Prolonged subordination stress increases Calbindin-D28k immunoreactivity in the rat hippocampal CA1 area

Previously we observed that corticosteroids alter Calbindin-D28k immunoreactivity in the rat hippocampus. In the present study we investigated whether prolonged subordination stress, presumably producing elevated plasma corticosterone levels (1) altered the immunocytochemical distribution of the Ca(2+)-binding proteins Calbindin-D28k (CBir) and Parvalbumin (PVir) in the rat hippocampus, and (2) induced ongoing neurodegenerative changes using a silver impregnation method. Eight days of subordination stress reduced body weight, increased adrenal weight corrected for body weight and reduced thymus weight, indicating its effectiveness to produce a stressful situation. Stress increased CBir selectively in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer whereas PVir was not altered. Silver-impregnation revealed no ongoing neurodegenerative changes in any of the hippocampal subfields.