1 5253 134 PROGRAMMING CHANGES OF HIPPOCAMPAL MIR-134-5P/SOX2 SIGNAL MEDIATE THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DEPRESSION IN PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE-EXPOSED FEMALE OFFSPRING. DEPRESSION IS A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER AND HAS INTRAUTERINE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS. THIS STUDY AIMED TO CONFIRM THE DEPRESSION SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OFFSPRING RATS INDUCED BY PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE) AND TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM. WISTAR RATS WERE INJECTED WITH DEXAMETHASONE (0.2 MG/KG.D) SUBCUTANEOUSLY DURING THE GESTATIONAL DAYS 9-20 AND PART OF THE OFFSPRING WAS GIVEN CHRONIC STRESS AT POSTNATAL WEEKS 10-12. BEHAVIORAL RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE ADULT PDE FEMALE OFFSPRING WAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEPRESSION, ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED HIPPOCAMPAL MIR-134-5P EXPRESSION AND DECREASED SEX-DETERMINING REGION Y-BOX 2 (SOX2) EXPRESSION, AS WELL AS DISORDERS OF NEURAL PROGENITOR CELLS PROLIFERATION AND HIPPOCAMPAL NEUROGENESIS. THE PDE FEMALE FETAL RATS PRESENTED CONSISTENT CHANGES WITH THE ADULT OFFSPRING, ACCOMPANIED BY THE UPREGULATION OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) EXPRESSION AND DECREASED SIRTUIN 1 (SIRT1) EXPRESSION. WE FURTHER FOUND THAT THE H3K9AC LEVEL OF THE MIR-134-5P PROMOTER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE PDE FETAL HIPPOCAMPUS, AS WELL AS IN ADULT OFFSPRING BEFORE AND AFTER CHRONIC STRESS. IN VITRO, THE CHANGES OF GR/SIRT1/MIR-134-5P/SOX2 SIGNAL BY DEXAMETHASONE WERE CONSISTENT WITH IN VIVO EXPERIMENTS, WHICH COULD BE REVERSED BY GR RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, SIRT1 AGONIST, AND MIR-134-5P INHIBITOR. THIS STUDY CONFIRMED THAT PDE LED TO AN INCREASED EXPRESSION LEVEL AS WELL AS H3K9AC LEVEL OF MIR-134-5P BY ACTIVATING THE GR/SIRT1 PATHWAY IN THE FETAL HIPPOCAMPUS AND THEN INHIBITED THE SOX2 EXPRESSION. THE PROGRAMMING EFFECT MEDIATED BY THE ABNORMAL EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION COULD LAST FROM INTRAUTERINE TO ADULTHOOD, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM LEADING TO HIPPOCAMPAL NEUROGENESIS DISORDERS AND DEPRESSION SUSCEPTIBILITY IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM FOR THE INCREASED DEPRESSIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN ADULT FEMALE OFFSPRING BY PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE). GR, GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR; SIRT1, SIRTUIN 1; SOX2, SEX-DETERMINING REGION Y-BOX 2; NPCS, NEUROPROGENITOR CELLS; H3K9AC, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 ACETYLATION; GRE, GLUCOCORTICOID RESPONSE ELEMENT.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
2 4095  50 MATERNALLY DERIVED LOW GLUCOCORTICOID MEDIATES ADRENAL DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING ALTERATION IN OFFSPRING INDUCED BY DEXAMETHASONE. ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTS DURING PREGNANCY CAN INCREASE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC DISEASES IN ADULT OFFSPRING. THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF FETAL-ORIGINATED DISEASES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH ADRENAL DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING AND HOMEOSTASIS ALTERATION IN OFFSPRING. DEXAMETHASONE IS WIDELY USED FOR PRETERM DELIVERY-RELATED PREGNANCY DISEASES, BUT THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING ALTERATION AND ITS OCCURRENCE MECHANISM OF PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE) ON ADRENAL DEVELOPMENT IN OFFSPRING HAVE NOT BEEN CLARIFIED. IN THIS STUDY, PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE THERAPY COULD INHIBIT NEONATAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAUSE A LOW EXPOSURE OF MATERNALLY DERIVED GLUCOCORTICOID IN CLINIC. THEN, WE ESTABLISHED A RAT MODEL OF PDE AND OBSERVED A SIMILAR PHENOMENON. FURTHER, THE ADRENAL STEROIDOGENIC FUNCTION WAS CONTINUOUSLY INHIBITED IN THE PDE MALE OFFSPRING RATS, ACCOMPANIED BY THE DECREASED H3K27AC LEVEL OF ADRENAL INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1 (IGF1) AND ITS EXPRESSION. MOREOVER, CHRONIC STRESS IN PDE ADULT OFFSPRING RATS COULD REVERSE THE CHANGES OF THE ABOVE INDICATORS THROUGH THE HIGH LEVEL OF GLUCOCORTICOID. IN COMBINATION WITH IN VIVO, IN VITRO AND A SERIES OF INTERFERENCE EXPERIMENTS, WE CONFIRMED THAT THE LOW LEVEL OF ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOIDS INHIBITED THE ADRENAL IGF1 EXPRESSION AND STEROIDOGENIC FUNCTION THROUGH THE GRALPHA/MIR-370-3P/SIRT3 PATHWAY. IN SUMMARY, PDE COULD CONTINUOUSLY INHIBIT THE ADRENAL STEROIDOGENIC FUNCTION IN THE MALE OFFSPRING, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MATERNALLY DERIVED LOW GLUCOCORTICOID-MEDIATED THE ADRENAL DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING ALTERATION IN OFFSPRING. THIS STUDY PROVIDES A THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASIS FOR EXPLAINING THE ADRENAL DEVELOPMENT ORIGIN OF PDE-INDUCED ADULT CHRONIC DISEASES.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
