Rattus norvegicus strain:Sprague-Dawley Epigenomics

Several recent experiments in cell lines have indicated that a cell can respond to new signals within its environment by altering chromatin access to transcription factors. This response allows transcription factor signaling to be tailored to the context of the cellular environment and other messages it receives. We have tested whether the hippocampus brain region, known to be a point of convergence for multiple signals associated with stress, can respond to the multiple changes in signaling associated with the experience of an acute stressor exposure in the same way. By assessing the binding of the glucocorticoid receptor, which responds to the stress hormone corticosterone, in stress and unstressed contexts we aimed to reveal any change in binding associated with stress that might occur as a result of altered chromatin access, but found none. Our results do however provide interesting insights into how this receptor functions within the brain and the mechanisms by which it associates with DNA.