Not just a witness: Highlighting the utility of witness social defeat stress for the examination of neuroimmune-cardiovascular interactions across diverse populations.

Exposure to stress has widespread pathological consequences in terms of neuropsychiatric disorders and cardiovascular disease. Psychosocial stressors represent the most highly impactful and commonly experienced form of stress and, in preclinical studies, have been found to induce distinct overlapping immune and cardiovascular alterations. Historically, the social defeat model has been fundamental in providing insights into the autonomic and neuroimmune mediators of cardiovascular dysfunction in the face of social stress exposure.

Sex and age differences in the association between heart rate variability and cardiac chronotropy: A replication-extension study.

Using heart rate variability (vmHRV) as a proxy of cardiac vagal modulation, previous studies have hinted at sex differences in the vagal control of cardiac chronotropy in young adults, but little is known in older individuals. The current study aimed at investigating for the first time the moderating role of both sex and age in the relationship between vmHRV and cardiac chronotropy in younger (n = 106, mean age: 19.9 (3.

Genetic deletion of microRNA-34 unmasks cardiac vulnerability to psychosocial stress in male mice.

Exposure to chronic psychosocial stress is a major risk for cardiovascular disease. While the cardiovascular response to acute psychological stress is well known, the mechanisms underlying the risk to develop cardiovascular consequences in response to chronic stress exposure are poorly understood. The family of microRNA-34 (miR-34 s) is widely investigated for its role in cardiovascular dysfunctions, and recently miR-34 s were found involved in the brain adaptation to chronic stress.

Sex Differences in the Adverse Electromechanical Remodeling of the Heart after Repeated Witness Stress in Adult Rats: Relationship with a Specific miRNA Signature.

Objective: Sex disparities in the association between psychosocial stress and cardiovascular risk have been reported, yet the extent to which social stress impacts cardiovascular function in a sex-specific manner remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to investigate sex differences in the electromechanical remodeling of the heart of socially stressed rats, and to explore potential epigenetic mechanisms (cardiac microRNAs).

Methods: Adult wild-type Groningen rats of both sexes vicariously experienced the social defeat bout between two males for nine consecutive days ("witness stress" (WS) paradigm) or were exposed to a control condition (n=8/sex/group).

Heart rate variability, daily cortisol indices and their association with psychometric characteristics and gut microbiota composition in an Italian community sample.

The microbiota-gut-brain axis is a complex communication system that plays a crucial role in influencing various aspects of our physical and mental health. The goal of this study was to determine the extent to which individual differences in resting measures of vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels were associated with psychometric and specific gut microbiota characteristics in seventy-five (38 females) healthy individuals. Participants were assessed for vagally-mediated HRV, daily salivary cortisol levels, psychometric characteristics, and gut microbiota composition.

Sex differences in heart rate and heart rate variability responses to transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation in rats.

The identification of reliable biomarkers of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) responsiveness is a key challenge both at the clinical and preclinical level. Vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV), a surrogate measure of cardiac vagal efferent activity, is an ideal candidate. Yet, the effects of taVNS on vmHRV remain inconclusive, likely due to the high degree of heterogeneity in stimulation protocols (e.

Sex-specific behavioral, cardiac, and neuroendocrine responses to repeated witness social stress in adult rats.

In humans, sex disparities exist in the prevalence of social stress-related disorders, yet our understanding of the predisposing factors and underlying mechanisms is still elusive. Also at the preclinical level, the investigation of sex differences in social stress responses is limited. In this study, adult male and female wild-type Groningen rats were repeatedly exposed to witness social defeat stress (WS) to assess sex-specific behavioral, neuroendocrine, and cardiac responses to the same social stress paradigm.

Social stress-induced depressive-like symptoms and changes in gut microbial and lipidomic profiles are prevented by pharmacological inhibition of FAAH activity in male rats.

Pharmacological inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity has antidepressant-like effects in preclinical models of stress. In this study, we investigated whether the antidepressant-like effects of FAAH inhibition are associated with corresponding changes in gut microbial and lipidomic profiles, which are emerging as critical components in the pathophysiology of depression. Adult male Wistar rats experienced five weeks of repeated social defeat or control procedure and were treated with the FAAH inhibitor URB694 (0.

