Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37212, USA.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 Dec;36(13):2750-61. doi: 10.1038/npp.2011.166. Epub 2011 Aug 17.
Chronic stress is the primary environmental risk factor for the development and exacerbation of affective disorders, thus understanding the neuroadaptations that occur in response to stress is a critical step in the development of novel therapeutics for depressive and anxiety disorders. Brain endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling is known to modulate emotional behavior and stress responses, and levels of the eCB 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are elevated in response to chronic homotypic stress exposure. However, the role of 2-AG in the synaptic and behavioral adaptations to chronic stress is poorly understood. Here, we show that stress-induced development of anxiety-like behavior is paralleled by a transient appearance of low-frequency stimulation-induced, 2-AG-mediated long-term depression at GABAergic synapses in the basolateral amygdala, a key region involved in motivation, affective regulation, and emotional learning. This enhancement of 2-AG signaling is mediated, in part, via downregulation of the primary 2-AG-degrading enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). Acute in vivo inhibition of MAGL had little effect on anxiety-related behaviors. However, chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and emergence of long-term depression of GABAergic transmission was prevented by chronic MAGL inhibition, likely via an occlusive mechanism. These data indicate that chronic stress reversibly gates eCB synaptic plasticity at inhibitory synapses in the amygdala, and in vivo augmentation of 2-AG levels prevents both behavioral and synaptic adaptations to chronic stress.
慢性应激是情感障碍发生和恶化的主要环境风险因素,因此了解应激反应中发生的神经适应性变化是开发抑郁和焦虑障碍新型治疗方法的关键步骤。已知脑内大麻素(eCB)信号调节情绪行为和应激反应,并且内源性大麻素 2-花生四烯酸甘油(2-AG)的水平在慢性同型应激暴露时升高。然而,2-AG 在慢性应激的突触和行为适应性中的作用知之甚少。在这里,我们表明,焦虑样行为的应激诱导发展伴随着基底外侧杏仁核中 GABA 能突触的低频刺激诱导的、2-AG 介导的长时程抑郁的短暂出现,基底外侧杏仁核是参与动机、情感调节和情绪学习的关键区域。这种 2-AG 信号的增强部分是通过下调主要的 2-AG 降解酶单酰基甘油脂肪酶(MAGL)介导的。急性体内抑制 MAGL 对焦虑相关行为几乎没有影响。然而,慢性 MAGL 抑制可防止慢性应激诱导的焦虑样行为和 GABA 能传递的长时程抑郁的出现,这可能是通过封闭机制实现的。这些数据表明,慢性应激可逆地在杏仁核的抑制性突触处调节 eCB 突触可塑性,并且体内 2-AG 水平的增加可防止慢性应激的行为和突触适应性。