Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 11;11(1):3549. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82953-3.
Early life stress (ELS) has been shown to have a significant impact on typical brain development and the manifestation of psychological disorders through epigenetic modifications that alter gene expression. Line1, a retrotransposon associated with genetic diversity, has been linked with various psychological disorders that are associated with ELS. Our previous work demonstrated altered Line1 DNA copy number in the neonatal period following stressful experiences; we therefore chose to investigate whether early life stress altered Line1 retrotransposition persists into the juvenile period of development. Our study uses a neonatal predator odor exposure (POE) paradigm to model ELS in rats. We examined Line1 using qPCR to assess Line1 expression levels and DNA copy number in the male and female juvenile amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex-areas chosen for their association with affective disorders and stress. We report a sex difference in Line1 levels within the juvenile amygdala. We also find that ELS significantly increases Line1 DNA copy number within the juvenile amygdala which correlates with reduced juvenile social play levels, suggesting the possibility that Line1 may influence juvenile social development.
早期生活压力 (ELS) 已被证明通过改变基因表达的表观遗传修饰对典型的大脑发育和心理障碍的表现有重大影响。与遗传多样性相关的反转录转座子 Line1 与各种与 ELS 相关的心理障碍有关。我们之前的工作表明，在经历压力后，新生儿期的 Line1 DNA 拷贝数发生了改变；因此，我们选择研究早期生活压力是否会导致 Line1 反转录持续到发育的青少年期。我们的研究使用新生期捕食者气味暴露 (POE) 范式在大鼠中模拟 ELS。我们使用 qPCR 检查 Line1，以评估雄性和雌性青少年杏仁核、海马体和前额叶皮质中的 Line1 表达水平和 DNA 拷贝数-这些区域与情感障碍和应激有关。我们报告了青少年杏仁核中 Line1 水平的性别差异。我们还发现，ELS 显著增加了青少年杏仁核中的 Line1 DNA 拷贝数，这与青少年社交游戏水平降低有关，这表明 Line1 可能影响青少年的社交发展。
