Exposure to Juvenile Stress Induces Epigenetic Alterations in the GABAergic System in Rats

Epigenetics is a gene-environment interaction mechanism, manifested mostly through changes in regulatory gene expression. Stress is an established environmental factor known to induce epigenetic changes. This study aimed to assess the long-term effect of stress as juveniles, or juvenile and adult st...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genes 2023-02, Vol.14 (3), p.565
Main Authors: Ben David, Gil, Amir, Yam, Tripathi, Kuldeep, Sharvit, Lital, Benhos, Amir, Anunu, Rachel, Richter-Levin, Gal, Atzmon, Gil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amygdala
Animals
Anxiety
Behavior
Brain
Brain research
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
Dentate gyrus
DNA Methylation
Emotional disorders
Environmental factors
Enzymes
Epigenesis, Genetic
Epigenetic inheritance
Epigenetics
GABA
Gene amplification
Gene expression
Genetic aspects
Genetic engineering
Genotype & phenotype
Glutamate decarboxylase
Glutamic acid
Health aspects
Juveniles
Mood disorders
Post traumatic stress disorder
Rats
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
Stress (Physiology)
γ-Aminobutyric acid
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Epigenetics is a gene-environment interaction mechanism, manifested mostly through changes in regulatory gene expression. Stress is an established environmental factor known to induce epigenetic changes. This study aimed to assess the long-term effect of stress as juveniles, or juvenile and adult stress, on alterations in glutamic acid decarboxylase genes ( , ). We assessed DNA methylation and RNA expression in four rat groups: (1) control group, (2) juvenile stress group sacrificed two days following stress exposure (JSe) (RNA only), (3) juvenile stress group sacrificed as adults (JS), and (4) juvenile and adult stress group (JS + AS). Three different areas of the brain were examined in each group: the dorsal dentate gyrus (dDG), the dorsal CA1 (dCA1), and the basolateral amygdala (BLA). A significantly low methylation level of in the BLA was observed among the JS group, followed by almost complete recovery among the JS + AS group. However, in dDG, an opposite trend was captured, and higher methylation was found in JS. In addition, RNA levels were found to be decreased in JS compared to JSe and JS + AS. These findings can point to a possible mechanism: while juvenile stress may enhance a better coping strategy with life challenges, additional stress in adulthood may trigger a contradictory response, either beneficial or harmful.
ISSN:2073-4425
2073-4425
DOI:10.3390/genes14030565