportionally pooled and sequenced using Nextseq 550 sequencer. The sequencing setting of single read 1 × 85 bp to generate ∼50 M reads per sample was used. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using RUVseq and EdgeR. Results were validated via qPCR We find psychosocial PS results in the emergence of anxiety-like behaviors, an altered behavioral coping strategy to stress, and anhedonia in male and female offspring. Neuroendocrine abnormalities, evidenced by acute stress-induced HPA axis hyperactivity, are only observed in PS female offspring. Our RNA-seq analysis reveals these phenotypic changes in PS offspring to be associated with sex-specific disturbances in genes associated with synaptic transmission, including genes associated with glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling in PS males, and upregulation of DBH, known to regulate NE synthesis, in PS females. Our study represents one of the first detailed analysis of amygdalar transcriptomes generated by RNA-seq comparing control vs prenatally stressed offspring, identifying sex-specific changes in response to in-utero psychosocial stress exposure.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE189330 | GEO | 2022/02/08

REPOSITORIES: GEO