Effects of social dominance and acute social stress on morphology of microglia and structural integrity of the medial prefrontal cortex

Effects of social dominance and acute social stress on morphology of microglia and structural integrity of the medial prefrontal cortex

•Acute social defeat alters morphology of microglia in infralimbic cortex.•Dominant hamsters show less reactive microglia and cell damage than subordinates.•Blocking microglia activity with minocycline increased stress-related behavior.•Microglia activity in the infralimbic cortex may be necessary f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain, behavior, and immunity Vol. 122; pp. 353 - 367
Main Authors: Grizzell, J. Alex, Clarity, Thomas T., Rodriguez, R. Mason, Marshall, Zachary Q., Cooper, Matthew A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01-11-2024
Subjects:
Aggression
Animals
Cricetinae
Infralimbic cortex
Male
Mesocricetus
Microglia
Microglia - metabolism
Microglia - pathology
Minocycline
Minocycline - pharmacology
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism
Prefrontal Cortex - pathology
Resilience
Social Defeat
Social Dominance
Stress, Psychological - metabolism
Minocycline
Social defeat
Aggression
Infralimbic cortex
Microglia
Resilience
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Summary:•Acute social defeat alters morphology of microglia in infralimbic cortex.•Dominant hamsters show less reactive microglia and cell damage than subordinates.•Blocking microglia activity with minocycline increased stress-related behavior.•Microglia activity in the infralimbic cortex may be necessary for stress coping. Chronic stress increases activity of the brain’s innate immune system and impairs function of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, whether acute stress triggers similar neuroimmune mechanisms is poorly understood. Across four studies, we used a Syrian hamster model to investigate whether acute stress drives changes in mPFC microglia in a time-, subregion-, and social status-dependent manner. We found that acute social defeat increased expression of ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1) in the infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PL) and altered the morphology Iba1+ cells 1, 2, and 7 days after social defeat. We also investigated whether acute defeat induced tissue degeneration and reductions of synaptic plasticity 2 days post-defeat. We found that while social defeat increased deposition of cellular debris and reduced synaptophysin immunoreactivity in the PL and IL, treatment with minocycline protected against these cellular changes. Finally, we tested whether a reduced conditioned defeat response in dominant compared to subordinate hamsters was associated with changes in microglia reactivity in the IL and PL. We found that while subordinate hamsters and those without an established dominance relationships showed defeat-induced changes in morphology of Iba1+ cells and cellular degeneration, dominant hamsters showed resistance to these effects of social defeat. Taken together, these findings indicate that acute social defeat alters microglial morphology, increases markers of tissue degradation, and impairs structural integrity in the IL and PL, and that experience winning competitive interactions can specifically protect the IL and reduce stress vulnerability.
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ISSN:0889-1591
1090-2139
1090-2139
DOI:10.1016/j.bbi.2024.08.043