Project description:Susceptibility to depression-like behavioral abnormalities in mice is studied with a well-established social defeat stress model. Responses to social defeat are associated with widespread transcriptomic changes in several brain regions. Here we present the first study of genome-wide cytosine methylation patterns of mice susceptible to social defeat stress using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on DNA from the nucleus accumbens, a key brain reward region implicated in depression. We find a greater proportion of CpG hypermethylation than hypomethylation in susceptible mice compared to controls, with an opposite trend in the CHG and CHH contexts. Among the genes with the largest extent of differential methylation we find several which have been identified in earlier studies of gene expression changes related to social defeat, including estrogen receptor alpha (encoded by Esr1) and the deleted in colorectal cancer (Dcc) gene. Genes exhibiting differential methylation are enriched in GO terms of nervous system development, neurogenesis and structure development, which associated with learning memory and stress response. Our data provide a new evidence of the association of DNA methylation profiles and susceptibility to chronic stress.
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.
Project description:Social stress is well known to be involved in the occurrence and exacerbation of mental illness, and also various life-style related diseases such as hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, there is little information on tissue-specific gene expression in response to social stress, which reflects our daily life. Liver is one of the most important organs, owing to its biological functions such as energy metabolic homeostasis, metabolization and detoxification of endo- and exogenous substances. In order to elucidate the mechanism underlying response to social stress in the liver, we investigated hepatic gene expression in mice exposed to isolation stress using DNA microarray. Male BALB/c mice (4 weeks old) were housed 5 per cage for 10 days acclimatization. Then mice were exposed to isolation stress for 30 days. After stress treatment, the mouse liver RNA was subjected to DNA microarray analysis. Taking the false discovery rate into account, isolation stress altered expression of 420 genes. Moreover, Gene Ontology analysis of these differentially expressed genes indicated that isolation stress remarkably down-regulated lipid metabolism-related pathway through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-ï¡ (PPARï¡), while lipid biosynthesis pathway regulated by sterol regulatory element binding factor-1 (SREBF-1), Golgi vesicle transport and secretory pathway-related genes were significantly up-regulated. These results suggested that isolation for 30 days, mild and consecutive social stress, not only regulate the systems for lipid metabolism but also cause the endoplasmic reticulum stress in mouse liver. Experiment Overall Design: Male BALB/c mice (4 weeks old, Japan SLC, Shizuoka, Japan) weighing 14-18 g were housed 5 per cage. After acclimatization for 10 days, the mice were exposed to isolation (1 mouse per cage). All cages were placed in a foam plastic box in order to avoid social contact. To enhance the feeling of isolation, the bed volume in each cage for the isolated mice was reduced to one-tenth of that in the control group. The weight of bedding chips was about 2 g. All mice were housed in an air-conditioned room ( room temperature: 23 ± 1°C, humidity: 55 ± 5 %) under 12 h dark/12 h light cycles, with free access to tap water and MF diet (Oriental Yeast Co., Tokyo, Japan).
Project description:Chronic stress is a key risk factor for a variety of diseases, but the determinants of individual stress susceptibility are still unclear. Using a recently developed paradigm for chronic social stress in mice we identified animals that were resistant or susceptible to the persistent effects of chronic stress exposure. Gene expression analysis in laser-microdissected hippocampal subfields of both groups revealed differentially regulated AMPA receptor subunits, which might affect the susceptibility of an individual to chronic social stress. To test this hypothesis, animals were treated with the AMPA receptor potentiator LY451646 or vehicle during the last 4 weeks of chronic stress exposure. Enhanced AMPA receptor function in chronically stressed animals ameliorated the lasting effects of the chronic stress exposure on physiological, neuroendocrine and behavioural parameters. Our data suggest that differences in AMPA receptor function may underlie individual stress susceptibility and support AMPA receptor potentiators as potential medication in stress-related diseases. Keywords: phenotype, chronic stress, AMPA We have subjected 120 individuals to the chronic social stress procedure, which was recently shown to result in robust effects on neuroendocrine and behavioural parameters (Sterlemann V, 2008). Following the stress procedure all animals were single housed for 7 days. Corticosterone secretion was significantly increased in the chronic stress group compared to controls after one week of single housing. Within the chronic stress group we observed a large variation, where some individuals had recovered from the stress procedure, while others still showed a largely increased corticosterone secretion. After 4 more weeks of single housing, the difference in basal corticosterone secretion between the animals susceptible to chronic stress and unsusceptible or control subjects was still evident. From the group extremes in the chronically stressed animals we selected the 6 most-affected and the 6 most resistant individuals. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the observed differences in individual stress susceptibility between these mice we laser dissected the CA1 and the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus in the selected mice and performed a gene expression profiling analysis. Pooled amplified RNA samples were then hybridised on Illumina mouse BeadChips (N=4 per group) and detected in the Illumina BeadArray Reader (Illumina, Inc., San Diego, CA).
