title: White matter atrophy and myelinated fiber disruption in a rat model of depression.
abstract: Brain imaging and postmortem studies have indicated that white matter abnormalities may contribute to the pathology and pathogenesis of depression. However, until now, no study has quantitatively investigated white matter changes in depression in rats. The current study used the chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model of depression. Body weight and sucrose preference test (SPT) scores were assessed weekly. Upon successfully establishing the CUS animal model, all animals were tested using the SPT and the open field test (OFT). Then, transmission electron microscopy and unbiased stereological methods were used to investigate white matter changes in the rats. Compared with the control group, the body weight and sucrose preference of the CUS rats were significantly decreased (p < .001, p < .001, respectively). In the OFT, the total time spent and the total distance traveled in the inner area by the CUS rats were significantly lower than those of the control group (p = .002, p = .001, respectively). The stereological results revealed that white matter volume, the total volume, and the total length and mean diameter of myelinated fibers in the white matter of the CUS rats were significantly decreased compared to the control rats (p = .042, p = .038, p = .035, p = .019, respectively). The results of this study suggested that white matter atrophy and disruption of myelinated fibers in the white matter may contribute to the pathophysiology underlying depression, which might provide new targets for the development of novel therapeutic interventions for depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4102-7827
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Department of Physiology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chun-Xia
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: San-Rong
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lin-Mu
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fei-Fei
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chuan-Xue
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Feng-Lei
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.|Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003863:Depression / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: RRID: AB_956157; RRID: SCR_002526; chronic unpredictable stress; depression; myelinated fibers; stereology; white matter