Sexual differences in locus coeruleus neurons and related behavior in C57BL/6J mice

Biology of Sex Differences

Research

Meritxell Llorca-Torralba¹  Jone Razquin²  Cristina Miguelez²  Irene Suárez-Pereira³  Patricia Mariscal³  Lidia Bravo³  Esther Berrocoso³ 

[1] Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain;Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, 11009, Cádiz, Spain;Neuropsychopharmacology & Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Cell Biology & Histology, University of Cádiz, 11003, Cádiz, Spain;Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48940, Leioa, Spain;Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, 48940, Barakaldo, Spain;Neuropsychopharmacology & Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Neuroscience, University of Cádiz, 11003, Cádiz, Spain;Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029, Madrid, Spain;Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz (INiBICA), Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, 11009, Cádiz, Spain;

关键词: Sex;    Female;    Locus coeruleus;    Noradrenaline;    Anxiety;    Depression;    Pain;    Learning and memory;    Electrophysiology;    Patch clamp;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13293-023-00550-7

 received in 2023-06-06, accepted in 2023-09-13,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn addition to social and cultural factors, sex differences in the central nervous system have a critical influence on behavior, although the neurobiology underlying these differences remains unclear. Interestingly, the Locus Coeruleus (LC), a noradrenergic nucleus that exhibits sexual dimorphism, integrates signals that are related to diverse activities, including emotions, cognition and pain. Therefore, we set-out to evaluate sex differences in behaviors related to LC nucleus, and subsequently, to assess the sex differences in LC morphology and function.MethodsFemale and male C57BL/6J mice were studied to explore the role of the LC in anxiety, depressive-like behavior, well-being, pain, and learning and memory. We also explored the number of noradrenergic LC cells, their somatodendritic volume, as well as the electrophysiological properties of LC neurons in each sex.ResultsWhile both male and female mice displayed similar depressive-like behavior, female mice exhibited more anxiety-related behaviors. Interestingly, females outperformed males in memory tasks that involved distinguishing objects with small differences and they also showed greater thermal pain sensitivity. Immunohistological analysis revealed that females had fewer noradrenergic cells yet they showed a larger dendritic volume than males. Patch clamp electrophysiology studies demonstrated that LC neurons in female mice had a lower capacitance and that they were more excitable than male LC neurons, albeit with similar action potential properties.ConclusionsOverall, this study provides new insights into the sex differences related to LC nucleus and associated behaviors, which may explain the heightened emotional arousal response observed in females.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Society for Women's Health Research and BioMed Central Ltd. 2023

【 图 表 】

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