title: Insulin-like growth factor 2 mitigates depressive behavior in a rat  model of chronic stress.
abstract: Depression is a common psychiatric disorder associated with chronic stress. Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is a growth factor that serves important roles in the brain during development and at adulthood. Here, the role of IGF2 expression in the hippocampus was investigated in a rat model of depression. A chronic restraint stress (CRS) model of depression was established in rats, exhibiting depression-like behavior as assessed with the sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swimming test (FST), and with evaluation of the corticosterone levels. Hippocampal IGF2 levels were significantly lower in rats suffering CRS than in controls, as were levels of pERK1/2 and GluR1. Lentivirus-mediated hippocampal IGF2 overexpression alleviated depressive behavior in restrained rats, elevated the levels of pERK1/2 and GluR1 proteins, but it did not affect the expression of pGSK3β, GluR2, NMDAR1, and NMDAR2A. These results suggest the chronic restraint stress induces depressive behavior, which may be mediated by ERK-dependent IGF2 signaling, pointing to an antidepressant role for this molecular pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410013, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Wen-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Xiao-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Xue-Qin
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhao-Lan
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jian-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Ru-Ping
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Chang-Qi
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005518:Food Preferences; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology; D014161:Transduction, Genetic
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D013395:Sucrose; C000599313:Igf2 protein, rat