Postweaning stress affects behavior, brain and gut microbiota of adolescent mice in a sex-dependent manner.
Neuropharmacology
; 248: 109869, 2024 May 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38354850
ABSTRACT
Aggression is an instinctive behavior that has been reported to be influenced by early-life stress. However, the potential effects of acute stress during the postweaning period, a key stage for brain development, on defensive aggression and the associated mechanism remain poorly understood. In the present study, aggressive behaviors were evaluated in adolescent mice exposed to postweaning stress. Serum corticosterone and testosterone levels, neural dendritic spine density, and gut microbiota composition were determined to identify the underlying mechanism. Behavioral analysis showed that postweaning stress reduced locomotor activity in mice and decreased defensive aggression in male mice. ELISA results showed that postweaning stress reduced serum testosterone levels in female mice. Golgi staining analysis demonstrated that postweaning stress decreased neural dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex of male mice. 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that postweaning stress altered the composition of the gut microbiota in male mice. Combined, these results suggested that postweaning stress alters defensive aggression in male mice, which may be due to changes in neuronal structure as well as gut microbiota composition. Our findings highlight the long-lasting and sex-dependent effects of early-life experience on behaviors.
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Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Microbioma Gastrointestinal
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Neuropharmacology
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China