Stress-Induced Sex Differences: Adaptations Mediated by the Glucocorticoid Receptor

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Chase H. Bourke, Emory University; Constance S. Harrell, Emory University; Gretchen Neigh, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-08
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.02.024
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Hormones and Behavior
• ISSN: 0018-506X
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 210
• End Page: 218
• Grant/Funding Information: GN Neigh receives grant funding from NIMH, AHA, NARSAD, GSK, and Emory University.; Funding for this study was provided by unrestricted funds provided by Emory University’s Comprehensive Neurosciences Center’s Child and Adolescent Mood Program and salary support for CH Bourke was provided by the HHMI Med into Grad Program (Grant Number: 5600672) and the NCRR Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Grant Number: UL1 RR025008)
• Keywords: progesterone; cytokines; autoimmunity; sex differences; glucocorticoid receptor; anxiety; estradiol; testosterone; obesity
• Research Categories: Psychology, Physiological; Psychology, Behavioral; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Clinical evidence has indicated that women are more susceptible to stress-related and autoimmune disorders than men. Although females may be more susceptible to some disease states, males do not escape unscathed and are more susceptible to metabolic dysfunction. The hypothalamic-pituitary-axis plays a pivotal role in the sexually dimorphic effects of chronic stress through alterations in negative feedback. Recent evidence has implicated the glucocorticoid receptor and its co-chaperones in the etiology of psychiatric and somatic diseases. Gonadal hormones heavily interact with both glucocorticoid receptor expression and glucocorticoid receptor action either through direct or indirect effects on proteins in the chaperone and co-chaperone complex. Diverse systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis, the immune system, and metabolism are affected differently in males and females, possibly through the glucocorticoid receptor system. New considerations of glucocorticoid regulation through the co-chaperone complex in the brain will be vital to the development of treatment strategies for men and women afflicted by neuropsychiatric and somatic disorders.