Imbalanced glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid stress hormone receptor function has sex-dependent and independent regulatory effects in the mouse hippocampus

Abstract

Many stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders display pronounced sex differences in their frequency and clinical symptoms. Glucocorticoids are primary stress hormones that have been implicated in the development of these disorders but whether they contribute to the observed sex bias is poorly understood. Glucocorticoids signal through two closely related nuclear receptors, the glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). To elucidate the sex-specific and independent actions of glucocorticoids in the hippocampus, we developed knockout mice lacking hippocampal GR, MR, or both GR and MR. Mice deficient in hippocampal MR or both GR and MR showed an altered molecular phenotype of CA2 neurons and reduced anxiety-like behavior in both sexes, but altered stress adaptation behavior only in females and enhanced fear-motivated cue learning only in males. All three knockout mouse models displayed reduced sociability but only in male mice. Male and female mice deficient in both hippocampal GR and MR exhibited extensive neurodegeneration in the dentate gyrus. Global transcriptomic analysis revealed a marked expansion in the number of dysregulated genes in the hippocampus of female knockout mice compared to their male counterparts; however, the overall patterns of gene dysregulation were remarkably similar in both sexes. Within and across sex comparisons identified key GR and MR target genes and associated signaling pathways underlying the knockout phenotypes. These findings define major sex-dependent and independent effects of GR/MR imbalances on gene expression and functional profiles in the hippocampus and inform new strategies for treating men and women with stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.