Endometriosis alters brain electro-physiology, gene expression and increased pain sensitization, anxiety, and depression in female mice.

Endometriosis alters brain electro-physiology, gene expression and increased pain sensitization, anxiety, and depression in female mice. Biol Reprod. 2018 Feb 07;: Authors: Li T, Mamillapalli R, Ding S, Chang H, Liu ZW, Gao XB, Taylor HS Abstract Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder among reproductive-aged women associated with pelvic pain, anxiety, and depression. Pain is characterized by central sensitization, however it is not clear if endometriosis leads to increased pain perception or if women with the disease are more sensitive to pain, increasing the detection of endometriosis. Endometriosis was induced in mice and changes in behavior including pain perception, brain electrophysiology, and gene expression were characterized. Behavioral tests revealed that mice with endometriosis were more depressed, anxious and sensitive to pain compared to sham controls. Microarray analyses confirmed by qPCR identified differential gene expression in several regions of brain in mice with endometriosis. In these mice, genes such as Gpr88, Glra3 in insula, Chrnb4, Npas4 in the hippocampus, and Lcn2 in the amygdala were upregulated while Lct, Serpina3n (insula), and Nptx2 (amygdala) were downregulated. These genes are involved in anxiety, locomotion, and pain. Patch clamp recordings in the amygdala were altered in endometriosis mice demonstrating an effect of endometriosis on brain electrophysiology. Endometriosis induced...
Source: Biology of Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Biol Reprod Source Type: research