PUBLICATION

Long lasting anxiety following early life stress is dependent on glucocorticoid signaling in zebrafish

Authors
Chin, J.S.R., Phan, T.N., Albert, L.T., Keene, A.C., Duboué, E.R.
ID
ZDB-PUB-220729-1
Date
2022
Source
Scientific Reports   12: 12826 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences*
  • Anxiety
  • Hydrocortisone
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid/genetics
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid/metabolism
  • Zebrafish*/metabolism
  • Animals
  • Glucocorticoids
  • Stress, Psychological
(all 9)
PubMed
35896563 Full text @ Sci. Rep.
Abstract
Chronic adversity in early childhood is associated with increased anxiety and a propensity for substance abuse later in adulthood, yet the effects of early life stress (ELS) on brain development remain poorly understood. The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a powerful model for studying neurodevelopment and stress. Here, we describe a zebrafish model of ELS and identify a role for glucocorticoid signaling during a critical window in development that leads to long-term changes in brain function. Larval fish subjected to chronic stress in early development exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior and elevated glucocorticoid levels later in life. Increased stress-like behavior was only observed when fish were subjected to ELS within a precise time window in early development, revealing a temporal critical window of sensitivity. Moreover, enhanced anxiety-like behavior only emerges after two months post-ELS, revealing a developmentally specified delay in the effects of ELS. ELS leads to increased levels of baseline cortisol, and resulted in a dysregulation of cortisol receptors' mRNA expression, suggesting long-term effects on cortisol signaling. Together, these findings reveal a 'critical window' for ELS to affect developmental reprogramming of the glucocorticoid receptor pathway, resulting in chronic elevated stress.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Figure Gallery (4 images)
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
No data available
Mutations / Transgenics
No data available
Human Disease / Model
No data available
Sequence Targeting Reagents
No data available
Fish
No data available
Antibodies
No data available
Orthology
No data available
Engineered Foreign Genes
No data available
Mapping
No data available