Project description:In order to better understand the effects of social stress on the prefrontal cortex, we investigated gene expression in mice subjected to acute and repeated social encounters of different duration using microarrays. The observed up-regulation of genes associated with vascular system and brain injury suggests that stressful social encounters may affect brain function through the stress-induced dysfunction of the vascular system. We studied gene expression profiles of prefrontal cortices of male mice subjected to social stress of different durations: Comparisons included: acute stress (24 hours after single social stress episode) vs. acute control (unstressed), stress-8 days vs. control-8 days, stress-13 days vs. control-13 days, stress-13 days+5 days of rest vs. control-13 days+5 days of rest. For each comparison, we analyzed 3 biological replicates per group. Two of out of three biological replicates were further replicated in dye swap (final dye swap failed due to problem during microarray hybridization). Each biological replicate consisted of equal amounts of total RNA from 3 mice subjected to the same experimental condition.
Project description:Cell-specific transcriptomic analysis were performed on PFC endothelial cells of stress-susceptible (SS) and resilient (RES) mice along with females subjected to 6 days of subchronic variable stress to identify novel genes and pathways involved in stress responses. These gene lists were compared to published findings obtained in the male NAc following 10 days of chronic social stress exposure (Dudek et al., 2020)
Project description:In order to better understand the effects of social stress on the prefrontal cortex, we investigated gene expression in mice subjected to acute and repeated social encounters of different duration using microarrays. The observed up-regulation of genes associated with vascular system and brain injury suggests that stressful social encounters may affect brain function through the stress-induced dysfunction of the vascular system. The study was supported by Grant N N311 604938, 2011/03/N/NZ29/05222 and partially by IP2011 030371. Statistical analysis of microarray data was supported with Grant N N519 657940.
Project description:Appropriately responding to stressful events is important for maintaining health and well-being of an organism. With respect to social stress, the response is not always as straightforward as reacting to physical stressors, e.g. extreme heat, and thus has to be balanced subtly. Particularly, regulatory mechanisms contributing to gaining resilience in the face of mild social stress are not fully deciphered yet. We employed an intrinsic social hierarchy stress paradigm in mice of both sex to identify key factors for coping strategies. While global transcriptomic changes could not be observed in male mice, several genes which were previously reported to be involved in synaptic plasticity, learning and anxiety-like behavior were differentially regulated in female mice. Moreover, changes in N6-methyladenosine-modification of mRNA associated with corticosterone level occurred. Further investigation of proteins involved in m6A modification revealed that no significant changes of amount or activity could be detected for male mice. However, METTL3 and WTAP, subunits of the methyltransferase complex, showed elevated levels in female mice. N6-adenosyl-methylation is the most prominent type of mRNA methylation and plays a crucial role in processes such as metabolism, but also response to physical stress. Our findings underpin its important role by attributing it also to social stress evoked by hierarchy building within same-sex groups.
Project description:Chronic stress exposure in adolescence can lead to a lasting change in stress responsiveness later in life and is associated with increased mental health issues in adulthood. Here we investigate whether the Chronic Social Instability (CSI) paradigm in mice influences the molecular response to novel acute stressors
Project description:Chronic social isolation (CSIS) generates two stress-related phenotypes, resilience and susceptibility. Although brain energy metabolism is important in regulating social behaviors, the molecular mechanisms underlying CSIS resilience remain unclear. To identify protein changes and altered biochemical pathways and processes for resilience to CSIS, prefrontal cortical cytosolic proteomic profiling was performed comparing CSIS-resilient with CSIS-susceptible and control rats. Potential predictive proteins discriminating between the CSIS-resilient and CSIS-susceptible groups were identified by support vector machine-based sequential feature selection and random forest-based feature importance scores. Predominantly decreased levels of glycolytic enzymes, G protein-coupled receptor proteins, Ras subfamily of GTPase proteins, and antioxidant proteins were found in CSIS-resilient vs. CSIS-susceptible groups. Altered levels of Gapdh and proteins involved in microtubule and cytoskeletal organization, and calcium-binding proteins were identified between the two phenotypes. These dynamic changes were accompanied by increased levels of proteins involved in GABA synthesis, the proteasome system, nitrogen metabolism, and chaperone-mediated protein folding. The overall ratio of significantly up- and down-regulated cytosolic proteins suggests adaptive cellular alterations as part of the stress-coping process specific for the CSIS-resilient phenotype.