3 5191  58 PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE PROGRAMS THE DECREASED TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS IN OFFSPRING RATS BY LOW LEVEL OF ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOIDS. PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE) CAN DECREASE MATERNAL ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOID LEVEL AND INDUCE TESTICULAR DYSPLASIA IN MALE OFFSPRING RATS. IN THIS STUDY WE INVESTIGATED LOW LEVEL ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOID-MEDIATED TESTICULAR DYSPLASIA IN PDE OFFSPRING AND ELUCIDATED THE INTRAUTERINE EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING MECHANISMS. PREGNANT RATS WERE INJECTED WITH DEXAMETHASONE (0.2 MG.KG(-1).D(-1), SC) ON GESTATIONAL DAY (GD) 9-20. THE OFFSPRING RAT BLOOD AND TESTIS WERE COLLECTED AFTER EUTHANASIA ON GD20, POSTNATAL WEEK (PW) 12 OR PW28. WE SHOWED THAT PDE INDUCED ABNORMAL MORPHOLOGY OF TESTIS AND SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE EXPRESSION OF TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS-RELATED GENES AS WELL AS TESTOSTERONE PRODUCTION BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH. MEANWHILE, SERUM CORTICOSTERONE, THE EXPRESSION AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 14 ACETYLATION (H3K14AC) OF TESTICULAR INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1 (IGF1) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. AFTER THE PREGNANT RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO CHRONIC STRESS FOR 2 WEEKS (PW10-12), SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVEL WAS INCREASED IN THE ADULT PDE OFFSPRING, AND THE ABOVE-MENTIONED OTHER INDICATORS WERE ALSO IMPROVED. CULTURED LEYDIG CELLS (TM3) WERE TREATED WITH CORTICOSTERONE (62.5-500 NM) IN VITRO. WE SHOWED THAT CORTICOSTERONE CONCENTRATION-DEPENDENTLY INHIBITED GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR ALPHA (GRALPHA) AND MIR-124-3P EXPRESSION, INCREASED HISTONE DEACETYLASE 5 (HDAC5) EXPRESSION, AND DECREASED IGF1 H3K14AC LEVEL AND THE EXPRESSION OF IGF1/STEROIDOGENIC ACUTE REGULATORY PROTEIN (STAR), SUGGESTING THAT CORTICOSTERONE AT LOWER THAN PHYSIOLOGICAL LEVEL (<500 NM) INHIBITED TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS BY REDUCING H3K14AC AND THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF IGF1 THROUGH GRALPHA/MIR-124-3P/HDAC5 PATHWAY. IN CONCLUSION, PDE CAN CAUSE PERSISTENT INHIBITION OF TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH IN THE OFFSPRING RATS BY LOW LEVEL OF ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOIDS.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
4 3812  68 INTRAUTERINE ENDOGENOUS HIGH GLUCOCORTICOIDS PROGRAM OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN FEMALE OFFSPRING SECONDARY TO PRENATAL CAFFEINE EXPOSURE. OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION HAS AN INTRAUTERINE ORIGIN, AND PRENATAL CAFFEINE EXPOSURE (PCE) COULD LEAD TO ABNORMAL FOLLICLE COUNTS IN OFFSPRING AFTER BIRTH. HOWEVER, THE EFFECT OF PCE ON OFFSPRING OVARIAN FUNCTION AND ITS MECHANISM OF INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTED THUS FAR. IN THIS STUDY, PREGNANT WISTAR RATS WERE INTRAGASTRICALLY ADMINISTERED CAFFEINE (30 AND 120 MG/KG.D) AT GESTATIONAL DAYS 9-20 (GD9-20). CERTAIN TESTS WERE PERFORMED ON THE BLOOD, OVARIES AND HYPOTHALAMUS OF FEMALE OFFSPRING AT DIFFERENT TIME POINTS. PCE FEMALE OFFSPRING HAD OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN ADULTHOOD COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL. FURTHER RESULTS SHOWED THAT IN UTERO OVARIAN MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS WERE INHIBITED BUT RAPIDLY INCREASED DURING PUBERTY IN THE PCE GROUP. THE HISTONE 3 LYSINE 27 ACETYLATION (H3K27AC) LEVEL OF THE INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1 (IGF1) PROMOTER REGION AND ITS EXPRESSION WERE DECREASED IN THE OVARY, WHICH WAS DUE TO EXPOSURE TO HIGH LEVELS OF FETAL BLOOD CORTICOSTERONE, AND THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION SHIFTED TO INCREASE AFTER BIRTH WITH A DECREASE IN SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS. CHRONIC STRESS LED TO INCREASED SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS IN ADULT OFFSPRING, WHEREAS OVARIAN MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION, AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBITED. MOREOVER, THE ACTIVITY OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-OVARIAN (HPO) AXIS WAS INCREASED IN THE EARLY POSTNATAL PERIOD OF PCE OFFSPRING, AND CHRONIC STRESS REVERSED THESE CHANGES. IN THE KGN CELL LINE, IT WAS FOUND THAT CORTISOL COULD PROMOTE THE TRANSLOCATION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) INTO THE NUCLEUS AND UPREGULATE HISTONE DEACETYLASE 10 (HDAC10) TO INHIBIT THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS. IN SUMMARY, PCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN FEMALE ADULT OFFSPRING, AND THE POTENTIAL MECHANISM IS RELATED TO INTRAUTERINE HIGH GLUCOCORTICOID EXPOSURE BY ACTIVATING THE GR AND RECRUITING HDAC10 TO AFFECT OVARIAN GLUCOCORTICOID-IGF1 AXIS PROGRAMMING AND TO INHIBIT ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
5 2905  41 GENE DYSREGULATION IN THE ADULT RAT PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS AND AMYGDALA BY PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO DEXAMETHASONE. FETAL PROGRAMMING IS THE CONCEPT THAT MATERNAL STRESSORS DURING CRITICAL PERIODS OF FETAL DEVELOPMENT CAN ALTER OFFSPRING PHENOTYPES POSTNATALLY. EXCESS GLUCOCORTICOIDS CAN INTERACT WITH THE FETUS TO EFFECT GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IMPLICATED IN ADVERSE DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATES HOW CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO THE SYNTHETIC GLUCOCORTICOID DEXAMETHASONE DURING LATE GESTATION ALTERS THE EXPRESSION OF GENES RELATED TO BEHAVIOR IN BRAIN AREAS RELEVANT TO THE REGULATION AND FUNCTION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS. PREGNANT WISTAR KYOTO RATS RECEIVED SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS OF DEXAMETHASONE (100 MUG/KG) DAILY FROM GESTATIONAL DAY 15-21 OR VEHICLE ONLY AS SHAM CONTROLS. THE AMYGDALA AND PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS (PVN) WERE MICRO-PUNCHED TO EXTRACT MRNA FOR REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION AND QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE EXPRESSION OF SPECIFIC GENES. IN THE PVN, THE EXPRESSION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR NR3C1 WAS DOWNREGULATED IN FEMALE RATS IN RESPONSE TO PROGRAMMING. THE EXPRESSION OF CACNA1C ENCODING THE CA(V)1.2 PORE SUBUNIT OF L-TYPE VOLTAGE-GATED CALCIUM CHANNELS WAS DOWNREGULATED IN MALE AND FEMALE RATS PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO DEXAMETHASONE. COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO ELEVATED LEVELS OF GLUCOCORTICOIDS PLAYS A ROLE IN THE DYSREGULATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS AND POTENTIALLY LEARNING AND MEMORY BY ALTERING THE EXPRESSION OF SPECIFIC GENES WITHIN THE AMYGDALA AND PVN.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
