Sex Differences in Stress Receptors Underlie Female Vulnerability to Stress

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Stress-related psychiatric disorders, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, are debilitating mental illnesses that affect twice as many women as men. Although the etiology of this disparity remains unknown, it is thought to be due to sex differences in stress responses. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) orchestrates stress responses, in part, by regulating norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) transmission, and CRF is dysregulated in stress-related disorders. The goal of my current research is to identify sex differences in a receptor for CRF (CRF1 subtype) that may account for sex differences in stress responsivity. To date, I found that CRF1 signals and is trafficked differently in female rats in a manner that can account for elevated responses to acute stress and decreased adaptation to chronic stress. In females, CRF1 immunoprecipitation revealed a greater coupling to Gs, the GTP-binding protein that mediates most cellular responses. Additionally, stress-induced CRF1 association with ¿-arrestin2, an integral step in receptor internalization, was apparent in males but not females. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed stress-induced CRF1 internalization in male rats only, suggesting that this adaptive process to compensate for large amounts of CRF, as may be released in depression, is compromised in females. Importantly, sex differences in CRF1 function rendered NE neurons in the locus coeruleus of female rats more sensitive to low levels of CRF and less adaptable to high levels of CRF. However, because this is the first report of sex differences in stress- related neuropeptide receptor, many questions remain unanswered. Aim 1 of this proposal, which will be completed during the mentored phase (K99), investigates why CRF1 binds proteins differently in males vs. females. There are no sex differences in CRF1 structure, so I will learn proteomic approaches to identify whether sex differences in post-translational modifications of CRF1 account for these effects. Aims 2 and 3 will be completed during the independent phase. Aim 2 will identify the hormones that contribute to the sex difference in CRF1. To this end, I will combine previously acquired endocrine techniques with the skills learned during the K99 phase to determine whether ovarian or testicular hormones establish the sex differences. Aim 3 will evaluate whether sex differences extend to the other receptor subtype, CRF2, in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Because CRF1 and CRF2 share a high degree of sequence identity, proteomic approaches are expected to reveal sex differences in the CRF2. CRF2 activation of the dorsal raphe-5-HT system promotes a passive behavioral response strategy to stress that is a risk factor for depression. Thus, sex differences in CRF2 may contribute to the increased vulnerability of females this disorder. By addressing these questions, this proposal will help elucidate the etiology of sex differences in stress-related disorders. Moreover, because CRF antagonists are being developed to treat these illnesses, considering sex differences in CRF receptors may increase the efficacy of these compounds in women.