1. Abstract
Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (Pa) are in the position to integrate stress-related information and initiate adaptive neuroendocrine-, autonomic-, metabolic- and behavioral responses. In addition to hypophyseotropic cells, CRH is widely expressed in the CNS, however their involvement in organization of the stress response is not fully understood. In these experiments, we took the advantage of recently available Crh-IRES-Cre; Ai9 mouse line to study the recruitment of hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic CRH neurons in categorically distinct, acute stress reactions. Reporter mice were exposed to restraint, ether, high salt and lipopolisacharide stress. The induced activation of CRH neurons was detected by colocalization of immediate early gene c-Fos in Td tomato expressing cells. We found differential activation of CRH neurons in central amygdaloid nucleus (Ce), bed nucleus stria terminalis lateral division, ventral posterior (BSTLVP), medial preoptic nucleus (MPO), ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), premammillary nucleus (PM) and prepositus hypoglossal nucleus (Pr) in response to physiological (ether, high salt and LPS) and psychological (restraint) stressors. CRH positive cells in Pa became activated, however in the Barrington’s nucleus and locus coeruleus no actiovation could be observed due to most tested stressors. Furthermore no CRH neuron activation occured in dorsal (BSTLD) and posterior (BSTLP) region of lateral division of bed nucleus stria terminalis after restraint stress. In the inferior olive only ether exposition resulted in CRH neuron activation. These results confirm activation of CRH neurons in the Pa, reveals new subset of stress-related CRH cells through the mouse brain and disprove the recruitment of CRH cells in the SOL and in the Barrington’s nucleus to acute psychological stress in mice.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Abbreviations
- Acb
- accumbens nu
- Al
- agranular insular cortex
- Aco
- anterior cortical amygdaloid nucleus
- AHC
- anterior hypothalamic area, central
- AHP
- anterior hypothalamic area, posterior
- AO
- anterior olfactory nucleus
- Arc
- arcuate hypothalamic nucleus
- AP
- area postrema
- Bar
- Barrington’s nucleus
- BAC
- bed nucleus anterior commissure
- BST
- bed nucleus stria terminalis
- BSTLD
- bed nucleus stria terminalis, lat div, dors
- BSTLP
- bed nucleus stria terminalis, lat div, post
- BSTLVP
- bed nucleus stria terminalis, lat div, vent posterior
- CA3
- CA3 field, hippocampus
- Ce
- central amygdaloid nucleus
- CG
- central gray
- CM
- central medial thalamic nucleus
- Cg
- cingulate cortex
- Cl
- claustrum
- C
- cochlear nucleus
- Cu
- cuneate nucleus
- DpMe
- deep mesencephalic nucleus
- DG
- dentate gyrus
- DEN
- dorsal endopiriform nu
- 10
- dorsal motor nucleus vagus nerve
- DP
- dorsal peduncular cortex
- DTr
- dorsal transition zone
- DM
- dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus
- DMPn
- dorsomedial pontinue nucleus
- EW
- Edinger-Westphal nucleus
- Ecu
- external cunate nucleus
- EPIO
- external plexiform layer, olfactory bulb
- G
- geniculate nucleus
- GI
- granular insular cortex
- GrO
- granule layer, olfactory bulb
- HC
- hippocampus
- HDB
- horizontal diagonal band
- 12
- hypoglossal nucleus
- IO
- inferior olive
- IL
- infralimbic cortex
- IAD
- interanterior dorsal thalamic nucleus
- IF
- interfascicular nucleus
- IPR
- interpeduncular nucleus, rostral subnucleus
- IPAC
- interstit nucleus post limb ant com
- LVOV
- lateral and ventral orbital cortex ventral part
- LH
- lateral hypothalamic area
- LRt
- lateral reticular nucleus, ventrolateral medulla
- LS
- lateral septal nucleus
- LC
- locus coeruleus
- MCLHD
- magnocellular nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area dorsal part
- MCLHV
- magnocellular nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area ventral part
- Me
- medial amygdaloid nucleus
- MPO
- medial preoptic nucleus
- MVePC
- medial vestibular nucleus, parvicellular
- MnR
- median raphe nucleus
- LOT
- nucleus lateral olfactory tract
- X
- nucleus X
- O
- orbital cortex
- PSTh
- parasubthalamic nucleus
- Pa
- paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus
- PVA
- paraventricular thalamic nucleus, anterior
- PVP
- paraventricular thalamic nucleus, posterior
- PAG
- periaqueductal gray
- PeF
- perifornical nucleus
- Pir
- piriform cortex
- Pn
- pontine nuclei
- PHD
- posterior hypothalamic area, dorsal part
- PH
- posterior hypothalamic area, posterior
- PHV
- posterior hypothalamic area, ventral part
- PIL
- posterior intralaminar thalamic nucleus
- PMTH
- posteromedial thalamic area
- PMTN
- posteromedial thalamic nucleus
- PrC
- precomissural nucleus
- PrL
- prelimbic cortex
- PM
- premammillary nucleus
- Pr
- prepositus hypoglossal nucleus
- M1
- primary motor cortex
- Rpa
- raphe pallidus nucleus
- RtTg
- reticulotegmental nucleus pons
- RS
- retrosplenial cortex
- Rh
- rhomboid thalamic nucleus
- M2
- secondary motor cortex
- S2
- secondary somatosensory cortex
- Sol
- solitary tract nucleus
- S1
- somatosensory 1
- STh
- subthalamic nucleus
- SC
- superior colliculus
- SCh
- suprachiasm nucleus
- SO
- supraoptic nucleus
- Su
- suprmammillary nucleus
- VTT
- ventral tenia tecta
- VLG
- ventrolateral genic nucleus
- VMH
- ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus
- VMPA
- ventromedial preoptic area + OVLT
- ZI
- zona incerta