| First Author | Vialou V | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Neurosci | Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 43 | Pages | 14585-92 |
| PubMed ID | 20980616 | Mgi Jnum | J:166519 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4847973 | Doi | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2496-10.2010 |
| Citation | Vialou V, et al. (2010) Serum response factor promotes resilience to chronic social stress through the induction of DeltaFosB. J Neurosci 30(43):14585-92 |
| abstractText | The molecular mechanisms underlying stress- and drug-induced neuronal adaptations are incompletely understood. One molecule implicated in such adaptations is DeltaFosB, a transcription factor that accumulates in the rodent nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, in response to either chronic stress or repeated exposure to drugs of abuse. The upstream transcriptional mechanisms controlling DeltaFosB induction by these environmental stimuli remain elusive. Here, we identify the activity-dependent transcription factor, serum response factor (SRF), as a novel upstream mediator of stress-, but not cocaine-, induced DeltaFosB. SRF is downregulated in NAc of both depressed human patients and in mice chronically exposed to social defeat stress. This downregulation of SRF is absent in resilient animals. Through the use of inducible mutagenesis, we show that stress-mediated induction of DeltaFosB, which occurs predominantly in resilient mice, is dependent on SRF expression in this brain region. Furthermore, NAc-specific genetic deletion of SRF promotes a variety of prodepressant- and proanxiety-like phenotypes and renders animals more sensitive to the deleterious effects of chronic stress. In contrast, we demonstrate that SRF does not play a role in DeltaFosB accumulation in NAc in response to chronic cocaine exposure. Furthermore, NAc-specific knock-out of SRF has no effect on cocaine-induced behaviors, indicating that chronic social defeat stress and repeated cocaine exposure regulate DeltaFosB accumulation and behavioral sensitivity through independent mechanisms. |
