Phenotypically Determined Liver Dysfunction in a Wistar Rat Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

The extraordinary situation of the 2019–2022 pandemic caused a dramatic jump in the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is currently regarded not only as a neuropsychiatric disorder, but also as a comorbidity accompanied by cardiovascular diseases, circulatory disorders, liver dysfunction, etc. The relationship between behavioral disorders and the degree of morphofunctional changes in the liver remains obscure. In this study, PTSD was modeled in sexually mature male Wistar rats using predatory stress induced by a prey’s fear for a predator. Testing in an elevated plus maze allowed the rat population to be divided into animals with low-anxiety (LAP) and high-anxiety (HAP) phenotypes. It was found that morphofunctional analysis of the liver, in contrast to its biochemical profiling, provides a clearer evidence that predatory stress induces liver dysfunction in rats of both phenotypes. This may indicate a decrease in the range of compensatory adaptive reactions in stressed animals. However, in HAP rats, the level of morphofunctional abnormalities in the mechanisms responsible for carbohydrate-fat, water-electrolyte and protein metabolism in the liver testified the prenosological state of the organ, while further functional loading and resulting tension of the regulatory systems could lead to homeostatic downregulation. Meanwhile, the liver of LAP animals was only characterized by insignificant diffuse changes. Thus, we demonstrate here a link between behavioral changes and the degree of morphofunctional transformation of the liver.