Numakawa Tadahiro, Adachi Naoki, Richards Misty, Chiba Shuichi, Kunugi Hiroshi
Biomol Concepts. 2012 Dec;3(6):495-504. doi: 10.1515/bmc-2012-0012.
Abstract Glucocorticoids, recognized as stress-related steroid hormones secreted from adrenal glands, have multiple roles in brain function. The concentration of glucocorticoids is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and chronically elevated levels of glucocorticoids are putatively involved in the pathophysiology of mental disorders, such as depression. As corticosteroids are also widely used as medical drugs (e.g., for chronic lung disease in infants), the developmental influence of glucocorticoids on neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity is a critical concern. Although many reports suggest a biological effect of glucocorticoids on neuronal populations of the central nervous system (CNS), some reports suggest a possibility that glial responses (including regulation of neurotrophic factor expression) to glucocorticoids are different from that of neurons. In the present review, we show an overview of the current knowledge concerning the impact of glucocorticoids on behavior in animal models of depression, and on cell survival and function in the CNS.
摘要 糖皮质激素是肾上腺分泌的与应激相关的类固醇激素，在脑功能中具有多种作用。糖皮质激素的浓度受下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴调节，长期升高的糖皮质激素水平被认为与精神障碍如抑郁症的病理生理有关。由于皮质类固醇也被广泛用作药物（如用于治疗婴儿慢性肺病），糖皮质激素对神经元存活和突触可塑性的发育影响是一个关键问题。尽管许多报告表明糖皮质激素对中枢神经系统（CNS）神经元群体有生物学效应，但一些报告表明，胶质细胞对糖皮质激素的反应（包括神经营养因子表达的调节）可能与神经元不同。在本综述中，我们概述了目前关于糖皮质激素对抑郁症动物模型行为以及对中枢神经系统细胞存活和功能影响的相关知识。
