Correlations of Expression Levels of Lung Cancer Marker Gene Eno2 and Genes of Carcinogenesis and Apoptosis in the Hypothalamus of Mice with Depression-Like Behavior.

We experimentally demonstrated that chronic social stress during the development of a depression-like state enhances lung metastasis and modifies the expression of many carcinogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in the hypothalamus of mice, including genes involved in lung cancer pathogenesis in humans. Analysis of the expression of genes encoding the major clinical markers of lung cancer in the hypothalamus of mice with depression-like behavior revealed increased expression of the Eno2 gene encoding neuron-specific enolase, a blood marker of lung cancer progression in humans. It was shown that the expression of this gene in the hypothalamus correlated with the expression of many carcinogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes. The discovered phenomenon may have a fundamental significance and requires further studies.

[Changes in the Expression of Dopaminergic Genes in Brain Structures of Male Mice Exposed to Chronic Social Defeat Stress: An RNA-seq Study].

Whole-transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq) has been used to analyze changes in the expression of dopaminergic genes that encode proteins involved in the synthesis, inactivation, and neurotransmission of dopamine in the striatum, ventral tegmental area, raphe nuclei of the midbrain, hypothalamus, and hippocampus of male mice subjected to chronic social defeat. The expression of Th, Ddc, and Slc6A3 (Dat1) was upregulated, while that of Ppp1r1b and Sncg was downregulated in the ventral tegmental area; the expression of Th, Ddc, Drd2, and Sncg was downregulated in the raphe nuclei of midbrain; the expression of Th, Aldh2, and Ppp1r1b was upregulated, while that of Маоа was downregulated in the hypothalamus; Drd1 and Snca expression was downregulated and that of Sncb was upregulated in the striatum, and Sncb expression was upregulated in the hippocampus. There were no statistically significant changes in the expression of Comt, Maob, Drd3, Drd4, or Drd5 in the brain areas analyzed in stressed male mice (compared to control animals). Thus, the number of differentially expressed dopaminergic genes and the direction of expression changes in male mice experiencing chronic stress are specific to regions of the brain.

[Changes in immune status induced by repeated aggression in male mice].

It has been shown that psychoneurological disorders are accompanied by different disturbances of immunity. Paper aimed to study the effects of repeated experience of aggression in daily agonistic interactions leading to the development of behavioral psychopathology on the parameters of cellular immunity in the thymus and spleen. There were no found the changes in the weight indexes, the number of cells in the thymus, spleen and blood in aggressive mice. In the spleen of aggressive mice percent of B-lymphocytes--CD19+ and CD16/32+, as well as T-lymphocytes CD4+8-, CD4-8+, and CD4+25(hi) decreased and percent of CD4-25+ increased in comparison with the controls. In the thymus percent of CD4-25+ cells are decreased without changes of other types of lymphocytes. Flow cytometric analysis revealed decreased percentage of apoptotic (A(0)) and resting (G0/G1) cells and increased percentage of proliferating cells in phase S+G2/M in the spleen of aggressive male mice in comparison with the control. The percentage of apoptotic thymocytes is increased and the percentage of thymocytes in S+G2/M phase is decreased under the repeated experience of aggression. Data suggest the possible development of an autoimmune procceses in male mice under the influence of repeated experience of aggression.