Studies of mechanisms involved in neuronal cell death induced by chronic stress in rats

Abstract

Chronic stress causes changes in neuroplasticity that are accompanied by structural changes in the neocortex and hippocampus. In this study, parameters of oxidative stress and apoptosis were investigated in different areas of rat brains subjected to chronic stress (on the model of experimental neurosis). It was found that this chronic stress induced a decline in the locomotor, exploratory, and emotionality parameters of rats subjected to 14 days of neurotization. A decrease in the concentration of the products of oxidative stress accompanied by an increase in the level of oxidized proteins was found in the neocortex of animals subjected to stress. At the same time, the content of non-protein thiols remained unchanged. Stress resulted in an increase in NO metabolites and a decrease in the activity of caspase-3 in the neocortex and hippocampus Thus, structure-functional changes induced by chronic stress may be related to disturbances in free radical homeostasis of the rat brain which were accompanied by an increase in the content of modified proteins and nitric oxide synthesis. However, caspase-3-dependent proapoptotic mechanisms were not involved in this process.