Decreased Expression Of Extrogen Receptors In The Hippocampus Of Rat Model Of Gestational Depression

ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between expression of subtypes of estrogen receptor (ER-α,ER-β) in the hippocampus of rats and gestational depression.MethodBehavioral assessment was conducted on 40 pregnant rats breeding under normal conditions.Prior to pregnancy and on gestational day 15,10 rats with significant decreased scores were included into the experimental group.10 males,10 non-pregnant females and 10 pregnant females with similar conditions were subjected to various chronic mild psychological stresses for 15 days.Expression of ER-αand ER-βin the hippocampus in different groups were compared using immunohistochemical SP method.ResultsThe four groups were compared for behavioral scores,weight gain,and average abundance of cells positive for ER-αand ER-βin the hippocampus.Single-factorial variance analysis ANOVA and corrected t-test(LSD-t) were performed for paired comparison.As shown,pregnant rats as a whole scored significantly lower than male rats(p＜0.01),with the experimental group scored still lower(p＜0.05).For the rest,no significant difference was detected except for a correlation between the difference in behavioral score and the expression of ER-βbefore and after the experiment(r=-0.39). No correlation was found between ER-αand weight gains.ConclusionInclination for depression during the pregnancy may be related with decreased expression of ER-βin the hippocampus.