Summary:
Estrogens have been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety, supporting the observed higher prevalence of these disorders in women than men. Neuro-estrogens are considered to act rapidly in the brain through G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1, GPER1. Recent studies have shown its implication to anxiety and depression, but its action is yet to be clarified. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential antidepressant and/or anxiolytic effect of GPER1 activation in experimental animals subjected to chronic mild stress (CMS). In the present thesis, female and male Wistar rats were subjected to CMS and subsequently were treated intraperitoneally daily for one week with vehicle, ketamine or G1, a GPER1 agonist. All animals were subjected to open field and light-dark tests. Interestingly, in our study, CMS resulted into a possibly stress-induced animals’ hyperlocomotion, especially in females. G1-treated stressed female rats displayed reduced anxiety in both tests. In opposition, GPER1 activation in stressed male rats affected only zone entries, revealing a sex difference. Overall, this study supports that G1 potentially has an anxiolytic effect in a sex- and stress-related manner, prompting further investigation into leveraging GPER1’s function to develop novel treatments for depression and anxiety.
Keywords:
GPER1, Estrogens, Chronic mild stres, Anxiety, Depression