6 5206  44 PRENATAL STRESS INDUCES LONG-TERM BEHAVIORAL SEX-DEPENDENT CHANGES IN RATS OFFSPRING: THE ROLE OF THE HPA AXIS AND EPIGENETICS. PRECLINICAL GENETIC STUDIES HAVE RELATED STRESS EARLY EXPOSURES WITH CHANGES IN GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, SUCH AS MODIFICATIONS OF DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE DEACETYLATION, AND HISTONES ACETYLATION. THIS STUDY EVALUATES THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL STRESS ON THE BEHAVIOR, HYPOTHALAMUS-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA)-AXIS, AND EPIGENETIC PARAMETERS IN STRESSED DAMS AND THEIR OFFSPRING. THE RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO A PROTOCOL OF CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE MILD STRESS ON THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF PREGNANCY UNTIL THE BIRTH OF OFFSPRING. AFTER BIRTH, MATERNAL CARE WAS EVALUATED FOR SIX DAYS. FOLLOWING WEANING, THE LOCOMOTOR AND DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS OF THE DAMS AND THEIR OFFSPRING (60 DAYS OLD) WERE ASSESSED. THE HPA AXIS PARAMETERS WERE EVALUATED IN SERUM FROM DAMS AND OFFSPRING, AND EPIGENETIC PARAMETERS (HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE (HAT), HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC), DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) ACTIVITIES, AND THE LEVELS OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATED AT LYSINE RESIDUE 9 (H3K9AC) AND HISTONE 3 ACETYLATED AT LYSINE RESIDUE 14 (H3K14AC)) WERE ASSESSED IN DAMS' AND OFFSPRING' BRAINS. PRENATAL STRESS DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE MATERNAL CARE; HOWEVER, IT INDUCED MANIC BEHAVIOR IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. THESE BEHAVIORAL ALTERATIONS IN THE OFFSPRING WERE ACCOMPANIED BY HYPERACTIVITY OF THE HPA-AXIS, EPIGENETIC ADAPTATIONS IN THE ACTIVITY OF HDAC AND DNMT, AND ACETYLATION IN THE HISTONES H3K9 AND H3K14. IN ADDITION, THE PRENATAL STRESSED FEMALE OFFSPRING SHOWED INCREASED LEVELS OF ACTH COMPARED TO THEIR MALE COUNTERPART. OUR FINDINGS REINFORCE THE IMPACT OF PRENATAL STRESS ON BEHAVIOR, STRESS RESPONSE, AND EPIGENETIC PROFILE OF OFFSPRING.	2023	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
7 3978  46 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF PRENATAL SEVERE HYPOXIA ON CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID SYSTEM IN RATS. INTRODUCTION: PRENATAL HYPOXIA IS A RISK FACTOR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS. IT IS KNOWN THAT THE MATERNAL STRESS RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA DETERMINES THE EPIGENETIC IMPAIRMENT OF THE PERINATAL EXPRESSION OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTORS (GR) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF THE PROGENY, BUT SO FAR NO DETAILED STUDY OF HOW THIS AFFECTS THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID SYSTEM DURING FURTHER ONTOGENESIS HAS BEEN PERFORMED. OBJECTIVE: THE GOAL OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF THE PRENATAL HYPOXIA ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID SYSTEM THROUGHOUT LIFE. METHODS: PRENATAL SEVERE HYPOBARIC HYPOXIA (PSH) WAS INDUCED IN THE CRITICAL PERIOD OF EMBRYONIC HIPPOCAMPAL FORMATION ON DAYS 14-16 OF GESTATION IN A HYPOBARIC CHAMBER (180 TORR, 5% OXYGEN, 3 H). THE ACTIVITY OF CENTRAL (HIPPOCAMPUS) AND PERIPHERAL (LIVER) COMPONENTS OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID SYSTEM WAS ASSESSED IN 1-DAY-OLD (NEWBORN), 2-WEEK-OLD (JUVENILE), 3-MONTH-OLD (ADULT), AND 18-MONTH-OLD (AGED) MALE RATS. RESULTS: THE PSH RESULTED IN CONTINUOUSLY ELEVATED BASELINE CORTICOSTERONE BLOOD LEVELS IN THE ADULT AND AGED RATS. THE CHRONIC ELEVATION OF THE CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROGRESSIVE DEFICIT OF THE GR EXPRESSION IN THE LIVER, INCREASED HEPATIC GLYCOGEN CONTENT, DYSREGULATED GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY, AND EVENTUALLY HYPOGLYCEMIA. ELEVATED CORTICOSTERONE APPEARS TO RESULT FROM THE IMPAIRMENT OF THE MECHANISMS OF GLUCOCORTICOID NEGATIVE FEEDBACK SINCE A SUBSTANTIAL DECREASE IN BOTH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GR AND THEIR NUCLEAR LOCALIZATION WAS OBSERVED ALREADY IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF NEWBORN RAT PUPS AND PERSISTED THROUGHOUT LIFE. CORRESPONDING STABLE HIPPOCAMPAL DOWNREGULATION OF GR-DEPENDENT GENES WAS OBSERVED AS WELL. SUPPRESSION OF THE MATERNAL GLUCOCORTICOID STRESS RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA BY METYRAPONE INJECTION TO PREGNANT RATS PRIOR TO EACH HYPOXIC CHALLENGE CONSIDERABLY REDUCED CORTICOSTERONE OVER-RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA AND PREVENTED REDUCED HIPPOCAMPAL GR. CONCLUSIONS: OUR FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THAT IN PROGENY A DEFICIT OF HIPPOCAMPAL GR RESULTING FROM MATERNAL GLUCOCORTICOID RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA REMAINS STABLE THROUGHOUT LIFE AND IS ACCOMPANIED BY SEVERE DISTURBANCES OF BASELINE GLUCOCORTICOID LEVELS AND ITS PERIPHERAL RECEPTION. NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF PSH CAN BE PREVENTED BY INJECTION WITH AN INHIBITOR OF CORTICOSTERONE SYNTHESIS (METYRAPONE) TO PREGNANT FEMALES UNDERGOING HYPOXIA.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
