Sexual dimorphism in rat thymic involution: a correlation with thymic oxidative status and inflammation

Nacka-Aleksić, Mirjana; Pilipović, Ivan; Kotur‐Stevuljević, Jelena; Petrović, Raisa; Sopta, Jelena; Leposavić, Gordana

doi:10.1007/s10522-019-09816-3

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 126 publications

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“…Controversial literature data are available on the change of relative thymus weight in similar studies (Romeo et al, 2006; Carvalho-Netto et al, 2011; Herman et al, 2016; Wulsin et al, 2016). Here we show that besides several other factors (i.e., species, strain, type of stressor used), age, and consequent bodyweight differences (i.e., gain in young rats, loss in old age, Füredi et al, 2018) as well as thymus involution in old animals (Nacka-Aleksić et al, 2019) might interfere with the reliability of these indicators of stress efficacy. Based on these we propose that the body- and relative organ weight data as physical indicators of chronic stress efficacy are highly sensitive in young animals, but they lose their reliability in old age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Producing Cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus and Extended Amygdala Show Age-Dependent FOS and FOSB/DeltaFOSB Immunoreactivity in Acute and Chronic Stress Models in the Rat

Kovács

Berta

Csernus

et al. 2019

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) immunoreactive (ir) neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) play pivotal role in the coordination of stress response. CRF-producing cells in the central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) and oval division of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTov) are also involved in stress adaptation and mood control. Immediate early gene products, subunits of the transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP1) are commonly used as acute (FOS) and/or chronic (FOSB/deltaFOSB) markers for the neuronal activity in stress research. It is well known that the course of aging affects stress adaptation, but little is known about the aging-related stress sensitivity of CRF neurons. To the best of our knowledge, the stress-induced neuronal activity of CRF neurons in the course of aging in acute and chronic stress models was not studied systematically yet. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to quantify the acute restraint stress (ARS) and chronic variable mild stress (CVMS) evoked neuronal activity in CRF cells of the PVN, CeA, and BNSTov using triple-label immunofluorescence throughout the whole lifespan in the rat. We hypothesized that the FOS and FOSB content of CRF cells upon ARS or CVMS decreases with age. Our results showed that the FOS and FOSB response to ARS declined with age in the PVN-CRF cells. BNSTov and CeA CRF cells did not show remarkable stress-induced elevation of these markers neither in ARS, nor in CVMS. Exposure to CVMS resulted in an age-independent significant increase of FOSB/delta FOSB immunosignal in PVN-CRF neurons. Unexpectedly, we detected a remarkable stress-independent FOSB/deltaFOSB signal in CeA- and BNSTov-CRF cells that declined with the course of aging. In summary, PVN-CRF cells show decreasing acute stress sensitivity (i.e., FOS and FOSB immunoreactivity) with the course of aging, while their (FOSB/deltaFOSB) responsivity to chronic challenge is maintained till senescence. Stress exposure does not affect the occurrence of the examined Fos gene products in CeA- and BNSTov-CRF cells remarkably suggesting that their contribution to stress adaptation response does not require AP1-controlled transcriptional changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Producing Cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus and Extended Amygdala Show Age-Dependent FOS and FOSB/DeltaFOSB Immunoreactivity in Acute and Chronic Stress Models in the Rat

Kovács

Berta

Csernus

et al. 2019

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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“…Eventually, cancer cells escape from immune surveillance and immune defense. Interestingly, age-related thymic involution is closely connected with elevated levels of ROS 178 . A previous study showed that a murine oxidative stress model via ozone inhalation exhibited accelerated thymic involution 179 .…”

