Abstract
BackgroundTransport stress not only causes physiological changes but also induces behavioral responses, including anxiety-like and depression-like behavioral responses in animals. The neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) plays a pivotal role in transport stress. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acute transport stress on the expression of nNOS and the distribution of nNOS-positive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus in rats and to explore the neuroendocrine mechanism of transport stress.ResultsIn this study, for the first time, we investigated the effects of transport stress on nitric oxide (NO)-NOS in the hypothalamus. After simulated stress, rats exhibited behavioral changes in the open field test (OFT), increased serum corticosterone (CORT) and norepinephrine (NE) levels, and increased NO content in the hypothalamus. In addition, nNOS expression in the hypothalamic PVN was upregulated, and its distribution was altered in stressed rats compared with that of unstressed rats.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that simulated transport stress increases nNOS expression and alters its distribution in the PVN of the rat hypothalamus.
Highlights
Transport stress causes physiological changes and induces behavioral responses, including anxiety-like and depression-like behavioral responses in animals
The results showed that the contents of serum CORT (Fig. 2a) and NE (Fig. 2b) were significantly increased in the transport stress (TS) group (P < 0.05, respectively) compared with those in the control group
Transport stress enhances nitric oxide (NO) content in the rat brain and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNA and protein expression in the hypothalamus Compared with the control group, the NO content in the brain tissue of the stress group was significantly increased by 49.51% (P = 0.006; Fig. 3a)
Summary
Transport stress causes physiological changes and induces behavioral responses, including anxiety-like and depression-like behavioral responses in animals. Animals are stimulated by a variety of stressors, including capture, vibration, collision, temperature extremes, thirst, and hunger [1]. Superposition of these stressors leads to changes in blood composition, hormones, metabolites, enzymes, and behavior [1, 2]. These changes adversely affect animal health and welfare [3, 4]. The influence of stressors on animal physiology and behavior may lead to weight loss, increased mortality, and declined meat and skin quality, resulting in significant economic losses [5, 6]
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