GH136-encoding gene (perB) is involved in gut colonization and persistence by Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010.

Bifidobacteria are commensal microorganisms that typically inhabit the mammalian gut, including that of humans. As they may be vertically transmitted, they commonly colonize the human intestine from the very first day following birth and may persist until adulthood and old age, although generally at a reduced relative abundance and prevalence compared to infancy. The ability of bifidobacteria to persist in the human intestinal environment has been attributed to genes involved in adhesion to epithelial cells and the encoding of complex carbohydrate-degrading enzymes.

Enhancement of peripheral fatty acyl ethanolamide signaling prevents stress-induced social avoidance and anxiety-like behaviors in male rats.

Rationale: Exposure to traumatic events can lead to alterations in social and anxiety-related behaviors. Emerging evidence suggests that peripheral host-defense processes are implicated in the expression of stress-induced behavioral responses and may be targeted to mitigate the negative sequalae of stress exposure.

Objectives: In this study, we used the peripherally restricted FAAH inhibitor URB937 to investigate the effects of the fatty acyl ethanolamide (FAE) family of lipid mediators - which include the endocannabinoid anandamide and the endogenous PPAR-α agonists, oleoylethanolamide and palmitoylethanolamide - on behavioral and peripheral biochemical responses to two ethologically distinct rat models of stress.

Repeated witness social stress causes cardiomyocyte contractile impairment and intracellular Ca derangement in female rats.

The impact of psychosocial stressors on cardiovascular health in women is of growing interest in both the popular and scientific literature. Rodent models are useful for providing direct experimental evidence of the adverse cardiovascular consequences of psychosocial stressors, yet studies in females are scarce. Here, we investigated the effects of repeated exposure to witness social defeat stress (WS) on cardiomyocyte contractile function and intracellular Ca homeostasis in young adult wild-type Groningen female rats.

Sex differences in heart rate and heart rate variability in rats: Implications for translational research.

The present study aimed to investigate sex differences in measures of cardiac chronotropy and heart rate variability (HRV) in 132 young adult wild-type Groningen rats ( = 45 females). Electrocardiographic signals were recorded for 48 h in freely moving rats to quantify heart rate (HR) and inter-beat interval (IBI) as measures of cardiac chronotropy, and time- and frequency-domain HRV parameters as physiological readouts of cardiac vagal modulation. Females showed greater vagally-mediated HRV despite having higher HR and shorter IBI than males during undisturbed conditions.

Cardiac autonomic and cortisol stress responses to real operations in surgeons: relationship with individual psychobiological characteristics and experience.

Background: Surgeons are exposed to high levels of intraoperative stress, which could compromise their psychological well-being in the long term. This study aimed at exploring the effects of real operations on the activity of stress response systems (i.e.

Decline of cardiomyocyte contractile performance and bioenergetic function in socially stressed male rats.

Chronic social stress has been epidemiologically linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, yet the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are still largely elusive. Mitochondrial (dys)function represents a potential intersection point between social stress exposure and (mal)adaptive cardiac responses. In this study, we used a rodent model of social stress to study the extent to which alterations in the cellular mechanical properties of the heart were associated with changes in indexes of mitochondrial function.

Exploring the Ecological Effects of Naturally Antibiotic-Insensitive Bifidobacteria in the Recovery of the Resilience of the Gut Microbiota during and after Antibiotic Treatment.

Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMC) is the most widely used antibiotic, being frequently prescribed to infants. Particular members of the genus are among the first microbial colonizers of the infant gut, and it has been demonstrated that they exhibit various activities beneficial for their human host, including promotion/maintenance of the human gut microbiota homeostasis. It has been shown that natural resistance of bifidobacteria to AMC is limited to a small number of strains.

Elevated miR-34a expression and altered transcriptional profile are associated with adverse electromechanical remodeling in the heart of male rats exposed to social stress.

This study investigated epigenetic risk factors that may contribute to stress-related cardiac disease in a rodent model. Experiment 1 was designed to evaluate the expression of microRNA-34a (miR-34a), a known modulator of both stress responses and cardiac pathophysiology, in the heart of male adult rats exposed to a single or repeated episodes of social defeat stress. Moreover, RNA sequencing was conducted to identify transcriptomic profile changes in the heart of repeatedly stressed rats.