8 2740  30 EXPOSURE TO EARLY LIFE STRESS RESULTS IN EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN A PARKINSONIAN RAT MODEL. EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY INCREASES THE RISK OF MENTAL DISORDERS LATER IN LIFE. CHRONIC EARLY LIFE STRESS MAY ALTER NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE EXPRESSION INCLUDING THOSE FOR BRAIN DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) AND GLIAL CELL DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (GDNF) THAT ARE IMPORTANT IN NEURONAL GROWTH, SURVIVAL, AND MAINTENANCE. MATERNAL SEPARATION WAS USED IN THIS STUDY TO MODEL EARLY LIFE STRESS. FOLLOWING UNILATERAL INJECTION OF A MILD DOSE OF 6-HYDROXYDOPAMINE (6-OHDA), WE MEASURED CORTICOSTERONE (CORT) IN THE BLOOD AND STRIATUM OF STRESSED AND NONSTRESSED RATS; WE ALSO MEASURED DNA METHYLATION AND BDNF AND GDNF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE STRIATUM USING REAL TIME PCR. IN THE PRESENCE OF STRESS, WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS INCREASED CORTICOSTERONE CONCENTRATION IN BOTH BLOOD AND STRIATAL TISSUE. FURTHER TO THIS, WE FOUND HIGHER DNA METHYLATION AND DECREASED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE EXPRESSION. 6-OHDA LESION INCREASED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN BOTH STRESSED AND NONSTRESSED RATS BUT THIS INCREASE WAS HIGHER IN THE NONSTRESSED RATS. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EXPOSURE TO EARLY POSTNATAL STRESS INCREASES CORTICOSTERONE CONCENTRATION WHICH LEADS TO INCREASED DNA METHYLATION. THIS EFFECT RESULTS IN DECREASED BDNF AND GDNF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE STRIATUM LEADING TO DECREASED PROTECTION AGAINST SUBSEQUENT INSULTS LATER IN LIFE.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
9 1903  51 ENHANCED NEUROINFLAMMATION MEDIATED BY DNA METHYLATION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR TRIGGERS COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION AFTER SEVOFLURANE ANESTHESIA IN ADULT RATS SUBJECTED TO MATERNAL SEPARATION DURING THE NEONATAL PERIOD. BACKGROUND: MOUNTING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT CHILDREN WHO EXPERIENCE ABUSE AND NEGLECT ARE PRONE TO CHRONIC DISEASES AND PREMATURE MORTALITY LATER IN LIFE. ONE MECHANISTIC HYPOTHESIS FOR THIS PHENOMENON IS THAT EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY ALTERS THE EXPRESSION OR FUNCTIONING OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF LIFE AND THEREBY INCREASES SENSITIVITY TO INFLAMMATORY STIMULATION. AN EXAGGERATED PRO-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE A KEY CAUSE OF POSTOPERATIVE COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION (POCD). THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE ADVERSITY ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND NEUROINFLAMMATION AFTER SEVOFLURANE ANESTHESIA IN ADULT RATS AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH EFFECTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GR. METHODS: WISTAR RAT PUPS WERE REPEATEDLY SUBJECTED TO INFANT MATERNAL SEPARATION (EARLY LIFE STRESS) FROM POSTNATAL DAYS 2-21. IN ADULTHOOD, THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THE SIGNALING OF HIPPOCAMPAL PRO-INFLAMMATORY FACTORS AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB) AFTER SEVOFLURANE ANESTHESIA WERE EVALUATED. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL SEPARATION (MS) ON THE EXPRESSION OF GR AND THE DNA METHYLATION STATUS OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF EXON 1(7) OF GR AND WHETHER BEHAVIORAL CHANGES AND NEUROINFLAMMATION AFTER ANESTHESIA WERE REVERSIBLE WHEN THE EXPRESSION OF GR WAS INCREASED BY ALTERING DNA METHYLATION. RESULTS: MS INDUCED COGNITIVE DECLINE AFTER SEVOFLURANE INHALATION IN THE MORRIS WATER MAZE AND CONTEXT FEAR CONDITIONING TESTS AND ENHANCED THE RELEASE OF CYTOKINES AND THE ACTIVATION OF ASTROCYTE INTRACELLULAR NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING INDUCED BY SEVOFLURANE IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF ADULT RATS. BLOCKING NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING BY PYRROLIDINE DITHIOCARBAMATE (PDTC) INHIBITED THE RELEASE OF CYTOKINES. MS ALSO REDUCED THE EXPRESSION OF GR AND UPREGULATED THE METHYLATION LEVELS OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF GR EXON 1(7), AND SUCH EFFECTS WERE REVERSED BY TREATMENT WITH THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA) IN ADULT RATS. MOREOVER, TSA TREATMENT IN ADULT MS RATS INHIBITED THE OVERACTIVATION OF ASTROCYTE INTRACELLULAR NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING AND THE RELEASE OF CYTOKINES AND ALLEVIATED COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION AFTER SEVOFLURANE ANESTHESIA. CONCLUSIONS: EARLY LIFE STRESS INDUCES COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION AFTER SEVOFLURANE ANESTHESIA, PERHAPS DUE TO THE ABERRANT METHYLATION OF THE GR GENE PROMOTER, WHICH REDUCES THE EXPRESSION OF THE GR GENE AND FACILITATES EXAGGERATED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES.	2017	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
10 1418  44 DIFFERENCES IN DNA METHYLATION REPROGRAMMING UNDERLIE THE SEXUAL DIMORPHISM OF BEHAVIORAL DISORDER CAUSED BY PRENATAL STRESS IN RATS. PRENATAL STRESS (PS) CAN LEAD TO NEUROENDOCRINE AND EMOTIONAL DISORDERS LATER IN ADOLESCENCE. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN THESE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED; HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER THERE ARE SEX DIFFERENCES IN EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING IN RATS EXPOSED TO PS. PREGNANT FEMALE RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS FROM GESTATIONAL DAY (G)12 TO G18. FROM POSTNATAL DAY (P)38 TO P45, SUBGROUPS OF OFFSPRING INCLUDING BOTH MALES AND FEMALES WERE SUBJECTED TO BEHAVIORAL TESTING AND BRAIN TISSUE SPECIMENS WERE ANALYZED BY DNA PYROSEQUENCING, WESTERN BLOTTING, AND GOLGI STAINING TO ASSESS CHANGES IN METHYLATION PATTERN OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) GENE, EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) AND DNA DEMETHYLASE, AND DENDRITE MORPHOLOGY, RESPECTIVELY. THE DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR DECITABINE WAS ADMINISTERED TO RATS PRIOR TO PS TO FURTHER EVALUATE THE ROLE OF METHYLATION IN THE SEXUALLY DIMORPHIC EFFECTS OF PS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PS INCREASED ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR IN OFFSPRING, ESPECIALLY IN FEMALES, WHILE DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIOR WAS INCREASED IN MALE OFFSPRING COMPARED TO CONTROL LITTERMATES. THE METHYLATION PATTERN IN THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE GR GENE DIFFERED BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES. SEX-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF DNMTS (DNMT1 AND DNMT3A) AND DNA DEMETHYLASE (TET METHYLCYTOSINE DIOXYGENASE 2) WERE ALSO OBSERVED. INTERESTINGLY, DECITABINE ALLEVIATED THE BEHAVIORAL DISORDER CAUSED BY PS AND RESTORED DENDRITE DENSITY AND MORPHOLOGY IN FEMALE BUT NOT MALE RATS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT DIFFERENT CHANGE PATTERNS OF DNMT AND DEMETHYLASE IN THE TWO SEXES AFTER PS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SEXUALLY DIMORPHISM, WHICH COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF STRESS-RELATED DISORDERS.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
