Placental glucocorticoid receptors are not affected by maternal depression or SSRI treatment

Chronic adolescent stress alters GR-FKBP5 interactions in the hippocampus of adult female rats

Chronic stress exposure during development can have lasting behavioral consequences that differ in males and females. More specifically, increased depressive behaviors in females, but not males, are observed in both humans and rodent models of chronic stress. Despite these known stress-induced outcomes, the molecular consequences of chronic adolescent stress in the adult brain are less clear. The stress hormone corticosterone activates the glucocorticoid receptor, and activity of the receptor is regulated through interactions with co-chaperones-such as the immunophilin FK506 binding proteins 5 (FKBP5). Previously, it has been reported that the adult stress response is modified by a history of chronic stress; therefore, the current study assessed the impact of chronic adolescent stress on the interactions of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with its regulatory co-chaperone FKBP5 in response to acute stress in adulthood. Although protein presence for FKBP5 did not differ by group, assessment of GR-FKBP5 interactions demonstrated that adult females with a history of chronic adolescent stress had elevated GR-FKBP5 interactions in the hippocampus following an acute stress challenge which could potentially contribute to a reduced translocation pattern given previous literature describing the impact of FKBP5 on GR activity. Interestingly, the altered co-chaperone interactions of the GR in the stressed female hippocampus were not coupled to an observable difference in transcription of GR-regulated genes. Together, these studies show that chronic adolescent stress causes lasting changes to co-chaperone interactions with the glucocorticoid receptor following stress exposure in adulthood and highlight the potential role that FKBP5 plays in these modifications. Understanding the long-term implications of adolescent stress exposure will provide a mechanistic framework to guide the development of interventions for adult disorders related to early life stress exposures.

Cohort profile: the U-BIRTH study on peripartum depression and child development in Sweden

PURPOSE

The current U-BIRTH cohort (Uppsala Birth Cohort) extends our previous cohort Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition (BASIC), assessing the development of children up to 11 years after birth. The U-BIRTH study aims to (1) assess the impact of exposure to peripartum mental illness on the children's development taking into account biological and environmental factors during intrauterine life and childhood; (2) identify early predictors of child neurodevelopmental and psychological problems using biophysiological, psychosocial and environmental variables available during pregnancy and early post partum.

PARTICIPANTS

All mothers participating in the previous BASIC cohort are invited, and mother-child dyads recruited in the U-BIRTH study are consecutively invited to questionnaire assessments and biological sampling when the child is 18 months, 6 years and 11 years old. Data collection at 18 months (n=2882) has been completed. Consent for participation has been obtained from 1946 families of children having reached age 6 and from 698 families of children having reached age 11 years.

FINDINGS TO DATE

Based on the complete data from pregnancy to 18 months post partum, peripartum mental health was significantly associated with the development of attentional control and gaze-following behaviours, which are critical to cognitive and social learning later in life. Moreover, infants of depressed mothers had an elevated risk of difficult temperament and behavioural problems compared with infants of non-depressed mothers. Analyses of biological samples showed that peripartum depression and anxiety were related to DNA methylation differences in infants. However, there were no methylation differences in relation to infants' behavioural problems at 18 months of age.

FUTURE PLANS

Given that the data collection at 18 months is complete, analyses are now being undertaken. Currently, assessments for children reaching 6 and 11 years are ongoing.