Abstract
Stress induces many non-specific inflammatory responses in the mouse brain, especially during adolescence. Although the impact of stress on the brain has long been reported, the effects of cold stress on hippocampal neuroinflammation in adolescent mice are not well understood; furthermore, whether these effects are gender specific are also not well established. Adolescent male and female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 4 °C temperatures for 12 h, after which behavior was assessed using the open field test. Using western blotting and immunohistochemistry we also assessed glial cell numbers and microglial activation, as well as inflammatory cytokine levels and related protein expression levels. We found that in mice subjected to cold stress: 1) There were significant behavioral changes; 2) neuronal nuclei densities were smaller and total cell numbers were significantly decreased; 3) nuclear factor (NF)-κB and phosphorylated AKT were upregulated; 4) pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were also upregulated; and 5) microglia were activated, while glial fibrillary acid protein and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 protein expression increased. Taken together, these results indicate that cold stress induces pro-inflammatory cytokine upregulation that leads to neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampi of adolescent mice. We believe that these effects are influenced by a GABAB/Rap1B/AKT/NF-κB pathway. Finally, male mice were more sensitive to the effects of cold stress than were female mice.