11  586  28 BEHAVIOURAL AND EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF PATERNAL EXPOSURE TO CANNABINOIDS DURING ADOLESCENCE ON OFFSPRING VULNERABILITY TO STRESS. CHRONIC CANNABINOID EXPOSURE DURING ADOLESCENCE IN MALE RATS INDUCES CHRONIC COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS. HOWEVER, THE IMPACT OF THIS FORM OF EXPOSURE ON OFFSPRING VULNERABILITY TO STRESS IS UNKNOWN. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE BEHAVIOURAL AND EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF STRESS IN THE OFFSPRING OF MALE RATS WHOSE FATHERS WERE EXPOSED TO CANNABINOIDS DURING ADOLESCENCE. MALE ADOLESCENT OFFSPRING OF WIN55,212-2 (1.2 MG/KG) TREATED RATS WERE EXPOSED DURING ONE WEEK TO VARIABLE STRESSORS AND SUBJECTED TO BEHAVIOURAL TESTS OF ANXIETY AND EPISODIC-LIKE MEMORY, FOLLOWED BY AN ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES ENZYMES DNMT1 AND DNMT3A MRNA IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX. STRESS EXPOSURE INDUCED A SIGNIFICANT ANXIOGENIC-LIKE EFFECT BUT DID NOT AFFECT THE EPISODIC-LIKE MEMORY IN THE OFFSPRING OF WIN55,212-2 EXPOSED FATHERS IN COMPARISON TO THE OFFSPRING OF NON-EXPOSED FATHERS. THESE BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES WERE SUBSEQUENT TO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND DNMT1 AND DNMTA3 TRANSCRIPTION IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT THE DELETERIOUS EFFECT OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO CANNABINOIDS DURING ADOLESCENCE ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE EXPOSED INDIVIDUALS BUT MAY INCREASE THE VULNERABILITY TO STRESS-INDUCED ANXIETY IN THE OFFSPRING AND ALTER THEIR EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
12 1808  46 EFFECTS OF ADOLESCENT SOCIAL STRESS AND ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENT ON COGNITIVE INFLEXIBILITY AND BDNF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN THE MPFC OF ADULT MICE. ADOLESCENT SOCIAL STRESS (ASS) CAN INCREASE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DEPRESSION IN ADULTHOOD. HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEURAL MECHANISMS REMAIN UNCLEAR. CORTICALLY MEDIATED COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTIONS ARE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED AS AN INDEPENDENT AND IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR OF DEPRESSION. USING SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS, A CLASSICAL ANIMAL MODEL OF DEPRESSION, OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES FOUND THAT MICE SUBJECTED TO THIS FORM OF STRESS DURING EARLY ADOLESCENCE DISPLAYED COGNITIVE INFLEXIBILITY (CI) IN ADULTHOOD. THIS CHANGE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A DOWN-REGULATION OF BDNF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (MPFC); THIS GENE ENCODES A KEY MOLECULE INVOLVED IN DEPRESSION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT ACTION. IN THE PRESENT PAPER, WE IDENTIFIED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF BDNF AS A POSSIBLE MECHANISM UNDERLYING THE BEHAVIORAL AND MOLECULAR CHANGES. ASS INDUCED A SET OF DEPRESSIVE PHENOTYPES, INCLUDING INCREASED SOCIAL AVOIDANCE AND CI, AS WELL AS REDUCED LEVELS OF TOTAL BDNF AND ISOFORM IV BUT NOT ISOFORM I OR VI TRANSCRIPTS IN THE MPFC. IN PARALLEL WITH CHANGES IN BDNF GENE EXPRESSION, PREVIOUSLY STRESSED ADULT MICE SHOWED INCREASED LEVELS OF DIMETHYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE K9 (H3K9ME2) IMMEDIATELY DOWNSTREAM OF THE BDNF IV PROMOTER. ON THE OTHER HAND, NO DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND IN TRIMETHYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE K4 (H3K4ME3) OR IN ACETYLATION OF HISTONE H3 AT LYSINE K9 (H3K9AC) OR AT K4 (H3K4AC) IN THE BDNF IV PROMOTER. LIKEWISE, NO ALTERATIONS WERE FOUND IN DNA METHYLATION OF THE BDNF IV PROMOTER. ADDITIONALLY, TREATMENT WITH THE CHRONIC ANTIDEPRESSANT TRANYLCYPROMINE REVERSED BDNF EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND RELATED GENE TRANSCRIPTION WHILE ALSO REVERSING CI, BUT NOT SOCIAL AVOIDANCE, IN PREVIOUSLY STRESSED ADULT MICE. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC CHANGES TO THE BDNF GENE IN THE MPFC AFTER ADOLESCENT SOCIAL ADVERSITY MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION IN DEPRESSION AND ANTIDEPRESSANT ACTION IN ADULTHOOD.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
13 5207  35 PRENATAL STRESS INDUCES SPATIAL MEMORY DEFICITS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS INDICATIVE OF HETEROCHROMATIN FORMATION AND REDUCED GENE EXPRESSION. STRESS DURING PREGNANCY HAS A WIDE VARIETY OF NEGATIVE EFFECTS IN BOTH HUMAN [1] AND ANIMAL OFFSPRING [2]. THESE EFFECTS ARE ESPECIALLY APPARENT IN VARIOUS FORMS OF LEARNING AND MEMORY SUCH AS OBJECT RECOGNITION [3] AND SPATIAL MEMORY [4]. THE COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL STRESS (PNS) MAY BE MEDIATED THROUGH EPIGENETIC CHANGES SUCH AS HISTONE ACETYLATION AND DNA METHYLATION [5]. AS SUCH, THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE PNS ON MEMORY AND EPIGENETIC MEASURES IN ADULT OFFSPRING. MICE THAT UNDERWENT PNS EXHIBITED IMPAIRED SPATIAL MEMORY IN THE MORRIS WATER MAZE, AS WELL AS SEX-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN LEVELS OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) 1 PROTEIN, AND ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 (ACH3) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS, AND SERUM CORTICOSTERONE. MALE MICE EXPOSED TO PNS EXHIBITED DECREASED HIPPOCAMPAL ACH3, WHEREAS FEMALE PNS MICE DISPLAYED A FURTHER REDUCTION IN ACH3, AS WELL AS HEIGHTENED HIPPOCAMPAL DNMT1 PROTEIN LEVELS AND CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT PNS MAY EPIGENETICALLY REDUCE TRANSCRIPTION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS, PARTICULARLY IN FEMALES IN WHOM THIS EFFECT MAY BE RELATED TO INCREASED BASELINE STRESS HORMONE LEVELS, AND WHICH MAY UNDERLIE THE SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN RATES OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN HUMANS.	2015	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
