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Published on: October 10, 2012
Proteomic characterization in the hippocampus of prenatally stressed rats
J Mairesse1, A S Vercoutter-Edouart, J Marrocco
1Neural Plasticity Team-UMR CNRS/USTL n° 8576 Structural and Functional Glycobiology Unit, North University of Lille, France.
Insights
Early life stress in rats, modeled by prenatal restraint stress (PRS), alters hippocampal proteins linked to anxiety and depression. This proteomic study identifies specific protein changes, offering insights into stress-induced developmental programming.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Early life stress (ELS) in rats serves as a model for epigenetic programming of mood disorders.
- Prenatal restraint stress (PRS) in rats induces an anxious/depressive phenotype and hippocampal neuroadaptations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify proteins specifically affected by ELS using the PRS rat model.
- To investigate the molecular underpinnings of stress-induced developmental programming.
Main Methods:
- Proteomic analysis of the hippocampus in adult male PRS rats.
- Immunoblot analysis to validate changes in specific protein expression.
Main Results:
- Prenatal restraint stress (PRS) altered the expression profiles of numerous hippocampal proteins.
- Affected proteins are involved in signal transduction, synaptic vesicles, protein synthesis, cytoskeleton dynamics, and energy metabolism.
- Significant changes were observed in LASP-1, fascin, and prohibitin expression.
Conclusions:
- Early life stress profoundly impacts hippocampal proteomes.
- Specific protein alterations, including LASP-1, fascin, and prohibitin, may be central to the developmental programming initiated by ELS.
Abstract:
Rats exposed to early life stress are considered as a valuable model for the study of epigenetic programming leading to mood disorders and anxiety in the adult life. Rats submitted to prenatal restraint stress (PRS) are characterized by an anxious/depressive phenotype associated with neuroadaptive changes in the hippocampus. We used the model of PRS to identify proteins that are specifically affected by early life stress. We therefore performed a proteomic analysis in the hippocampus of adult male PRS rats. We found that PRS induced changes in the expression profile of a number of proteins, involved in the regulation of signal transduction, synaptic vesicles, protein synthesis, cytoskeleton dynamics, and energetic metabolism. Immunoblot analysis showed significant changes in the expression of proteins, such as LASP-1, fascin, and prohibitin, which may lie at the core of the developmental programming triggered by early life stress.
