Estrogen protects against the detrimental effects of repeated stress on glutamatergic transmission and cognition

J Wei; E Y Yuen; W Liu; X Li; P Zhong; I N Karatsoreos; B S McEwen; Z Yan

doi:10.1038/mp.2013.83

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Estrogen protects against the detrimental effects of repeated stress on glutamatergic transmission and cognition

Journal article

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Estrogen protects against the detrimental effects of repeated stress on glutamatergic transmission and cognition

J Wei, E Y Yuen, W Liu, X Li, P Zhong, I N Karatsoreos, B S McEwen and Z Yan

Molecular psychiatry, Vol.19(5), pp.588-598

05/2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2013.83

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https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103629

PMID: 23835908

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Abstract

Receptors, Glutamate - metabolism

Memory Disorders - physiopathology

Receptors, Estrogen - metabolism

Estrogens - pharmacology

Synaptic Transmission - physiology

Aromatase Inhibitors - pharmacology

Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology

Aromatase - metabolism

Male

RNA, Messenger - metabolism

Recognition (Psychology) - physiology

Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects

Cognition - physiology

Female

Synaptic Transmission - drug effects

Pyramidal Cells - drug effects

Estradiol - pharmacology

Pyramidal Cells - physiopathology

Stress, Psychological - drug therapy

Sex Characteristics

Cognition - drug effects

Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Animals

Memory Disorders - drug therapy

Recognition (Psychology) - drug effects

Glutamic Acid - metabolism

Stress, Psychological - physiopathology

Converging evidence suggests that females and males show different responses to stress; however, little is known about the mechanism underlying the sexually dimorphic effects of stress. In this study, we found that young female rats exposed to 1 week of repeated restraint stress show no negative effects on temporal order recognition memory (TORM), a cognitive process controlled by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which was contrary to the impairment in TORM observed in stressed males. Concomitantly, normal glutamatergic transmission and glutamate receptor surface expression in PFC pyramidal neurons were found in repeatedly stressed females, in contrast to the significant reduction seen in stressed males. The detrimental effects of repeated stress on TORM and glutamate receptors were unmasked in stressed females when estrogen receptors were inhibited or knocked down in PFC, and were prevented in stressed males with the administration of estradiol. Blocking aromatase, the enzyme for the biosynthesis of estrogen, revealed the stress-induced glutamatergic deficits and memory impairment in females, and the level of aromatase was significantly higher in the PFC of females than in males. These results suggest that estrogen protects against the detrimental effects of repeated stress on glutamatergic transmission and PFC-dependent cognition, which may underlie the stress resilience of females.

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Title: Estrogen protects against the detrimental effects of repeated stress on glutamatergic transmission and cognition
Creators: J Wei - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
E Y Yuen - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
W Liu - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
X Li - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
P Zhong - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
I N Karatsoreos - Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
B S McEwen - Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
Z Yan - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
Publication Details: Molecular psychiatry, Vol.19(5), pp.588-598
Academic Unit: Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Department of
Publisher: England
Grant note: MH85774 / NIMH NIH HHS
Identifiers: 99900546693201842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article