No abstract

We previously found that chronic stress conditions producing CA3 dendritic retraction and spatial memory deficits make the hippocampus vulnerable to the neurotoxin ibotenic acid (IBO). The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to chronic corticosterone (CORT) under conditions that produce CA3 dendritic retraction would enhance CA3 susceptibility to IBO. Male Sprague Dawley rats were chronically treated for 21 d with CORT in drinking water (400 g/ml), and half were given daily injections of phenytoin (40 mg/kg), an antiepileptic drug that prevents CA3 dendritic retraction. Three days after treatments stopped, IBO was infused into the CA3 region. Conditions producing CA3 dendritic retraction (CORT and vehicle) exacerbated IBO-induced CA3 damage compared with conditions in which CA3 dendritic retraction was not observed (vehicle and vehicle, vehicle and phenytoin, CORT and phenytoin). Additionally, spatial recognition memory was assessed using the Y-maze, revealing that conditions producing CA3 dendritic retraction failed to impair spatial recognition memory. Furthermore, CORT levels in response to a potentially mild stressor (injection and Y-maze exposure) stayed at basal levels and failed to differ among key groups (vehicle and vehicle, CORT and vehicle, CORT and phenytoin), supporting the interpretations that CORT levels were unlikely to have been elevated during IBO infusion and that the neuroprotective actions of phenytoin were not through CORT alterations. These data are the first to show that conditions with prolonged glucocorticoid elevations leading to structural changes in hippocampal dendritic arbors can make the hippocampus vulnerable to neurotoxic challenges. These findings have significance for many disorders with elevated glucocorticoids that include depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and Cushing's disease.

Chronic stress may have different effects on hippocampal CA3 and CA1 neuronal morphology and function depending upon hormonal status, but rarely are manipulations of stress and gonadal steroids combined. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of chronic restraint and 17β-estradiol replacement on CA3 and CA1 dendritic morphology and spatial learning in ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats. Ovariectomized rats were implanted with 25% 17β-estradiol, 100% cholesterol or blank silastic capsules, and then chronically restrained (6h/d/21d) or kept in home cages. 17β-estradiol or cholesterol prevented stress-induced CA3 dendritic retraction, increased CA1 apical spine density, and altered CA1 spine shape. The combination of chronic stress and 17β-estradiol facilitated water maze acquisition compared to chronic stress + blank implants and nonstressed controls + 17β-estradiol. To further investigate the interaction between 17β-estradiol and stress on hippocampal morphology, Experiment 2 was conducted on gonadally intact, cycling female rats that were chronically restrained (6h/d/21d) and then euthanized at proestrus (high ovarian hormones) or estrus (low ovarian hormones). Cycling female rats failed to show chronic stress-induced CA3 dendritic retraction at either estrous phase. Chronic stress enhanced the ratio of CA1 basal spine heads to headless spines as found in Experiment 1. In addition, proestrous rats displayed increased CA1 spine density regardless of stress history. These results show that 17β-estradiol or cholesterol protect against chronic stress-induced CA3 dendritic retraction in females. These stress-and 17β-estradiol-induced morphological changes may provide insight into how dendritic complexity and spine properties contribute to spatial ability.