14 6551  40 TRANSGENERATIONAL BLUNTING OF MORPHINE-INDUCED CORTICOSTERONE SECRETION IS ASSOCIATED WITH DYSREGULATED GENE EXPRESSION IN MALE OFFSPRING. A NUMBER OF PARENTAL EXPERIENCES, EVEN WHEN OCCURRING PRIOR TO CONCEPTION, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INDUCE TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECTS BEYOND THE FIRST GENERATION. IN THE CASE OF EXPOSURE TO DRUGS OF ABUSE, STUDIES IN RODENTS SUGGEST THAT OFFSPRING DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN HOW THEY RESPOND TO THE DRUG TO WHICH THEIR PARENT WAS EXPOSED. WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS IN MORPHINE ANALGESIA, CONDITIONED PLACE PREFERENCE AND SELF-ADMINISTRATION IN THE OFFSPRING OF FEMALES EXPOSED TO MORPHINE DURING ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION TO EFFECTS ON PAIN PERCEPTION AND REWARD, MORPHINE ALSO MODULATES THE HYPOTHALAMIC PITUITARY ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS. THE PURPOSE OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER FEMALE ADOLESCENT MORPHINE EXPOSURE RESULTS IN TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECTS ON REGULATION OF THE HPA AXIS BY MORPHINE IN FUTURE GENERATIONS. ADOLESCENT MORPHINE WAS ADMINISTERED TO FEMALE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS USING A 10 DAY, ESCALATING DOSE REGIMEN OF MORPHINE (5-25 MG/KG; FROM 30 TO 39 DAYS OF AGE). CONTROL ANIMALS RECEIVED SALINE. BOTH SALINE AND MORPHINE EXPOSED FEMALES (SAL-F0 AND MOR-F0, RESPECTIVELY) WERE MATED WITH DRUG NAIVE MALES BEGINNING AT LEAST 3 WEEKS AFTER THE FINAL INJECTION. PLASMA CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS WERE MEASURED IN MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING (F1) DURING ADULTHOOD FOLLOWING 0, 0.1, OR 10 MG/KG MORPHINE. IN ADDITION, EXPRESSION OF CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE (CRH) AND MU OPIOID RECEPTOR (OPRM1) IN THE PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS (PVN) WERE MEASURED USING QUANTITATIVE PCR. MOR-F1 MALES, BUT NOT FEMALES, HAD BLUNTED MORPHINE-INDUCED CORTICOSTERONE SECRETION. THIS EFFECT WAS SPECIFIC TO OFFSPRING FROM FEMALES EXPOSED TO MORPHINE DURING ADOLESCENCE AS THOSE EXPOSED DURING ADULTHOOD PRODUCED OFFSPRING IN WHICH THE EFFECT WAS ABSENT. IN ADDITION, MOR-F1 MALES HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER LEVELS OF PVN CRH FOLLOWING SALINE. THESE EFFECTS WERE NOT DRIVEN BY PVN OPRM1 IN THE F1 MALES AS THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES BASED ON MATERNAL ADOLESCENT EXPOSURE. TO DETERMINE THE PERSISTENCE OF THE BLUNTED MORPHINE-INDUCED CORTICOSTERONE EFFECT, SAL-F2 AND MOR-F2 MALES WERE EXAMINED. BLUNTED MORPHINE-INDUCED CORTICOSTERONE SECRETION EXTENDED INTO THE MOR-F2 GENERATION, AS WELL AS EFFECTS ON CRH. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS ADDITIONAL DYSREGULATION OFOPRM1 EXPRESSION IN THE PVN IN MOR-F2 COMPARED WITH SAL-F2 MALES. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT SEX-SPECIFIC ALTERATIONS IN OPIOID-MEDIATED REGULATION OF THE HPA AXIS ARE TRANSGENERATIONALLY TRANSMITTED FOR AT LEAST TWO GENERATIONS FOLLOWING FEMALE ADOLESCENT MORPHINE EXPOSURE. THESE EFFECTS MAY PLAY A ROLE IN THE PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED CHANGES IN MORPHINE ANALGESIA AND REWARD-RELATED BEHAVIORS OBSERVED IN THIS PHENOTYPE. IN ADDITION, ALTERATIONS IN HPA FUNCTIONING SUCH AS THESE MAY PLAY A BROAD ROLE IN TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC TRANSMISSION.	2018	

15 5752  40 SOCIAL ISOLATION AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AT ADULTHOOD AFFECT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR LEVELS AND BEHAVIOR OF CHRONICALLY STRESSED RATS. EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) PROVIDES ONE POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR THE DYSFUNCTIONS INDUCED BY STRESS, SUCH AS PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AND COGNITIVE DECLINE. INTERESTINGLY, SOCIAL SUPPORT CAN BE PROTECTIVE AGAINST SOME OF THESE EFFECTS, BUT THE MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL BUFFERING ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. CONVERSELY, EARLY ISOLATION EXACERBATES THE RESPONSES TO STRESSORS, ALTHOUGH ITS EFFECTS IN ADULTHOOD REMAIN UNCLEAR. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL ISOLATION AND SOCIAL BUFFERING ON HIPPOCAMPAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, BDNF LEVELS AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES OF CHRONICALLY STRESSED YOUNG ADULT RATS. MALE WISTAR RATS (3 MONTHS) WERE ASSIGNED TO ACCOMPANIED (PAIRED) OR ISOLATED HOUSING. AFTER ONE-MONTH HALF OF EACH GROUP WAS SUBMITTED TO A CHRONIC UNPREDICTABLE STRESS (CUS) PROTOCOL FOR 18 DAYS. AMONG ACCOMPANIED ANIMALS, ONLY ONE WAS EXPOSED TO STRESS. BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS ENCOMPASSED THE OPEN FIELD, PLUS MAZE AND INHIBITORY AVOIDANCE TASKS. HIPPOCAMPAL H3K9 AND H4K12 ACETYLATION, HDAC5 EXPRESSION AND BDNF LEVELS WERE EVALUATED. ISOLATED HOUSING INCREASED HDAC5 EXPRESSION, DECREASED H3K9 AND H4K12 ACETYLATION, REDUCED BDNF LEVELS, AND IMPAIRED LONG-TERM MEMORY. STRESS AFFECTED WEIGHT GAIN, INDUCED ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR AND DECREASED ACK9H3 LEVELS. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HOUSING CONDITIONS AND SOCIAL STRESS WERE SEEN ONLY FOR HDAC5 EXPRESSION, WHICH SHOWED A FURTHER INCREASE IN THE ISOLATED + CUS GROUP BUT REMAINED CONSTANT IN ACCOMPANIED ANIMALS. IN CONCLUSION, SOCIAL ISOLATION AT ADULTHOOD INDUCED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS AND EXACERBATED THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC STRESS ON HDAC5. NOTWITHSTANDING, SOCIAL SUPPORT COUNTERACTED THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON HDAC5 EXPRESSION.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
