Abstract
Depression is a very common psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 300 million people worldwide with the prevalence being twice as high in women as in men. Despite intense research efforts in recent decades, the neurobiological basis underlying depression remains incompletely understood. However, the exposure to chronic stress is widely accepted to constitute a precipitating factor for the development of this mental disorder. Several animal models for the investigation of the pathogenetic link between chronic stress and depression exist and have yielded important insights. The present study aimed at comparing two published protocols for the induction of depression-like behavior in mice based on chronic oral glucocorticoid application. Given the gender distribution in the prevalence of depression, the second goal of this study was to reveal possible differences in the behavioral responses of female and male mice to corticosterone (CORT) treatment. CORT treatment was found to modulate depression-like behavior in selected behavioral paradigms in a sex- and protocol-specific manner. These data are of relevance for the experimental design and interpretation of future studies in the field and further highlight the relevance of “sex as biological variable” to be considered an important parameter for experimental planning and interpretation of results.
Highlights
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder affecting more than 300 million people worldwide (4.4% of the world’s population) and the number is increasing continually
Behavioral analysis (SPT, Novelty Suppressed Feeding test (NSF), Social Interaction test (SI) and Forced Swim test (FST)) was conducted at the end of the entire treatment period which consisted of 3 weeks of full CORT application, followed by 6 days of weaning and a washout period of 2 weeks (Figure 1a)
The drinking volume during the treatment phase was measured and no significant difference was observed between all female groups and males of Vehicle1 vs. CORT1
Summary
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder affecting more than 300 million people worldwide (4.4% of the world’s population) and the number is increasing continually. Apart from the socioeconomic relevance, with MDD accounting for the largest part of work-related disabilities and the significant treatment costs associated with the therapeutic management of affected patients, MDD is a significant contributor to the annual 800,000 suicide cases [1]. The limited understanding of the neural underpinnings of depression, which hampers the development of importantly needed alternative treatment approaches, is in part related to the lack of availability of adequate R&D test systems. Most have been designed and validated in male subjects only, despite the fact that the prevalence of MDD is twice as high in women than in men [4].
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