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BackgroundMajor depressive disorder is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses worldwide, with a higher prevalence in women than in men. Although currently available pharmacological therapeutics help many individuals, they are not effective for most. Animal models have been important for the discovery of molecular alterations in stress and depression, but difficulties in adapting animal models of depression for females has impeded progress in developing novel therapeutic treatments that may be more efficacious for women.MethodsUsing the California mouse social defeat model, we took a multidisciplinary approach to identify stress-sensitive molecular targets that have translational relevance for women. We determined the impact of stress on transcriptional profiles in male and female California mouse nucleus accumbens (NAc) and compared these results with data from postmortem samples of the NAc from men and women diagnosed with major depressive disorder.ResultsOur cross-species computational analyses identified Rgs2 (regulator of G protein signaling 2) as a transcript downregulated by social defeat stress in female California mice and in women with major depressive disorder. RGS2 plays a key role in signal regulation of neuropeptide and neurotransmitter receptors. Viral vector-mediated overexpression of Rgs2 in the NAc restored social approach and sucrose preference in stressed female California mice.ConclusionsThese studies show that Rgs2 acting in the NAc has functional properties that translate to changes in anxiety- and depression-related behavior. Future studies should investigate whether targeting Rgs2 represents a novel target for treatment-resistant depression in women.

Women are more likely to suffer from stress-related affective disorders than men, but the underlying mechanisms of sex differences remain unclear. Previous works show that microRNA (miRNA) profiles are altered in stressed animals and patients with depression and anxiety disorders. In this study, we investigated how miRNA expression in the anterior bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) was affected by social defeat stress in female and male California mice (Peromyscus californicus). We performed sequencing to identify miRNA transcripts in the whole brain and anterior BNST followed by qPCR analysis to compare miRNA expression between control and stressed animals. The results showed that social defeat stress induced sex-specific miRNA expression changes in the anterior BNST. Let-7a, let-7f and miR-181a-5p were upregulated in stressed female but not male mice. Our study provided evidence that social stress produces distinct molecular responses in the BNST of males and females.

Oxytocin increases the salience of both positive and negative social contexts and it is thought that these diverse actions on behavior are mediated in part through circuit-specific action. This hypothesis is based primarily on manipulations of oxytocin receptor function, leaving open the question of whether different populations of oxytocin neurons mediate different effects on behavior. Here we inhibited oxytocin synthesis in a stress-sensitive population of oxytocin neurons specifically within the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTmv). Oxytocin knockdown prevented social stress-induced increases in social vigilance and decreases in social approach. Viral tracing of BNSTmv oxytocin neurons revealed fibers in regions controlling defensive behaviors, including lateral hypothalamus, anterior hypothalamus, and anteromedial BNST (BNSTam). Oxytocin infusion into BNSTam in stress naïve mice increased social vigilance and reduced social approach. These results show that a population of extrahypothalamic oxytocin neurons plays a key role in controlling stress-induced social anxiety behaviors.

BackgroundThe neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is a key regulator of social and emotional behaviors. The effects of OT are context dependent, and it has been proposed that OT increases the salience of both positive and negative social cues. Here we tested whether the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) mediates anxiogenic effects of OT.MethodsFirst, we studied the effects of systemic administration of an OT receptor (OTR) antagonist L-368,899 on social behavior in male and female California mice exposed to social defeat. We examined the effect of L-368,899 on G protein activation and used early growth response factor 1 immunohistochemistry to identify potential sites of OTR action. Finally, we examined the effects of L-368,899 infused in the BNST on behavior.ResultsA single dose of systemic L-368,899 increased social approach in stressed female mice and decreased social approach in male mice naïve to defeat. L-368,899 prevented OT activation of G proteins and did not activate G proteins in the absence of OT. Intranasal OT, which reduces social approach in female mice but not male mice, increased early growth response factor 1 immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens core and anteromedial BNST in female mice but not in male mice. Stressed female mice that received an infusion of L-368,899 into the anteromedial BNST but not the nucleus accumbens core increased social approach and decreased social vigilance responses.ConclusionsOur results suggest that OTR activation in anteromedial BNST induces a vigilance response in which individuals avoid, yet attend to, unfamiliar social contexts. Our results suggest that OTR antagonists may have unappreciated therapeutic potential for stress-induced psychiatric disorders.

