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Query: UNIPROT:Q86TM3 (cage)
 29,987 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Rat pups 2-14 days of age were exposed daily to handling (15 min of separation from mother and home cage), maternal separation (MS; 180 min of comparable separation), or were left entirely undisturbed (non-handled; NH). As adults, MS rats showed increased hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels compared with NH rats, while CRF mRNA levels in H rats were significantly lower than either MS or NH animals. Hypothalamic CRF content under basal conditions followed exactly the same pattern. A 20-min period of restraint stress produced significant CRF depletion in all groups, although the percentage of depletion was significantly lower in H animals compared with either MS or NH animals. Restraint stress produced significantly higher increases in plasma corticosterone in MS and NH animals than in H animals. These data reflect the importance of early environmental factors in regulating the development of the hypothalamic CRF system and the responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to stress.
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PMID:Early, postnatal experience alters hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA, median eminence CRF content and stress-induced release in adult rats. 849 82

Guinea pig pups vocalized and ambulated when first isolated in a test cage; at 1 and 24 hr, levels of these behaviors had waned, and pups frequently exhibited a crouched stance, eye-closing, and piloerection. Injection (s.c.) of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) prior to isolation diminished the initial vocalization and locomotor responses and induced pups to exhibit the crouched stance, eye-closing, and piloerection at the beginning of the isolation period. Pretreatment with a CRF-receptor antagonist reversed the behavioral effects of CRF. CRF had no effect on blood pressure. Thus, s.c. CRF produced the same behavioral profile as seen with the passage of time in untreated isolated pups. The behavioral effects appeared to be CRF-receptor-mediated events and were not secondary to hypotension. These results support the hypothesis that during prolonged isolation, high or sustained peripheral CRF activity modulates behavior.
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PMID:Effects of peripherally administered corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and a CRF antagonist: does peripheral CRE activity mediate behavior of guinea pig pups during isolation? 874 63

The spontaneous locomotor behavior of rats receiving subcutaneous administration of either acidic or basic fibroblast growth factors was recorded in an activity cage. We report that doses between 1 and 100 micrograms/kg significantly decreased the horizontal and vertical activity, as well as the exploratory and stereotypy behavior of the rats. These effects of fibroblast growth factors seem to be specific since (i) they were cancelled by protein hydrolysis and anti-fibroblast growth factor antibodies, (ii) they were unrelated to their hypotensive activity and (iii) they were not attributable to their high structural similarity with the cytokine interleukin-1. Thus fibroblast growth factors did not show any thermogenic activity, did not affect the hypothalamic output of corticotropin-releasing factor and did not change the plasma levels of corticosterone. Pretreatment of the rats with a specific inhibitor of brain nitric oxide synthase prevented the effects of fibroblast growth factors, suggesting the involvement of nitric oxide in these behavioral modifications. Our results contribute to the accumulating evidence describing non-mitogenic activities of fibroblast growth factors.
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PMID:Fibroblast growth factor decreases locomotor activity in rats. 895 74

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41 amino acid peptide postulated to be involved in integrating the physiological and behavioral responses to stress. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of CRF microinfused into the nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) and shell (AcbSh) subregions. Rats were tested for general motor activity, cage crossings, and rearing following CRF (0, 125, 250, or 500 ng). Behavioral observations were also made to determine the profile of activity caused by CRF infusion into the Acb. CRF in the AcbSh but not the AcbC regions elicited an increase in general motor activity that lasted approximately 2 h. When compared with ventricular injections, CRF in the AcbSh had greater activating effects. The CRF-induced behavioral profile consisted of increases in grooming, sniffing, and oral behavior. Results are discussed as they pertain to the involvement of the AcbSh in stress, motivated behavior, and drug sensitization.
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PMID:Microinfusion of corticotropin-releasing factor into the nucleus accumbens shell results in increased behavioral arousal and oral motor activity. 910 18

