Biomarkers of hippocampal gene expression in a mouse restraint chronic stress model.

Abstract

Acute stress provides many beneficial effects whereas chronic stress contributes to a variety of human health issues including anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal problems, cardiac disease, sleep disorders and obesity. The goal of this work was to identify, using a rodent model, hippocampal gene signatures associated with prolonged chronic stress representing candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets for early diagnosis and pharmacological intervention for stress induced disease. Mice underwent 'restraint stress' over 7 consecutive days and hippocampal gene-expression changes were analyzed at 3, 12 and 24 h following the final restraint treatment. Data indicated that mice exposed to chronic restraint stress exhibit a differential gene-expression profile compared with non-stressed controls. The greatest differences were observed 12 and 24 h following the final stress test. Our study indicated that Gpr88, Ttr, Gh and Tac1 mRNAs were modulated in mice exposed to chronic restraint stress. These transcripts represent a panel of biomarkers and druggable targets for further analysis in the context of chronic stress associated disease in humans.