Effects of social isolation stress on miRNA expression in the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) in male and female rats

Purpose: This study assessed putative sex differences in miRNA expression in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST)—a sexually dimorphic brain region implicated in anxiety—of adult male and female rats that had been exposed throughout adolescence to social isolation (SI) stress. Methods: Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent SI during adolescence or remained grouped housed (GH) till adulthood. Small RNA sequencing was performed on tissue extracted from the anterodorsal BNST. Results: SI compared to GH induced more anxiogenic-like effects in females compared to males and sex-dependent changes in miRNA expression in the BNST. Conclusions: The current study shows that housing conditions (either SI or GH) during adolescence regulates miRNA expression in a sex-specific manner in the sexually dimorphic area of the adBNST Small RNA sequencing results were generated from the anterodorsal bed nucleus of stria terminalis (adBNST) of male and female group housed (GH) and socially isolated (SI) rats.