Chronic unpredictable stress promotes neuronal apoptosis in the cerebral cortex

NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS

卷:442

Article

Bachis, Alessia¹  Cruz, Maria Idalia¹  Nosheny, Rachel L.¹  Mocchetti, Italo¹ 

[1] Georgetown Univ, Med Ctr, Dept Neurosci, Washington, DC 20057 USA

关键词: caspase-3;    chronic mild stress (CMS);    depression;    desipramine (DMI);    cerebral cortex;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neulet.2008.06.081

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Stress-mediated loss of synaptogenesis in the hippocampus appears to play a role in depressive and mood disorders. However, little is known about the effect of stress/depression on the plasticity and survival of cortical neurons. In this report, we have examined whether chronic. stress increases the vulnerability of neurons in the rat cortex. We have used a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CMS) as a rat model of depression. CMS (5 weeks treatment) produced anedonia and increased corticosterone levels. These effects were accompanied by a detectable increase in caspase-3 positive neurons in the cerebral cortex, suggesting apoptosis. Desipramine (DMI), a well known antidepressant, reversed the pro-apoptotic effect of CMS. These results suggest that antidepressants may reduce the pathological changes seen in stress-induced depressive disorders. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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