Hippocampal gene expression profiling in mice treated with beta-sitosterol

Anxiety and stress-related conditions represent a significant health burden in modern society. Unfortunately, most of the drugs currently used in the clinic modulate neurotransmission and are prone to side effects, limiting their long-term use. We used bioinformatics screening to find small molecules mimicking the transcriptional profile recently reported in hippocampi of importin α5 mutant anxiolytic mice, identifying the plant sterol β-sitosterol as a top candidate. Behavioral analyses confirmed anxiolytic properties of β-sitosterol. The present RNA-seq experiment characterizes the hippocampal transcriptome in mice 1 hr and 6 hrs after intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg/kg β-sitosterol or vehicle. RNA-seq performed on: 2 treatment groups (beta-sitosterol; vehicle), 2 time points per treatment (1hr; 6hrs), 4 animals per each group and replicate