Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of General and Molecular Biology, N. Copernicus University, Torun, Poland.
Vitam Horm. 2010;82:391-419. doi: 10.1016/S0083-6729(10)82020-5.
Glucocorticoids (GC) exert multiple effects within the central nervous system via mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) activation. MR expression is associated with a neuroprotective phenotype, whereas GR activation is implicated in the induction of an endangered neural phenotype and the opposite actions are most evident in hippocampus, where these receptors are predominantly present. Hippocampus has an overall inhibitory influence on the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and it has been suggested that efficient learning and adequate stress response depend on the appropriate functioning of the axis brought by coordinated activation of MR and GR in this region. There is a growing body of evidence that perinatal asphyxia causes irreversible damage to the brain leading to neurons loss in regions vulnerable to oxygen shortage especially in hippocampus. In the present review, some aspects of recently acquired insight in the role of GC receptors in promoting neuronal death and survival after hippocampal injury are discussed. Since the unbalance of MR and GR in hippocampus creates a condition of disturbed neuroendocrine regulation their potential impact on behavioral impairment will also be reviewed.
糖皮质激素（GC）通过激活盐皮质激素受体（MR）和糖皮质激素受体（GR）在中枢神经系统中发挥多种作用。MR 的表达与神经保护表型相关，而 GR 的激活与濒危神经表型的诱导有关，这些相反的作用在海马体中最为明显，因为这些受体主要存在于海马体中。海马体对下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的活动有整体抑制作用，有人认为，有效的学习和适当的应激反应取决于该区域中 MR 和 GR 的协调激活，从而使轴的适当功能。越来越多的证据表明，围产期窒息会对大脑造成不可逆转的损伤，导致特别是在海马体等缺氧敏感区域的神经元丧失。在本综述中，讨论了 GC 受体在促进海马损伤后神经元死亡和存活方面的最新研究进展。由于海马体中 MR 和 GR 的失衡会导致神经内分泌调节紊乱，因此还将回顾它们对行为障碍的潜在影响。