Section: Summary and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and their Application in Cancer Therapy

et al. 2021

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Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a dual role in the initiation, development, suppression, and treatment of cancer. Excess ROS can induce nuclear DNA, leading to cancer initiation. Not only that, but ROS also inhibit T cells and natural killer cells and promote the recruitment and M2 polarization of macrophages; consequently, cancer cells escape immune surveillance and immune defense. Furthermore, ROS promote tumor invasion and metastasis by triggering epithelial-mesenchymal transition in tumor cells. Interestingly, massive accumulation of ROS inhibits tumor growth in two ways: (1) by blocking cancer cell proliferation by suppressing the proliferation signaling pathway, cell cycle, and the biosynthesis of nucleotides and ATP and (2) by inducing cancer cell death via activating endoplasmic reticulum stress-, mitochondrial-, and P53- apoptotic pathways and the ferroptosis pathway. Unfortunately, cancer cells can adapt to ROS via a self-adaption system. This review highlighted the bidirectional regulation of ROS in cancer. The study further discussed the application of massively accumulated ROS in cancer treatment. Of note, the dual role of ROS in cancer and the self-adaptive ability of cancer cells should be taken into consideration for cancer prevention.

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“…Therefore, our finding on relative spleen weight decrease in rats after 9 months of social isolation indicates chronic stress in both male and female rats, but the effect is more pronounced in females. The lack of differences in thymus weights in males and females may be due to age-related involution of the organ [105], since the rats were 10 months old at the sacrifice. Females weighed less than males, especially at a later age, which is an expected and consistently reproduced result [105,106].…”

Section: Serum Corticosterone Concentrations and Thymus Spleen And Adrenal Weightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of differences in thymus weights in males and females may be due to age-related involution of the organ [105], since the rats were 10 months old at the sacrifice. Females weighed less than males, especially at a later age, which is an expected and consistently reproduced result [105,106].…”

Section: Serum Corticosterone Concentrations and Thymus Spleen And Adrenal Weightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prolonged Social Isolation, Started Early in Life, Impairs Cognitive Abilities in Rats Depending on Sex

2020

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Background: The chronic stress of social isolation is a valid predictor of cognitive pathology. This study aimed to compare the effects of long-term social isolation on female versus male Wistar rats’ learning and memory. We hypothesized that prolonged social isolation stress, which starts early in life, would affect learning in a sex-dependent manner. Methods: Social isolation started at the edge of early to mid-adolescence and lasted 9 months. The rat’s cognitive abilities were assessed by habituation and reactivity to novelty in the open field (OF) test, spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM), and the conditioned passive avoidance (PA) reflex. Basal serum corticosterone levels were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Regardless of the housing conditions, females habituated to the OF under low illumination slower than males. Under bright light, the single-housed rats showed hyporeactivity to novelty. In the MWM, all the rats learned to locate the platform; however, on the first training day, the single-housed females’ speed was lower relative to other groups. Four months later, in the post-reminder probe trial, the single-housed rats reached the area around the platform site later, and only males, regardless of housing conditions, preferred the target quadrant. Single-housed rats, irrespective of sex, showed a PA deficit. There was a more pronounced conditioned fear in the single-housed males than in females. In both male and female rats, basal corticosterone levels in rat blood serum after 9 months of social isolation did not differ from that in the group-housed rats of the corresponding sex. Meanwhile, females’ basal corticosterone level was higher than in males, regardless of the housing conditions. The relative weight of the adrenal glands was increased only in single-housed females. Conclusions: Under long-term social isolation, started early in life, single-housed females compared with males showed more pronounced cognitive impairments in the MWM and PA paradigm, findings that specify their greater vulnerability to the stress of prolonged social isolation.

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Sexual dimorphism in rat thymic involution: a correlation with thymic oxidative status and inflammation

Cited by 14 publications

References 126 publications

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Producing Cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus and Extended Amygdala Show Age-Dependent FOS and FOSB/DeltaFOSB Immunoreactivity in Acute and Chronic Stress Models in the Rat

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor-Producing Cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus and Extended Amygdala Show Age-Dependent FOS and FOSB/DeltaFOSB Immunoreactivity in Acute and Chronic Stress Models in the Rat

Dual Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and their Application in Cancer Therapy

Prolonged Social Isolation, Started Early in Life, Impairs Cognitive Abilities in Rats Depending on Sex

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