Metabolic and transcriptomic signatures of the acute psychological stress response in the mouse brain

The acute stress response triggers various physiological responses such as energy mobilization to meet metabolic demands. However, the underlying molecular changes in the brain remain largely obscure. Here, we use a brief water avoidance stress (WAS) to elicit an acute stress response in mice. By employing RNA-sequencing and metabolomics profiling, we investigate the acute stress-induced molecular changes in the mouse whole brain. Aberrant expression of 60 genes was detected in the brain tissues of WAS-exposed mice. Functional analyses showed that the aberrantly expressed genes were enriched in various processes such as superoxide metabolism. In our global metabolomic profiling, total 43 brain metabolites were significantly altered by acute WAS. Metabolic pathways upregulated from WAS-exposed brain tissues relative to control samples included lipolysis, eicosanoid biosynthesis, and endocannabinoid synthesis. Acute WAS also elevated levels of branched-chain amino acids, 5-aminovalerates, 4-hydroxy-nonenal-glutathione, as well as mannose, suggesting complex metabolic changes in the brain. The observed molecular events in the present study provide a valuable resource that can help us better understand how acute psychological stress impacts neural functions. Overall design: Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for one hemisphere of the forebrain tissue of 1 h water avoidance stressed mouse and its control.