16 1753  39 EARLY LIFE STRESS TRIGGERS SUSTAINED CHANGES IN HISTONE DEACETYLASE EXPRESSION AND HISTONE H4 MODIFICATIONS THAT ALTER RESPONSIVENESS TO ADOLESCENT ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENT. EARLY LIFE STRESS CAN ELICIT LONG-LASTING CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AND BEHAVIOR. RECENT STUDIES ON RODENTS SUGGEST THAT THESE LASTING EFFECTS DEPEND ON THE GENETIC BACKGROUND. WHETHER EPIGENETIC FACTORS ALSO PLAY A ROLE REMAINS TO BE INVESTIGATED. HERE WE EXPOSED THE STRESS-SUSCEPTIBLE MOUSE STRAIN BALB/C AND THE MORE RESILIENT STRAIN C57BL/6 TO A POWERFUL EARLY LIFE STRESS PARADIGM, INFANT MATERNAL SEPARATION. IN BALB/C MICE, INFANT MATERNAL SEPARATION LED TO DECREASED EXPRESSION OF MRNA ENCODING THE HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) 1, 3, 7, 8, AND 10 IN THE FOREBRAIN NEOCORTEX IN ADULTHOOD, AN EFFECT ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED EXPRESSION OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H4 PROTEINS, ESPECIALLY ACETYLATED H4K12 PROTEIN. THESE CHANGES IN HDAC EXPRESSION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS WERE NOT DETECTED IN C57BL/6 MICE EXPOSED TO EARLY LIFE STRESS. MOREOVER, A REVERSAL OF THE H4K12 HYPERACETYLATION DETECTED IN INFANT MATERNALLY SEPARATED BALB/C MICE (ACHIEVED WITH CHRONIC ADOLESCENT TREATMENT WITH A LOW DOSE OF THEOPHYLLINE THAT ONLY ACTIVATES HDACS) WORSENED THE ABNORMAL EMOTIONAL PHENOTYPE RESULTING FROM THIS EARLY LIFE STRESS EXPOSURE. IN CONTRAST, FLUOXETINE, A DRUG WITH POTENT ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFICACY IN INFANT MATERNALLY SEPARATED BALB/C MICE, POTENTIATED ALL HISTONE MODIFICATIONS TRIGGERED BY EARLY LIFE STRESS. MOREOVER, IN NON-STRESSED BALB/C MICE, CO-ADMINISTRATION OF AN HDAC INHIBITOR AND FLUOXETINE, BUT NOT FLUOXETINE ALONE, ELICITED ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS AND ALSO TRIGGERED CHANGES IN HISTONE H4 EXPRESSION THAT WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE PROVOKED BY FLUOXETINE TREATMENT OF MICE EXPOSED TO EARLY LIFE STRESS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT BALB/C MICE DEVELOP EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AFTER EARLY LIFE STRESS EXPOSURE THAT, IN TERMS OF THE EMOTIVE PHENOTYPE, ARE OF ADAPTIVE NATURE, AND THAT ENHANCE THE EFFICACY OF ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
17 2705  38 EXERCISE AND LOW-LEVEL GABA(A) RECEPTOR INHIBITION MODULATE LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY AND THE EXPRESSION OF BDNF ACCOMPANIED BY CHANGES IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS. AEROBIC EXERCISE IS KNOWN TO INCREASE EXPRESSION OF BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS AND TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION. THE INHIBITION OF GABAERGIC SYNAPSES ENHANCES HIPPOCAMPAL PLASTICITY AS WELL AS LEARNING AND MEMORY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE INTERACTIVE EFFECT OF LOW-LEVEL GABA(A) RECEPTOR INHIBITION AND EXERCISE ON BEHAVIOR TESTS (COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY), EXPRESSION OF BDNF AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS INCLUDING THE ACTIVITY LEVELS OF HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASES (HATS) AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS. ICR MICE WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: THOSE WHO DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN EXERCISE AND THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN EXERCISE. EACH GROUP WAS SUBDIVIDED INTO TWO OTHER GROUPS: THE ONE WHO RECEIVED VEHICLE AND THE ONE WHO RECEIVED GABA(A) RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, BICUCULLIN. WE ADMINISTERED SALINE OR BICUCULLINE INTRAPERITONEALLY TO THE MICE AT A NON-EPILEPTIC DOSE OF 0.25 MG/KG, WHEREAS THE MICE WERE EXERCISED ON A TREADMILL FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 H A DAY, 5 DAYS A WEEK FOR 4 WEEKS. NOVEL-OBJECT RECOGNITION TEST AND LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY WERE ASSESSED AT A REST DAY APPROXIMATELY 4 DAYS BEFORE THE EUTHANASIA. THE MICE WERE EUTHANIZED 4 H AFTER THE LAST EXERCISE SESSION. AEROBIC EXERCISE FOR 4 WEEKS INCREASED MRNA AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF BDNF IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS, ACCOMPANIED BY ENHANCED HAT ACTIVITY. ALTERNATIVELY, BICUCULLINE ADMINISTRATION INCREASED HDAC ACTIVITY IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS. FURTHERMORE, EXERCISE IN THE PRESENCE OF BICUCULLINE ADMINISTRATION INCREASED LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY, INDICATING THAT EXERCISE COMBINED WITH LOW-LEVEL GABA(A) RECEPTOR INHIBITION POTENTIATED THE ACTIVITY OF THE MICE. ALTOGETHER, THE PRESENT STUDY SUGGESTED THAT EXERCISE BENEFICIALLY CONTRIBUTES TO NEUROPROTECTION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS ACCOMPANIED BY THE UP-REGULATION OF BDNF EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION, WHEREAS THE CHRONIC INHIBITION OF GABA(A) RECEPTOR POTENTIATES EXERCISE-INDUCED BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITY.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
