Distinct transcriptomic, proteomic and epigenetic stress-responses in dorsal and ventral hippocampus

The hippocampus - one of the most studied brain regions – is a key target of the stress response and vulnerable to the detrimental effects of stress. Although its intrinsic organization is highly conserved throughout its long dorsal-ventral axis, the dorsal hippocampus is linked to spatial navigation and memory formation, whereas the ventral hippocampus is linked to emotional regulation. Here, we provide the first combined transcriptomic and proteomic profiling that reveals striking differences between dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Using various acute stress challenges we demonstrate that both regions display very distinct molecular responses, and that the ventral hippocampus is particularly responsive to the effects of stress. We demonstrate that separately analyzing dorsal and ventral hippocampus greatly increases the ability to detect region-specific stress effects, and we identify an epigenetic network, which is specifically sensitive to acute stress in the ventral hippocampus.