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Chronic social stress induces peripheral and central immune activation, blunted mesolimbic dopamine function, and reduced reward-directed behaviour in mice


Bergamini, Giorgio; Mechtersheimer, Jonas; Azzinnari, Damiano; Sigrist, Hannes; Buerge, Michaela; Dallmann, Robert; Freije, Robert; Kouraki, Afroditi; Opacka-Juffry, Jolanta; Seifritz, Erich; Ferger, Boris; Suter, Tobias; Pryce, Christopher R (2018). Chronic social stress induces peripheral and central immune activation, blunted mesolimbic dopamine function, and reduced reward-directed behaviour in mice. Neurobiology of Stress, 8:42-56.

Abstract

Psychosocial stress is a major risk factor for depression, stress leads to peripheral and central immune activation, immune activation is associated with blunted dopamine (DA) neural function, DA function underlies reward interest, and reduced reward interest is a core symptom of depression. These states might be inter-independent in a complex causal pathway. Whilst animal-model evidence exists for some specific steps in the pathway, there is currently no animal model in which it has been demonstrated that social stress leads to each of these immune, neural and behavioural states. Such a model would provide important existential evidence for the complex pathway and would enable the study of causality and mediating mechanisms at specific steps in the pathway. Therefore, in the present mouse study we investigated for effects of 15-day resident-intruder chronic social stress (CSS) on each of these states. Relative to controls, CSS mice exhibited higher spleen levels of granulocytes, inflammatory monocytes and T helper 17 cells; plasma levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase; and liver expression of genes encoding kynurenine pathway enzymes. CSS led in the ventral tegmental area to higher levels of kynurenine and the microglia markers Iba1 and and higher binding activity of DA D1 receptor; and in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to higher kynurenine, lower DA turnover and lower expression. Pharmacological challenge with DA reuptake inhibitor identified attenuation of DA stimulatory effects on locomotor activity and NAcc expression in CSS mice. In behavioural tests of operant responding for sucrose reward validated as sensitive assays for NAcc DA function, CSS mice exhibited less reward-directed behaviour. Therefore, this mouse study demonstrates that a chronic social stressor leads to changes in each of the immune, neural and behavioural states proposed to mediate between stress and disruption of DA-dependent reward processing. The model can now be applied to investigate causality and, if demonstrated, underlying mechanisms in specific steps of this immune-neural-behavioural pathway, and thereby to identify potential therapeutic targets.

Abstract

Psychosocial stress is a major risk factor for depression, stress leads to peripheral and central immune activation, immune activation is associated with blunted dopamine (DA) neural function, DA function underlies reward interest, and reduced reward interest is a core symptom of depression. These states might be inter-independent in a complex causal pathway. Whilst animal-model evidence exists for some specific steps in the pathway, there is currently no animal model in which it has been demonstrated that social stress leads to each of these immune, neural and behavioural states. Such a model would provide important existential evidence for the complex pathway and would enable the study of causality and mediating mechanisms at specific steps in the pathway. Therefore, in the present mouse study we investigated for effects of 15-day resident-intruder chronic social stress (CSS) on each of these states. Relative to controls, CSS mice exhibited higher spleen levels of granulocytes, inflammatory monocytes and T helper 17 cells; plasma levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase; and liver expression of genes encoding kynurenine pathway enzymes. CSS led in the ventral tegmental area to higher levels of kynurenine and the microglia markers Iba1 and and higher binding activity of DA D1 receptor; and in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to higher kynurenine, lower DA turnover and lower expression. Pharmacological challenge with DA reuptake inhibitor identified attenuation of DA stimulatory effects on locomotor activity and NAcc expression in CSS mice. In behavioural tests of operant responding for sucrose reward validated as sensitive assays for NAcc DA function, CSS mice exhibited less reward-directed behaviour. Therefore, this mouse study demonstrates that a chronic social stressor leads to changes in each of the immune, neural and behavioural states proposed to mediate between stress and disruption of DA-dependent reward processing. The model can now be applied to investigate causality and, if demonstrated, underlying mechanisms in specific steps of this immune-neural-behavioural pathway, and thereby to identify potential therapeutic targets.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:05 Vetsuisse Faculty > Center for Clinical Studies
04 Faculty of Medicine > Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich > Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > Biochemistry
Life Sciences > Physiology
Life Sciences > Molecular Biology
Life Sciences > Endocrinology
Life Sciences > Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Life Sciences > Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Language:English
Date:February 2018
Deposited On:16 Feb 2019 16:48
Last Modified:04 Dec 2023 08:03
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:2352-2895
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:PubMed ID. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.01.004
PubMed ID:29888303
Project Information:
  • : FunderSNSF
  • : Grant ID31003A_160147
  • : Project TitleThe inflamed-amygdala mouse model of depression: linking cellular, molecular and biochemical processes
  • Content: Published Version
  • Language: English
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)