title: Microglia activation regulates GluR1 phosphorylation in chronic unpredictable stress-induced cognitive dysfunction.
abstract: Chronic stress is considered to be a major risk factor in the development of psychopathological syndromes in humans. Cognitive impairments and long-term potentiation (LTP) impairments are increasingly recognized as major components of depression, anxiety disorders and other stress-related chronic psychological illnesses. It seems timely to systematically study the potentially underlying neurobiological mechanisms of altered cognitive and synaptic plasticity in the course of chronic stress. In the present study, a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) induced a cognitive impairment in spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) test and a hippocampal LTP impairment. CUS also induced hippocampal microglial activation and attenuated phosphorylation of glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1 or GluA1). Moreover, chronic treatment with the selective microglial activation blocker, minocycline (120 mg/kg per day), beginning 3 d before CUS treatment and continuing through the behavioral testing period, prevented the CUS-induced impairments of spatial memory and LTP induction. Additional studies showed that minocycline-induced inhibition of microglia activation was associated with increased phosphorylation of GluR1. These results suggest that hippocampal microglial activation modulates the level of GluR1 phosphorylation and might play a causal role in CUS-induced cognitive and LTP disturbances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational & Environmental Health and the Ministry of Education Key Lab of Hazard Assessment and Control in Special Operational Environment, School of Public Health, Fourth Military Medical University , Xi'an , China and.
authors.forename: Mingchao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jinfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Jiye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Jingyuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008911:Minocycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D012149:Restraint, Physical / Q000523:psychology; D065853:Spatial Learning; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D008911:Minocycline; D018091:Receptors, AMPA
keywords: Cognition; glutamate receptor; hippocampus; long-term potentiation; microglia; stress