Stress Induced Hormone and Neuromodulator Changes in Menopausal Depressive Rats
Open Access
- 13 June 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Vol. 9, 253
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00253
Abstract
Previously, we showed that neuromodulators are important factors involved in depression, here we aim to further investigate the interactions between neuromodulators and sex hormone involved in menopause related depression in rats. Methods: Menopausal depression was made with bilateral ovariectomies in female SD rats followed by chronic mild unpredictable stress treatment for 21 days. 36 rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham surgery group, sham/stress group, surgery group, surgery/stress group. Then open-field locomotor scores and sucrose intake were employed to observe behavior changes. The levels of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) in the cerebral spinal fluid and serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisone were determined with High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured with radioimmunoassay. Results: The open-field locomotor scores and sucrose intake were significantly decreased after the surgery and stress treatment (p < 0.01). The Serum E2 level decreased significantly after the surgery (p < 0.01), but serum LH, FSH levels increased significantly in the surgery group than the sham surgery group (p < 0.01). The cortisone levels increased significantly in sham/stress group than that in the sham surgery group during the first two weeks at stressful treatment, but decrease afterwards. The monoamine levels in the surgery/stress group were much lower than those in the sham surgery group (p < 0.01). The correlation analysis found that LH and FSH are related more to the neurotransmitter release than E2. Conclusion: Ovary removal rats showed depression-like behaviors, with LH and FSH increase and monoamine decrease, and the levels of these monoamines in the stress treated groups changed only after the stressful treatment. The LH, FSH hormone increasing might be the reason for the lower monoamine release, which in turn might be the reason for depressed syndromes in the menopause. The cortisone and ACTH in the serum in the surgery/stress group were much higher than that in the sham surgery group.Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (NIH R01 NS067433)
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Lateral Hypothalamic GABAergic Neurons Encode Reward Predictions that Are Relayed to the Ventral Tegmental Area to Regulate LearningCurrent Biology, 2017
- Estrogen receptor β deficiency impairs BDNF–5-HT 2A signaling in the hippocampus of female brain: A possible mechanism for menopausal depressionPsychoneuroendocrinology, 2017
- Norepinephrine Transporter Gene Variants and Remission From Depression With Venlafaxine Treatment in Older AdultsAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2017
- Menopause and depression: keep your eye on the long runMenopause, 2016
- Triangulating meta-analyses: the example of the serotonin transporter gene, stressful life events and major depression.BMC Psychology, 2016
- Inhibitory Input from the Lateral Hypothalamus to the Ventral Tegmental Area Disinhibits Dopamine Neurons and Promotes Behavioral ActivationNeuron, 2016
- Serotonin and Dopamine Gene Variation and Theory of Mind Decoding Accuracy in Major Depression: A Preliminary InvestigationPLOS ONE, 2016
- Ventral tegmental ionotropic glutamate receptor stimulation of nucleus accumbens tonic dopamine efflux blunts hindbrain-evoked phasic neurotransmission: Implications for dopamine dysregulation disordersNeuroscience, 2013
- Dopamine neurons modulate neural encoding and expression of depression-related behaviourNature, 2012
- Central α1-adrenergic system in behavioral activity and depressionBiochemical Pharmacology, 2007