The risk for neuropsychiatric illnesses has a strong sex bias, and for major depressive disorder (MDD), females show a more than 2-fold greater risk compared to males. Such mood disorders are commonly associated with a dysregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Thus, sex differences in the incidence of MDD may be related with the levels of gonadal steroid hormone in adulthood or during early development as well as with the sex differences in HPA axis function. In rodents, organizational and activational effects of gonadal steroid hormones have been described for the regulation of HPA axis function and, if consistent with humans, this may underlie the increased risk of mood disorders in women. Other developmental factors, such as prenatal stress and prenatal overexposure to glucocorticoids can also impact behaviors and neuroendocrine responses to stress in adulthood and these effects are also reported to occur with sex differences. Similarly, in humans, the clinical benefits of antidepressants are associated with the normalization of the dysregulated HPA axis, and genetic polymorphisms have been found in some genes involved in controlling the stress response. This review examines some potential factors contributing to the sex difference in the risk of affective disorders with a focus on adrenal and gonadal hormones as potential modulators. Genetic and environmental factors that contribute to individual risk for affective disorders are also described. Ultimately, future treatment strategies for depression should consider all of these biological elements in their design.

Normal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity leading to rhythmic and episodic release of adrenal glucocorticoids is essential for body homeostasis and survival during stress. Acting through specific intracellular receptors in the brain and periphery, glucocorticoids regulate behavior, metabolic, cardiovascular, immune, and neuroendocrine activities. In contrast to chronic elevated levels, circadian and acute stress-induced increases in glucocorticoids are necessary for hippocampal neuronal survival and memory acquisition and consolidation, through inhibiting apoptosis, facilitating glutamate transmission and inducing immediate early genes and spine formation. In addition to its metabolic actions leading to increasing energy availability, glucocorticoids have profound effects on feeding behavior, mainly through modulation of orexigenic and anorixegenic neuropeptides. Evidence is also emerging that in addition to the recognized immune suppressive actions of glucocorticoids by counteracting adrenergic proinflammatory actions, circadian elevations have priming effects in the immune system, potentiating acute defensive responses. In addition, negative feedback by glucocorticoids involves multiple mechanisms leading to limiting HPA axis activation and preventing deleterious effects of excessive glucocorticoid production. Adequate glucocorticoid secretion to meet body demands is tightly regulated by a complex neural circuitry controlling hypothalamic corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) and vasopressin secretion, the main regulators of pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). Rapid feedback mechanisms, likely involving non-genomic actions of glucocorticoids, mediate immediate inhibition of hypothalamic CRH and ACTH secretion, while intermediate and delayed mechanisms mediated by genomic actions involve modulation of limbic circuitry and peripheral metabolic messengers. Consistent with their key adaptive roles, HPA axis components are evolutionarily conserved, being present in the earliest vertebrates. Understanding these basic mechanisms may lead to novel approaches for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for disorders related to stress and alterations of glucocorticoid secretion.

We studied the effects of a chronic intermittent cold stress regime on sympathetic nerve activation and ovarian physiology. This paradigm (4 degrees C for 3 h/day, Monday-Friday, for 3 or 4 wk) does not affect basal plasma levels of corticosterone. After 3 wk of stress, we detected a decrease in noradrenaline (NA) in the ovary, but after 4 wk, this ovarian neurotransmitter concentration increased over that of unstressed control rats. To analyze whether this effect on NA is preceded by an activation of the neurotrophic factor system responsible for growth and survival of sympathetic neurons, we measured both nerve growth factor (NGF) (by enzyme immunoassay) and the intraovarian levels of its low affinity receptor mRNA (by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction). The activation of sympathetic nerves was followed by an increase in NGF concentration without affecting the ovarian levels of either NGF or the mRNA of its receptor. Interestingly, follicular development changed during the stress procedure; after 3 or 4 wk of stress, we found a decrease in preantral healthy follicles without a compensatory increase in atresia. Concomitantly with the increase in NA and NGF in the ovary, we observed that a new population of follicles with hypertrophied thecal cell layers appeared after 4 wk of stress. These results suggest that chronic stress, through an intraovarian neurotrophin-mediated sympathetic activation, produces changes in follicular development that could lead to an impairment of reproductive function.

In this article, we have shown that conjugation of 12 nm GNPs with the amphipathic peptide CLPFFD increases the in vivo penetration of these particles to the rat brain. The C(GNP)-LPFFD conjugates showed a smaller negative charge and a greater hydrophobic character than citrate-capped GNPs of the same size. We administered intraperitoneal injections of citrate GNPs and C(GNP)-LPFFD in rats, and determined the gold content in the tissues by neutron activation. Compared with citrate GNPs, the C(GNP)-LPFFD conjugate improved the delivery to the brain, increasing the concentration of gold by fourfold, while simultaneously reducing its retention by the spleen 1 and 2 h after injection. At 24 h, the conjugate was partially cleared from the brain, and mainly accumulated in the liver. The C(GNP)-LPFFD did not alter the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, and had no effect on cell viability.

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