There is growing evidence that kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonists could be a useful class of therapeutics for treating depression and anxiety. However, the overwhelming majority of preclinical investigations examining the behavioral effects of KOR antagonists have been in male rodents. Here, we examined the effects of the long-acting KOR antagonist nor-binaltophimine (norBNI) on immobility in the forced swim test in males and females of two different rodent species (C57Bl/6J and California mice). Consistent with previous reports, norBNI (10 mg/kg) decreased immobility in the forced swim test for male C57Bl/6J and California mice. Surprisingly, dose-response studies in female C57Bl/6J and California mice showed that norBNI did not reduce immobility. Pharmacokinetic analyses showed that metabolism and brain concentrations of norBNI were similar in male and female C57Bl/6J. In the nucleus accumbens of male but not female C57Bl/6J, norBNI increased phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (pJNK), a putative mechanism for norBNI action. However, no differences in pJNK were observed in male or female California mice. Together, these results suggest that immobility in the forced swim test is less dependent on endogenous KOR signaling in female rodents and highlight the importance of examining the effects of possible therapeutic agents in both males and females.

Vasopressin V1a receptors (V1aR) are thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, sparking interest in V1aR as a therapeutic target. Although the global effects of V1aR have been documented, less is known about the specific neural circuits mediating these effects. Moreover, few studies have examined context-specific V1aR function in both males and females. By using the California mouse, we first studied the effects of sex and social defeat stress on V1aR binding in the forebrain. In females but not males, V1aR binding in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) was negatively correlated to social interaction behavior. In females stress also increased V1aR binding in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Infusions of V1aR antagonist in to the medioventral BNST (BNSTmv) had anxiogenic effects only in animals naïve to defeat. For males, inhibition of V1aR in BNSTmv had anxiogenic effects in social and nonsocial contexts, but for females, anxiogenic effects were limited to social contexts. In stressed females, inhibition of V1aR in the NAc shell had no effect on social interaction behavior, but had an anxiogenic effect in an open field test. These data suggest that V1aR in BNSTmv have anxiolytic and prosocial effects in males, and that in females, prosocial and anxiolytic effects of V1aR appear to be mediated independently by receptors in the BNSTmv and NAc shell, respectively. These findings suggest that males have more overlap in neural circuits modulating anxiety in social and nonsocial contexts than females.

BackgroundOxytocin (OT) is considered to be a stress-buffering hormone, dampening the physiologic effects of stress. However, OT can also be anxiogenic. We examined acute and long-lasting effects of social defeat on OT neurons in male and female California mice.MethodsWe used immunohistochemistry for OT and c-fos cells to examine OT neuron activity immediately after defeat (n = 6-9) and 2 weeks (n = 6-9) and 10 weeks (n = 4-5) later. We quantified Oxt messenger RNA with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (n = 5-9). Intranasal OT was administered to naïve and stressed mice tested in social interaction and resident-intruder tests (n = 8-14).ResultsAcute exposure to a third episode of defeat increased OT/c-fos colocalizations in the paraventricular nucleus of both sexes. In the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, defeat increased Oxt messenger RNA, total OT neurons, and OT/c-fos colocalizations in female mice but not male mice. Intranasal OT failed to reverse stress-induced social withdrawal in female mice and reduced social interaction behavior in female mice naïve to defeat. In contrast, intranasal OT increased social interaction in stressed male mice and reduced freezing in the resident-intruder test.ConclusionsSocial defeat induces long-lasting increases in OT production and OT/c-fos cells in the medioventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of female mice but not male mice. Intranasal OT largely reversed the effects of stress on behavior in male mice, but effects were mixed in female mice. These results suggest that changes in OT-sensitive networks contribute to sex differences in behavioral responses to stress.

Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have important functions related to rewards but are also activated in aversive contexts. Electrophysiology studies suggest that the degree to which VTA dopamine neurons respond to noxious stimuli is topographically organized across the dorsal-ventral extent. We used c-fos immunohistochemistry to examine the responses of VTA dopamine neurons in contexts of social defeat and social approach. Studying monogamous California mice (Peromyscus californicus) allowed us to observe the effects of social defeat on both males and females. Females exposed to three episodes of defeat, but not a single episode, had more tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)/c-fos-positive cells in the ventral (but not dorsal) VTA compared with controls. This observation suggests that repeated exposure to aversive contexts is necessary to trigger activation of VTA dopamine neurons. Defeat did not affect TH/c-fos colocalizations in males. We also examined the long-term effects of defeat on c-fos expression in a social interaction test. As previously reported, defeat reduced social interaction in females but not males. Surprisingly, there were no effects of defeat stress on TH/c-fos colocalizations in any subregion of the VTA. However, females had more TH/c-fos-positive cells than males across the entire VTA, and also had greater c-fos-positive cell counts in posterior subregions of the nucleus accumbens shell. Our results show that dopamine neurons in the VTA are more responsive to social contexts in females and that the ventral VTA in particular is sensitive to aversive contexts.