In the visible burrow system model of chronic social stress, male rats housed in mixed-sex groups quickly form a dominance hierarchy in which the subordinates appear to be severely stressed. A subgroup of subordinates have an impaired corticosterone response after presentation of a novel restraint stressor, leading to their designation as nonresponsive subordinates. To examine the mechanism underlying the blunted corticosterone response in these animals, in situ hybridization histochemistry was used to quantify corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) mRNA expression in the brain. In two separate visible burrow system experiments, the nonresponsive subordinates expressed a significantly lower average number of CRF mRNA grains per cell in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus compared with stress-responsive subordinates, dominants (DOM), or cage-housed control (CON) rats. The number of CRF mRNA labeled cells was also significantly lower in nonresponders than in responsive subordinates or DOM. In the central amygdala, CRF mRNA levels were increased in both groups of subordinates compared with CON rats, whereas responsive subordinates exhibited higher levels than the DOM rats as well. AVP mRNA levels did not vary with behavioral rank in any subdivision of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus. In the medial amygdala, the number of cells expressing AVP mRNA was significantly greater in CON rats compared with both groups of subordinates, although the average number of AVP mRNA grains per cell did not vary with rank. In addition, the number of AVP-positive cells significantly correlated with plasma testosterone level.
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PMID:Chronic social stress alters levels of corticotropin-releasing factor and arginine vasopressin mRNA in rat brain. 916 47

Guinea pig pups were injected subcutaneously with a corticotropin-releasing factor antagonist (CRF12-41) or saline vehicle and then placed into a novel cage for 30 or 60 min. Isolated 20- to 26-day-old pups vocalized more and exhibited more locomotor activity when given 15 to 150 micrograms of CRF12-41 than when given saline. The presence of the mother in the test cage prevented the antagonist from affecting behavior. The influence of the antagonist during isolation was not limited to guinea pigs near weaning age: CRF12-41 increased levels of vocalizing in isolated, 4- to 6-day-old pups, though no changes were seen in locomotor activity. Results support the hypothesis that endogenous corticotropin-releasing factor, perhaps acting at a peripheral binding site, suppresses the active behavioral response characteristic of pups during the early phase of isolation in novel surroundings.
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PMID:Evidence that endogenous corticotropin-releasing factor suppresses behavioral responses of guinea pig pups to brief isolation in novel surroundings. 922 15

The present study was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of chronic elevation of centrally circulating levels of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) on behavior and physiology. For this purpose ovine CRF was infused continuously for a period of 10 days into the lateral ventricle of rats with the aid of osmotic pumps (calculated CRF delivery was 4.9 micrograms/day). Changes in daily rhythms in body temperature and home cage motor activity were recorded telemetrically during the infusion period. The most prominent physiological findings were a delayed body weight gain and a long-lasting hyperthermia following CRF infusion. The peptide treatment furthermore increased adrenal weight and suppressed the weight of the thymus at the end of the experiment. Behaviorally, CRF administration elicited a short-lasting increase in activity during the light phase and an increased anxiety in an elevated plus-maze 1 week after the start of infusion. The similarities between the present results and the long-term changes previously described in behaviorally stressed rats indicate that chronically elevated levels of CRF in the brain might play an important role in the induction and persistence of stress-related behavioral and physiological disorders.
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PMID:Physiological and behavioral effects of chronic intracerebroventricular infusion of corticotropin-releasing factor in the rat. 927 36

The present study was conducted to investigate the long-term consequences of repeated daily bolus injections of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) intracerebroventricularly (ICV) on ongoing locomotor activity and physiology in the home cage of individually housed rats. For this purpose ovine CRF (1 microgram/3 microliters) was injected once daily during the early resting phase into the lateral ventricle for a period of 10 days. Changes in daily rhythms in heart rate, body temperature and motor activity were recorded telemetrically before and during the treatment period. Daily central CRF injection delayed the body weight gain, increased adrenal weight, and decreased the weight of the thymus at the end of the experiment. The acute behavioral and physiological responses to CRF did not habituate with repetition of treatment. CRF treatment also failed to affect the long-term regulation of baseline heart rate, body temperature and motor activity during the light phase, as measured during the hour preceding the daily CRF injection. Mean heart rate during the dark phase was, however, significantly decreased in CRF-treated rats during the whole experimental 10-day period, without any sign of habituation. The failure of episodic CRF to affect long-term regulation of baseline body temperature during the light as well as the dark phase was noteworthy because an increased daytime body temperature lasting for several days is a characteristic marker of various behavioral stressors. Since a previous study showed that the temperature response during chronic CRF infusion was similar to the long-term effects of behavioral stress it is hypothesized that chronic but not episodic increases in central CRF levels are related to the induction and persistence of part of the stress-related behavioral and physiological disorders.
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PMID:Behavioral and physiological consequences of repeated daily intracerebroventricular injection of corticotropin-releasing factor in the rat. 969 27