18 1823  42 EFFECTS OF EARLY-LIFE STRESS AND HDAC INHIBITION ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN MICE. DESPITE THE WELL-ESTABLISHED FACT THAT MATERNAL CARE PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE OFFSPRING DEVELOPMENT, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF DISRUPTION OF MATERNAL CARE EARLY IN LIFE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BEHAVIOR IN THE OFFSPRING. USING BRIEF REPEATED MATERNAL SEPARATION (45 MIN/DAY ON POSTNATAL DAYS 3-6), WHICH REPRESENTS A MODEL OF EARLY LIFE STRESS, WE FOUND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES IN ADULT FEMALE MICE OFFSPRING. THE DECREASE IN HOME CAGE EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOR (BOTH PUP-DIRECTED AND NONPUP-DIRECTED) WAS REVEALED LATER IN ADULTHOOD WITHOUT CHANGES IN MATERNAL CARE LEVEL. MATERNAL SEPARATION COUPLED WITH PAIN EXPOSURE CAUSED BY SUBCUTANEOUS SALINE INJECTION PROCEDURE HAD A CUMULATIVE RESULTING EFFECT, WHICH WAS MANIFESTED IN THE DECREASED LEVEL OF NURSING ASSOCIATED WITH LICKING-GROOMING IN ADULT FEMALES. THE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES FOUND IN ADULT FEMALE OFFSPRING COULD BE TRIGGERED BY IDENTIFIED CHANGES IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR MOTHERS, WHILE ALTERATIONS OF THE LEVEL OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE NEONATAL BRAIN WERE NOT DETECTED. HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SODIUM VALPROATE WAS USED IN ORDER TO STUDY THE POSSIBILITY OF PREVENTING THE EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE STRESS THROUGH INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. DESPITE THE INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE NEONATAL BRAIN CAUSED BY VALPROATE, ITS BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS WERE BARELY DETECTABLE. THESE EFFECTS WERE REFLECTED IN PREVENTION OF THE REDUCTION OF NURSING ASSOCIATED WITH LICKING-GROOMING INDUCED BY MATERNAL SEPARATION, ACCOMPANIED BY PAIN EXPOSURE. THE DATA ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF THE POSSIBLE APPLICATION TO THE STUDIES OF MECHANISMS UNDERLYING LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HUMAN EARLY LIFE TRAUMA. (PSYCINFO DATABASE RECORD (C) 2019 APA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED).	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
19 6559  32 TRANSGENERATIONAL INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL MORPHINE EXPOSURE ON PAIN PERCEPTION, ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR AND PASSIVE AVOIDANCE MEMORY AMONG MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING OF WISTAR RATS. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FORMATION AND MAINTENANCE OF MEMORY WITHIN THE BRAIN. MOREOVER, THE EFFECT OF PARENTAL DRUG-EXPOSURE BEFORE GESTATION ON BEHAVIORAL STATE OF OFFSPRING HAS BEEN LITTLE STUDIED. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE CURRENT STUDY IS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF PARENTAL MORPHINE EXPOSURE ON AVOIDANCE MEMORY, MORPHINE PREFERENCE AND ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR OF OFFSPRING. THE TOTAL OF 32 MALES AND 32 FEMALES WERE USED FOR MATING. THE ANIMALS WERE TREATED WITH MORPHINE. THE OFFSPRING ACCORDING TO THEIR PARENTAL MORPHINE TREATMENT WAS DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS (N=16) INCLUDING PATERNALLY TREATED, MATERNALLY TREATED, BOTH OF PARENTS TREATED AND NAIVE ANIMALS. THE PAIN PERCEPTION, ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR, AND AVOIDANCE MEMORY WERE EVALUATED IN THE OFFSPRING. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, THE TOTAL OF 256 OFFSPRING WAS USED FOR THE EXPERIMENTS (4 TASKS X 4 GROUPS OF OFFSPRING X 8 FEMALE OFFSPRING X 8 MALE OFFSPRING). THE FINDING REVEALED THAT THE AVOIDANCE MEMORY AND VISCERAL PAIN WERE REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING WITH AT LEAST ONE MORPHINE-TREATED PARENT. MOREOVER, ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR WAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE MALE OFFSPRING WITH AT LEAST ONE MORPHINE-TREATED PARENT. WHILE ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR WAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN FEMALE OFFSPRING THAT WERE TREATED BY MORPHINE EITHER MATERNALLY OR BOTH OF PARENTS. THE DATA REVEALED THAT THE ENDOGENOUS OPIOID SYSTEM MAY BE ALTERED IN THE OFFSPRING OF MORPHINE-TREATED PARENT(S), AND EPIGENETIC ROLE COULD BE IMPORTANT. HOWEVER, ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE SIGNIFIED THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF MATERNAL INHERITANCE.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
20 5199  40 PRENATAL MATERNAL STRESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO NEUROPATHIC PAIN AND SEX-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN SUPRASPINAL MRNA EXPRESSION OF EPIGENETIC- AND STRESS-RELATED GENES IN ADULTHOOD. EXPOSURE TO PRENATAL MATERNAL STRESS IMPACTS ADULT BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES AND HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS A RISK FACTOR FOR CHRONIC PAIN. HOWEVER, THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS IMPLICATED ARE NOT WELL-CHARACTERIZED. IN THIS STUDY, WE ANALYZED THE EFFECT OF A PRENATAL MATERNAL STRESS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN-RELATED BEHAVIOURS AND GENE EXPRESSION IN THE FRONTAL CORTEX AND HIPPOCAMPUS IN ADULT OFFSPRING FOLLOWING CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY OF THE SCIATIC NERVE IN MALE AND FEMALE CD1 MICE. NERVE INJURY-INDUCED MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY WAS AMPLIFIED IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE PRENATALLY-STRESSED OFFSPRING, SUGGESTING THAT PRENATAL STRESS EXACERBATES PAIN AFTER INJURY. ANALYSIS OF MRNA EXPRESSION OF GENES RELATED TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION AND STRESS RESPONSES IN THE FRONTAL CORTEX AND HIPPOCAMPUS, BRAIN STRUCTURES IMPLICATED IN CHRONIC PAIN, SHOWED DISTINCT SEX AND REGION-SPECIFIC PATTERNS OF DYSREGULATION. IN GENERAL, MRNA EXPRESSION WAS MOST FREQUENTLY ALTERED IN THE MALE HIPPOCAMPUS AND EFFECTS OF PRENATAL STRESS WERE MORE PREVALENT THAN EFFECTS OF NERVE INJURY IN BOTH SUPRASPINAL AREAS. THESE FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THE IMPACT OF PRENATAL STRESS ON BEHAVIORAL SENSITIVITY TO A PAINFUL INJURY. CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF EPIGENETIC- AND STRESS-RELATED GENES SUGGEST A POSSIBLE MECHANISM BY WHICH THE EARLY LIFE STRESS BECOMES EMBEDDED IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERACTIONS AMONG EARLY-LIFE STRESS, SEX, AND PAIN MAY LEAD TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND EPIGENETIC DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN DISORDERS.	2020