Abstract
Stress has a substantial role in formation of psychiatric disorders especially depression. Meanwhile, impairment of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is connected to the executive and cognitive deficits induced by the stress. Given the involvement of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in stress-related processes and knowing the fact that PFC hosts a lot of CRF receptors and CRF neurotransmissions, it can worth to look at the CRF as a potential treatment for the regulation of depression disorders induced by stress within PFC region. Here, for the first time we aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of intra-PFC CRF system in the modulation of depression dysfunction caused by the stress in clinical and preclinical models/studies. Qualified researches were combined utilizing a comprehensive search of six databases including Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, Sciencedirect, APA PsycNet, and Embase in April 2021 and were evaluated through proper methodological quality assessment tools. Results indicate that PFC has a remarkable role in the modulation for stress-induced depression and intra-PFC CRF receptors agonist and antagonist are very considerable for regulating these types of impairments. Specifically, elevation of both CRF immunoreactivity and gene expression were observed in human studies. In the animal studies, mostly immunoreactivity or excitatory/inhibitory currents of CRF within the PFC regulated depression dysfunction. In conclusion, reviewed studies show a positive attitude toward the CRF system in regulation of the stress-induced depression; however, obviously further investigations are required to get closer to the best treatment.
Graphical Abstract
Prefrontal cortex corticotropin-releasing factor system regulates stress-induced depression. CRFR1, Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor of type1; PFC, Prefrontal cortex; Minus (−) and Plus (+) signs, dysregulation and upregulation, respectively.
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This work was supported by Major Scientific and Technological Program of China (2021ZD0203802), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32071028), the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality (5202023), CAS-VPST Silk Road Science Fund 2021 (GJHZ202129), and the Iran National Science Foundation (No. 99007925). The authors also acknowledge support from 2017 CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship for international Ph.D. students, awarded jointly by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and The World Academy of Sciences. We greatly appreciate the excellent work of the technical support staff Amir Asadollahi at the Laser and Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran and Behzad Golshaei at department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC.
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J.L. and A.H. were responsible for the study concept and design. M.M.A. and M.F. contributed to searching all databases and evaluating through proper methodological quality assessment tools. M.M.A drafted the manuscript. J.L., S.H., and F.S. provided critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors critically reviewed content and approved final version for publication.
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Alizamini, M.M., Fattahi, M., Sayehmiri, F. et al. Regulatory Role of PFC Corticotropin-Releasing Factor System in Stress-Associated Depression Disorders: A Systematic Review. Cell Mol Neurobiol 43, 1785–1797 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-022-01289-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-022-01289-2