The present experiments focused on the influence of prenatal stress on the development of neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in the fetal rat, including corticotropin-releasing factor-containing neurons. Prenatal stress was administered by restraining pregnant rats in a small cage for either 30 (30-min stress group) or 240 min (240-min stress group) daily for three days from embryonic day 15 to 17, and the fetal brains were taken on embryonic day 18 for later analysis. Golgi-impregnated neurons of the paraventricular nucleus in the 240-min stress group revealed that the total length of the processes was significantly shorter than in the control (unstressed) and 30-min stress groups. In addition, the 240-min stress group showed an increase in the number of apoptotic cells in the fetal paraventricular nucleus. On the other hand, Golgi-impregnated neurons of the paraventricular nucleus in the 30-min stress group had a greater degree of cell differentiation as manifested by an increase in both the number of branch points and the total length of the processes from the cell body. Furthermore, the fetal paraventricular nucleus in the 30-min stress group showed enhanced corticotropin-releasing factor messenger RNA expression, while the varicosities of corticotropin-releasing factor-containing axons at the median eminence revealed more matured morphology such as shorter intervals between the varicosities. These findings suggest the duration-dependent effects of prenatal stress on the development of fetal hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus neurons, including corticotropin-releasing factor-containing neurons: long-lasting stress causes neurotoxic changes of fetal paraventricular nucleus neurons, whereas short-lasting stress facilitates the development of these fetal brain neurons. These morphological changes induced by prenatal stress may contribute to behavioral changes of the offspring after birth.
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PMID:The effects of prenatal stress on the development of hypothalamic paraventricular neurons in fetal rats. 1042 47

Corticotropin-releasing hormone plays an important role in the coordination of various responses to stress. Previous research has implicated both corticotropin-releasing hormone and the serotonergic system as causative factors in the development and course of stress-related psychiatric disorders such as major depression. To delineate the role of the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type 1 (CRH-R1) in the interactions between corticotropin-releasing hormone and serotonergic neurotransmission, in vivo microdialysis was performed in CRH-R1-deficient mice under basal (home cage) and stress (forced swimming) conditions. Hippocampal dialysates were used to measure extracellular levels of serotonin and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and free corticosterone levels to monitor the status of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Moreover, behavioural activity was assessed by visual observation and a scoring paradigm. Both wild-type and heterozygous mutant mice showed a clear diurnal rhythm in free corticosterone. Free corticosterone concentrations were, however, lower in heterozygous mutant mice than in wild-type animals and undetectable in homozygous CRH-R1-deficient mice. Homozygous CRH-R1-deficient mice showed enhanced hippocampal levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid but not of serotonin during the light and the dark phase of the diurnal cycle, which may point to an enhanced synthesis of serotonin in the raphe-hippocampal system. Moreover, the mutation resulted in higher behavioural activity in the home cage during the light but not during the dark period. Forced swimming caused a rise in hippocampal serotonin followed by a further increase after the end of the stress paradigm in all genotypes. Homozygous and heterozygous mutant mice showed, however, a significantly amplified serotonin response to the forced swimming as compared to wild-type control animals. We conclude that CRH-R1-deficiency results in reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity, in enhanced synthesis of serotonin during basal conditions, and in an augmented response in extracellular levels of serotonin to stress. These data provide further evidence for the intricate relationship between corticotropin-releasing hormone and serotonin and the important role of the CRH-R1 herein.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type 1-deficiency enhances hippocampal serotonergic neurotransmission: an in vivo microdialysis study in mutant mice. 1180 62


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