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Published on: October 27, 2020
mGluR5 in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons mediates stress-induced anxiety-like behavior
Xin Li1, Zhuo-Jun Du1, Jun-Nan Xu1
1State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Institute of Brain Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University; Key Laboratory of Mental Health of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Psychiatric Disorders, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Pharmacological manipulation of mGluR5 has showed that mGluR5 is implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety and mGluR5 has been proposed as a potential drug target for anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, the mechanism underlying the mGluR5 involvement in stress-induced anxiety-like behavior remains largely unknown. Here, we found that chronic restraint stress induced anxiety-like behavior and decreased the expression of mGluR5 in hippocampal CA1. Specific knockdown of mGluR5 in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons produced anxiety-like behavior. Furthermore, both chronic restraint stress and mGluR5 knockdown impaired inhibitory synaptic inputs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Notably, positive allosteric modulator of mGluR5 rescued stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and restored the inhibitory synaptic inputs. These findings point to an essential role for mGluR5 in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in mediating stress-induced anxiety-like behavior.

