title: The involvement of ERK/CREB/Bcl-2 in depression-like behavior in prenatally stressed offspring rats.
abstract: A number of studies reveal that prenatal stress (PS) may induce an increased vulnerability to depression in offspring. Some evidences indicate that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) signal system may play an important role in the molecular mechanism of depression. In the present study, we examined the effects of prenatal restraint stress on depression-like behavior in one-month offspring Sprague-Dawley rats and expression of ERK2, CREB, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) mRNA in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and striatum to explore the potential role of ERK-CREB pathway in mediating the behavioral effects of PS exposure. Our findings demonstrated that PS increased immobility time in forced swimming test and decreased expression of ERK2, CREB, Bcl-2 mRNA in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of juvenile offspring rats except for CREB in hippocampus of male offspring. Changes induced by PS were partly prevented by MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. These findings suggested that the ERK-CREB system might be related with the depression-like behavior in juvenile offspring rats subjected to PS, in which NMDA receptors might be involved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China.
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guokui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hongli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Dongge
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhongliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013550:Swimming
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1
keywords: Bcl-2; CREB; Depression; ERK2; Prenatal stress