Year: 2020
Type: review
Abstract: More than two-thirds of patients suffering from stress-related disorders are women but over two-thirds of suicide completers are men. These are just some examples of the many sex differences in the prevalence and manifestations of stress-related disorders, such as major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders, which have been extensively documented in clinical research. Nonetheless, the molecular origins of this sex dimorphism are still quite obscure. In response to this lack of knowledge, the NIH recently advocated implementing sex as biological variable in the design of preclinical studies across disciplines. As a result, a newly emerging field within psychiatry is trying to elucidate the molecular causes underlying the clinically described sex dimorphism. Several studies in rodents and humans have already identified many stress-related genes that are regulated by acute and chronic stress in a sex-specific fashion. Furthermore, current transcriptomic studies have shown that pathways and networks in male and female individuals are not equally affected by stress exposure. In this review, we give an overview of transcriptional studies designed to understand how sex influences stress-specific transcriptomic changes in rodent models, as well as human psychiatric patients, highlighting the use of different methodological techniques. Understanding which mechanisms are more affected in males, and which in females, may lead to the identification of sex-specific mechanisms, their selective contribution to stress susceptibility, and their role in the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders.
Source: Genes Brain & Behavior
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12643
Authors: Elena Brivio, Juan Pablo Lopez, Alon Chen
Language: English
Subfield: Behavioral Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funders: European Molecular Biology Organization, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Pratt Foundation, Perlman Family Foundation, International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Nella and Leon Benoziyo Center for Neurological Diseases, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Science Foundation, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Ministry of Health, State of Israel, International Max Planck Research School for Advanced Methods in Process and Systems Engineering, Israeli Centers for Research Excellence, Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education of Israel, H2020 European Research Council, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council
Awards: Dissecting the Central Stress Response: Bridging the Genotype-Phenotype Gap, Verbundvorhaben: EpiTrio 'Vollständige epigenomische Kartierung von typisch und stochastischer Fettleibigkeit des Menschen und der Maus', Freiburg, G2449147198, G4243091165, G4342066666, G6898522879, G7136120624, G80103162
OpenAlex ID: W3003701482