Plasma corticosterone activates SGK1 and induces morphological changes in oligodendrocytes in corpus callosum.

oleh: Shingo Miyata, Yoshihisa Koyama, Kana Takemoto, Keiko Yoshikawa, Toshiko Ishikawa, Manabu Taniguchi, Kiyoshi Inoue, Miwa Aoki, Osamu Hori, Taiichi Katayama, Masaya Tohyama

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-01-01

Deskripsi

Repeated stressful events are known to be associated with onset of depression. Further, stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system by elevating plasma cortisol levels. However, little is known about the related downstream molecular pathway. In this study, by using repeated water-immersion and restraint stress (WIRS) as a stressor for mice, we attempted to elucidate the molecular pathway induced by elevated plasma corticosterone levels. We observed the following effects both, in vivo and in vitro: (1) repeated exposure to WIRS activates the 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase (PDK1)-serum glucocorticoid regulated kinase (SGK1)-N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1)-adhesion molecule (i.e., N-cadherin, α-catenin, and β-catenin) stabilization pathway via an increase in plasma corticosterone levels; (2) the activation of this signaling pathway induces morphological changes in oligodendrocytes; and (3) after recovery from chronic stress, the abnormal arborization of oligodendrocytes and depression-like symptoms return to the control levels. Our data strongly suggest that these abnornalities of oligodendrocytes are possibly related to depression-like symptoms.