Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Jul 2024)
The Impact of Depression on Detrimental Changes in Bone Microstructure in Female Mice
Abstract
Hong Xu,1 Zuoli Sun,1 Gang Wang,1,2 Rena Li1 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Gang Wang; Rena Li, Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & National Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100088, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Several clinical studies have examined the connection between depression and bone loss, but the cause-and-effect relationship between the two conditions, especially in animal models, is not well-studied.Methods: A total of 32 female mice were, randomly divided into control group (CON, n=19) and depression group (DEP, n=13). The mice in the DEP group were subjected to 21 consecutive days of restraint stress, following depressive-like behaviors were assessment. The femurs were collected using Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) and histochemical staining. In parallel, levels of serotonin-related proteins in the brain were measured using Western blot analysis, and sex hormone profiles were determined through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).Results: The mice in the DEP group exhibited clear signs of depressive-like behaviors and an increase in serotonin transporter levels (t=-2.435, P< 0.05). In comparison to the CON mice, the DEP mice showed a decrease in bone mineral density (t =3.741, P< 0.05), bone surface area density (t =8.009, P< 0.01), percent bone volume (t =4.293, P< 0.05), trabecular number (t =5.844, P< 0.01), and connected density (t =11.000, P< 0.05). Additionally, there was an increase in trabecular separation (t =-7.436, P< 0.01) in DEP mice. Furthermore, the DEP mice displayed a significant reduction in serum estrogen levels (t =4.340, P< 0.05) and changes in its metabolite (t =-3.325, P< 0.05), while the levels of androgens remained unchanged.Conclusion: The restraint stress not only led to the development of depressive-like behaviors but also disrupted the estrogen metabolism pathway, resulting in damage to bone mass and microstructure in female mice. These findings suggest that stress-induced depression may pose a risk for bone loss in female mice by altering estrogen metabolism pathways.Keywords: depression, bone mineral density, bone structure, estrogen, female
