Male and female rats differ in homeostatic shifts during pre-slaughter fear stress

Abstract

In this investigation, the level of сortisol in blood plasma and splenocytes apoptosis in male and female rats in response to fear stress created by animals’ waiting for different terms (20, 40, 60 min) before the slaughter were evaluated. A significant and dependent on the stress state duration increase in the level of cortisol in the blood plasma of both male and female rats compared with the rats of control groups was found, which was more pronounced in females compared to males. The number of Annexin V-positive (apoptotic) cells was determined by FACS analysis. It was shown that the content of apoptotic splenocytes during the stress before slaughter was higher in females compared to males. The prolongation of the stress period was accompanied by an increase in the content of apoptotic splenocytes in males and its decrease in females. The potential hormone-dependent attenuation of the mechanisms of adaptation to stress before slaughter in female rats is discussed.

Keywords

• male and female rats
• pre-slaughter fear stress
• cortisol
• apoptosis