Chronic psychological stress is known to trigger anxiety and lead to cognitive impairment. In general, acute stress is considered good and essential for adaptation while chronic stress is believed to be bad and responsible for maladaptive changes causing anxiety and cognitive disturbances. The question of what triggers bad effects of stress is quite intriguing. Publications from our last R15 suggest oxidative stres as a biochemical trigger causing behavioral and cognitive deficits in rats. Recently, we have demonstrated that social defeat induced psychological stress in rats lead to anxiety-like behavior and memory impairment, associated with heightened oxidative stress, reduced antioxidant defense and increased inflammation within the hippocampus. Interestingly, elevated oxidative stress and inflammation impair mitochondrial function, weakening normal stress response. Moreover, hippocampal neurons are considered highly susceptible to mitochondrial impairment. In preliminary studies, using a hippocampal cell line we observed that chronic oxidative stress decreased mitochondrial respiration, membrane potential, and ATP production. Antioxidant tempol treatment reversed these effects, suggesting involvement of oxidative stress in regulation of mitochondrial function, considered critical for normal behavior and cognition. Thus, role of oxidative stress initiated mitochondrial impairment in psychological stress-induced behavioral and cognitive deficits must be revealed. We propose that chronic psychological stress increases oxidative stress, compromising mitochondrial function and integrity, leading to activation of proteolytic and apoptotic pathways. This contributes to degradation of antioxidant enzymes, reducing antioxidant defense, impairing detoxification and resulting in behavioral and cognitive deficits.
Aim 1 will identify role of oxidative stress in anxiety-like behavior and cogniive impairment upon social defeat (SD) stress in rats. Effect of antioxidant tempol treatment prior to or following SD, will also be examined. Tempol by reducing oxidative stress should ameliorate SD-induced deficits.
Aim 2 seeks to determine role of oxidative stress in regulation of synaptic plasticity upon social defeat in rats using in vivo electrophysiological recordings in the sub-regions Cornu Ammonis 1 and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Changes in synaptic plasticity will be assessed utilizing long-term potentiation measurement. We expect tempol to ameliorate SD-induced decrease in synaptic plasticity in rats.
Aim 3 will identify the mechanism of SD-mediated impairments in rats. Hippocampus, amygdala and pre-frontal cortex will be isolated for analysis of mitochondrial function, inflammation, caspase and calpain activation. We expect SD rats to show decreased respiration, low membrane potential, and reduced ATP production. Inflammation, calpain and caspase expression are expected to increase with a concomitant decrease in the antioxidant pool. Antioxidant tempol treatment is expected to attenuate these effects. This renewal of our R15 application will provide the groundwork for future pharmacological strategies to limit detrimental effects of chronic stress.

Public Health Relevance

In general, acute stress is considered 'good' and essential for adaptation while chronic stress is believed to be 'bad' and responsible for maladaptive changes causing anxiety and cognitive disturbances. The question of what triggers 'bad' effects of stress is quite intriguing. Publications from our last R15 funding (01/04/12- 03/31/15) suggest oxidative stress is a biochemical trigger which causes negative effects of chronic stress. This renewal of our R15 application will reveal the underlying neurobiology of negative consequences of chronic stress on behavior and cognition in rats.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15)
Project #
2R15MH093918-02
Application #
8957931
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Nadler, Laurie S
Project Start
2011-04-01
Project End
2018-06-30
Budget Start
2015-07-01
Budget End
2018-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Houston
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Pharmacy
DUNS #
036837920
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77204
Liu, Hesong; Patki, Gaurav; Salvi, Ankita et al. (2018) Behavioral effects of early life maternal trauma witness in rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 81:80-87
Salim, Samina (2017) Oxidative Stress and the Central Nervous System. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 360:201-205
Solanki, Naimesh; Salvi, Ankita; Patki, Gaurav et al. (2017) Modulating Oxidative Stress Relieves Stress-Induced Behavioral and Cognitive Impairments in Rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 20:550-561
Liu, Hesong; Atrooz, Fatin; Salvi, Ankita et al. (2017) Behavioral and cognitive impact of early life stress: Insights from an animal model. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 78:88-95
Kochi, Camila; Liu, Hesong; Zaidi, Safiyya et al. (2017) Prior treadmill exercise promotes resilience to vicarious trauma in rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 77:216-221
Salvi, Ankita; Patki, Gaurav; Khan, Eisha et al. (2016) Protective Effect of Tempol on Buthionine Sulfoximine-Induced Mitochondrial Impairment in Hippocampal Derived HT22 Cells. Oxid Med Cell Longev 2016:5059043
Solanki, Naimesh; Atrooz, Fatin; Asghar, Saman et al. (2016) Tempol protects sleep-deprivation induced behavioral deficits in aggressive male Long-Evans rats. Neurosci Lett 612:245-250
Solanki, Naimesh; Alkadhi, Isam; Atrooz, Fatin et al. (2015) Grape powder prevents cognitive, behavioral, and biochemical impairments in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Nutr Res 35:65-75
Patki, Gaurav; Atrooz, Fatin; Alkadhi, Isam et al. (2015) High aggression in rats is associated with elevated stress, anxiety-like behavior, and altered catecholamine content in the brain. Neurosci Lett 584:308-13
Patki, Gaurav; Salvi, Ankita; Liu, Hesong et al. (2015) Tempol treatment reduces anxiety-like behaviors induced by multiple anxiogenic drugs in rats. PLoS One 10:e0117498

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