ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2016
Differential effects of stress on microglial cell activation in male and female medial prefrontal cortex.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 145 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
145 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 215 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cell type specific transcriptomic differences in depression show similar patterns between males and females but implicate distinct cell types and genes.Nature communications · 2023Pooled it
- Stress and neuroinflammation: a systematic review of the effects of stress on microglia and the implications for mental illness.Psychopharmacology · 2016Pooled it
- Adolescent M-CSF Administration Provides Durable Protection Against Trauma-Induced PTSD-Like Phenotypes in Male Mice Through Microglia-Dependent Mechanisms.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Sex-specific role of microglia in ΔNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The Oral-Brain Axis: A Unified Framework Linking Trigeminal Sensorimotor Dysfunction, Chronic Stress, Neuroinflammation, and Neurodegeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Dentate Gyrus ERK1/2-BDNF Signaling is Required for the Antidepressant Effect of Microglial Stimulation in a Male Mouse Model of Depression Induced by Adolescent Nicotine Exposure.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Chronic stress alters neurotransmitter co-expression and disrupts context discrimination in a sex-dependent manner.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2026Article
- Sex-Specific Reversal of Stress-Induced Depressogenic Behaviors by Inhibition of HMGB1, TLR4, and NF-κB Signaling.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Mll5 haploinsufficiency attenuates microglial phagocytosis through dysregulated TREM2-SGK3-GSK3β signaling and recapitulates ASD-like behaviors in mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Research Progress on the Biological Function and Homeostatic Disruption of Microglia in the Pathogenesis of Major Depressive Disorder.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Review
- Not just neurons: glial mechanisms driving sex-specific vulnerability to withdrawal and relapse in substance use disorder.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- AT1R in Central Nervous System Disorders: Unveiling Novel Mechanisms and Therapeutic Avenues for Addiction.Addiction biology · 2026Review
- Aberrant MicroRNA-124 expression and methylation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of depressed subjects.Journal of psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Social hierarchy and resilience affect stress-induced PTSD via Uba7 gene expression and subsequent inflammation in microglia of the mPFC.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- mPFC Synaptosome Proteomics Reveals Novel Pathways and Muscarinic Receptor Changes in a Learned Helplessness Mouse Model.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Microglial CX3CR1 signaling mediates stress-induced pain behavior in mice.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Defining functional states and roles of microglia in neuropsychiatric disorders.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Microglial interferon signaling and Aβ plaque pathology are enhanced in female 5xFAD Alzheimer's disease mice, independent of estrous cycle stage.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Susceptibility to stress-linked psychological disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, differs between men and women. Dysfunction of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in many of these disorders. Chronic stress affects mPFC in a sex-dependent manner, differentially remodeling dendritic morphology and disrupting prefrontally mediated behaviors in males and females. Chronic restraint stress induces microglial activation, reflected in altered microglial morphology and immune factor expression, in mPFC in male rats. Unstressed females exhibit increased microglial ramification in several brain regions compared to males, suggesting both heightened basal activation and a potential for sex-dependent effects of stress on microglial activation. Therefore, we assessed microglial density and ramification in the prelimbic region of mPFC, and immune-associated genes in dorsal mPFC in male and female rats following acute or chronic restraint stress. Control rats were left unstressed. On the final day of restraint, brains were collected for either qPCR or visualization of microglia using Iba-1 immunohistochemistry. Microglia in mPFC were classified as ramified, primed, reactive, or amoeboid, and counted stereologically. Expression of microglia-associated genes (MHCII, CD40, IL6, CX3CL1, and CX3CR1) was also assessed using qPCR. Unstressed females showed a greater proportion of primed to ramified microglia relative to males, alongside heightened CX3CL1-CX3CR1 expression. Acute and chronic restraint stress reduced the proportion of primed to ramified microglia and microglial CD40 expression in females, but did not significantly alter microglial activation in males. This sex difference in microglial activation could contribute to the differential effects of stress on mPFC structure and function in males versus females.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.