Cargando…

Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression

Women suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) more often than men and report greater MDD symptom severity. Mounting evidence suggests that sex differences in MDD may be driven, in part, by sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms. Chronic stress is a significant risk factor in MDD, and preclinica...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Bollinger, J.L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8474553/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34589809
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100320
_version_ 1784575248031547392
author Bollinger, J.L.
author_facet Bollinger, J.L.
author_sort Bollinger, J.L.
collection PubMed
description Women suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) more often than men and report greater MDD symptom severity. Mounting evidence suggests that sex differences in MDD may be driven, in part, by sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms. Chronic stress is a significant risk factor in MDD, and preclinical rodent models show differential patterns of stress-induced neural remodeling and cognitive-behavioral dysfunction in males and females. For instance, chronic stress leads to synapse loss in the medial prefrontal cortex in male rodents yet has either no effect on- or increases-synapse number in females. Recent reports have implicated microglia, the immune cells of the brain, in MDD, and findings demonstrate sex-specific microglial signatures in both preclinical stress models and MDD patients. Given that microglia can remodel neural architecture, modulate synaptic transmission, and affect subsequent changes in behavior, it is plausible that microglial pathways contribute to differential stress effects on neuroplasticity and function in males and females. As such, this review examines the evidence for sex-specific microglia-neuron interactions in preclinical stress models and in patients with MDD. Discoveries highlighted herein demonstrate divergent microglial contributions in males and females and suggest that future studies investigating stress-linked disorders should be guided by sex-dependent neurobiological and behavioral findings. Examining these pathways represents a clear avenue toward both a richer understanding of brain, behavior, and immunity, and innovative psychoneuroimmunology-based applications in personalized medicine.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8474553
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Elsevier
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-84745532021-09-28 Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression Bollinger, J.L. Brain Behav Immun Health Articles from the Special Issue on Emerging PNI research: future leaders in focus; Edited by Amanda Kentner, Lois Harden, Denis de Melo Soares and Christoph Rummel Women suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) more often than men and report greater MDD symptom severity. Mounting evidence suggests that sex differences in MDD may be driven, in part, by sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms. Chronic stress is a significant risk factor in MDD, and preclinical rodent models show differential patterns of stress-induced neural remodeling and cognitive-behavioral dysfunction in males and females. For instance, chronic stress leads to synapse loss in the medial prefrontal cortex in male rodents yet has either no effect on- or increases-synapse number in females. Recent reports have implicated microglia, the immune cells of the brain, in MDD, and findings demonstrate sex-specific microglial signatures in both preclinical stress models and MDD patients. Given that microglia can remodel neural architecture, modulate synaptic transmission, and affect subsequent changes in behavior, it is plausible that microglial pathways contribute to differential stress effects on neuroplasticity and function in males and females. As such, this review examines the evidence for sex-specific microglia-neuron interactions in preclinical stress models and in patients with MDD. Discoveries highlighted herein demonstrate divergent microglial contributions in males and females and suggest that future studies investigating stress-linked disorders should be guided by sex-dependent neurobiological and behavioral findings. Examining these pathways represents a clear avenue toward both a richer understanding of brain, behavior, and immunity, and innovative psychoneuroimmunology-based applications in personalized medicine. Elsevier 2021-08-09 /pmc/articles/PMC8474553/ /pubmed/34589809 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100320 Text en © 2021 The Author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Articles from the Special Issue on Emerging PNI research: future leaders in focus; Edited by Amanda Kentner, Lois Harden, Denis de Melo Soares and Christoph Rummel
Bollinger, J.L.
Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title_full Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title_fullStr Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title_full_unstemmed Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title_short Uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
title_sort uncovering microglial pathways driving sex-specific neurobiological effects in stress and depression
topic Articles from the Special Issue on Emerging PNI research: future leaders in focus; Edited by Amanda Kentner, Lois Harden, Denis de Melo Soares and Christoph Rummel
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8474553/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34589809
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100320
work_keys_str_mv AT bollingerjl uncoveringmicroglialpathwaysdrivingsexspecificneurobiologicaleffectsinstressanddepression