School of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China.
Shanghai Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Mental Health, Shanghai 201108, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Oct 19;25(20):11245. doi: 10.3390/ijms252011245.
Mood disorders mainly affect the patient's daily life, lead to suffering and disability, increase the incidence rate of many medical illnesses, and even cause a trend of suicide. The glucocorticoid (GC)-mediated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) negative feedback regulation plays a key role in neuropsychiatric disorders. The balance of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)/glucocorticoid receptor (GR) level contributes to maintaining the homeostasis of the neuroendocrine system. Consistently, a chronic excess of GC can also lead to HPA axis dysfunction, triggering anxiety, depression, memory loss, and cognitive impairment. The animal model induced by chronic corticosterone (CORT) administration has been widely adopted because of its simple replication and strong stability. This review summarizes the behavioral changes and underlying mechanisms of chronic CORT administration-induced animal models, including neuroinflammatory response, pyroptosis, oxidative stress, neuroplasticity, and apoptosis. Notably, CORT administration at different doses and cycles can destroy the balance of the MR/GR ratio to make dose-dependent effects of CORT on the central nervous system (CNS). This work aims to offer an overview of the topic and recommendations for future cognitive function research.
心境障碍主要影响患者的日常生活，导致痛苦和残疾，增加许多医学疾病的发病率，甚至导致自杀趋势。糖皮质激素（GC）介导的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）负反馈调节在神经精神疾病中起着关键作用。盐皮质激素受体（MR）/糖皮质激素受体（GR）水平的平衡有助于维持神经内分泌系统的内稳态。同样，GC 的慢性过量也会导致 HPA 轴功能障碍，引发焦虑、抑郁、记忆力减退和认知障碍。由于其简单的复制和较强的稳定性，慢性皮质酮（CORT）给药诱导的动物模型已被广泛采用。本综述总结了慢性 CORT 给药诱导的动物模型的行为变化及其潜在机制，包括神经炎症反应、细胞焦亡、氧化应激、神经可塑性和细胞凋亡。值得注意的是，不同剂量和周期的 CORT 给药会破坏 MR/GR 比值的平衡，从而使 CORT 对中枢神经系统（CNS）产生剂量依赖性影响。这项工作旨在概述该主题，并为未来的认知功能研究提供建议。
