Kv3.1 Voltage-gated Potassium Channels Modulate Anxiety-like Behaviors in Female Mice

Dec 29, 2023Neuroscience

Certain Potassium Channels Influence Anxiety-like Behavior in Female Mice

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Abstract

Unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) increased expression of Kv3.1 channels on prefrontal parvalbumin interneurons in female mice.

Stress may enhance Kv3.1 channel expression in prefrontal neurons, potentially contributing to anxiety behaviors.
Female mice lacking Kv3.1 channels exhibited resilience to anxiety-like behaviors induced by UCMS.
These findings suggest a link between Kv3.1 channels and the development of anxiety in females after chronic stress.
The study highlights a potential mechanism for understanding sex-specific vulnerability to stress-related disorders.

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Inhibitory parvalbumin (PV) interneurons regulate the activity of neural circuits within brain regions involved in emotional processing, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Recently, rodent studies have implicated a stress-induced increase in prefrontal PV neuron activity in the development of anxiety behaviors, particularly in females. However, the mechanisms through which stress increases activity of prefrontal PV neurons remain unknown. The fast-spiking properties of PV neurons in part come from their expression of voltage-gated potassium (K+) ion channels, particularly Kv3.1 channels. We therefore suggest that stress-induced changes in Kv3.1 channels contribute to the appearance of an anxious phenotype following chronic stress in female mice. Here, we first showed that unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) increased expression of Kv3.1 channels on prefrontal PV neurons in female mice, a potential mechanism underlying the previously observed hyperactivity of these neurons after stress. We then showed that female mice deficient in Kv3.1 channels displayed resilience to UCMS-induced anxiety-like behaviors. Altogether, our findings implicate Kv3.1 channels in the development of anxiety-like behaviors following UCMS, particularly in females, providing a novel mechanism to understand sex-specific vulnerabilities to stress-induced psychopathologies.

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Kv3.1 Voltage-gated Potassium Channels Modulate Anxiety-like Behaviors in Female Mice

Abstract

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