The influence of the HPG axis on stress response and depressive-like behaviour in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease.

The influence of the HPG axis on stress response and depressive-like behaviour in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease. Exp Neurol. 2014 Sep 19; Authors: Du X, Pang TY, Mo C, Renoir T, Wright D, Hannan AJ Abstract Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant, neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG tandem repeat mutation encoding a polyglutamine tract expansion in the huntingtin protein. Depression is among the most common affective symptoms in HD but the pathophysiology is unclear. We have previously discovered sexually dimorphic depressive-like behaviours in the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of HD at a pre-motor symptomatic age. Interestingly, only female R6/1 mice display this phenotype. Sexual dimorphism has not been explored in the human HD population despite the well-established knowledge that the clinical depression rate in females is almost twice that of males. Female susceptibility suggests a role of sex hormones, which have been shown to modulate stress response. There is evidence suggesting the gonads are adversely affected in HD patients, which could alter sex hormone levels. The present study examined the role sex hormones play on stress response in the R6/1 mouse model of HD, in particular, its modulatory effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and depression-like behaviour. We found that the gonads of female R6/1 mice show atrophy at an early age. Expression levels of gonadotropin-rele...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research