Stress increases hepatic release of lipocalin 2 which contributes to anxiety-like behavior in mice

作者：Yan Lan, Fengzhen Yang, Yajie Wang, Lingling Shi, Mei Wang, Diran Yang, Wenjing Wang, Yanbin Jia, Kwok‐Fai So, Li Zhang · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-024-47266-9 · 被引用次数：58 · 研究领域：Stress Responses and Cortisol、Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior、Tryptophan and brain disorders

Chronic stress induces anxiety disorders via both neural pathways and circulating factors. Although many studies have elucidated the neural circuits involved in stress-coping behaviors, the origin and regulatory mechanism of peripheral cytokines in behavioural regulation under stress conditions are not fully understood. Here, we identified a serum cytokine, lipocalin 2 (LCN2), that was upregulated in participants with anxiety disorders. Using a mouse model of chronic restraint stress (CRS), circulating LCN2 was found to be related to stress-induced anxiety-like behaviour via modulation of neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These results suggest that stress increases hepatic LCN2 via a neural pathway, leading to disrupted cortical functions and behaviour.