CRFR2 in paraventricular thalamus (PVT) mediates heat-induced anxiety in male mice.
7 affiliations
- 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
- 2National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
- 3State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Tianhe District, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
- 4Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agricultural, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
- 5Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China. [email protected].
- 6National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China. [email protected].
- 7State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Tianhe District, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China. [email protected].
Abstract
As global warming escalates, heat stress in both animals and humans has emerged as a pressing concern. As a physiological response to uncomfortable high ambient temperature, heat stress also significantly affects the emotional states of animals. The paraventricular thalamus (PVT), a pivotal brain region for stress response and emotion regulation, expresses many CRF receptors. However, the role of CRF receptors in the PVT in emotion regulation under heat conditions remains unclear. In our study, we revealed distinct sex-specific responses to heat conditions in mice: male mice presented significantly increased anxiety-like behavior, whereas female mice presented no significant alterations. After heat exposure, the male mice presented anxiety-like behavior, accompanied by a trend toward upregulation CRFR2 expression in the PVT and inhibition of the AKT/CREB signaling pathway. Conversely, reducing CRFR2 expression or inhibiting CRFR2 in the PVT effectively alleviated heat-induced anxiety-like behavior in the OFT. Furthermore, our findings revealed that chemogenetic activation of Vglut2 neurons in the PVT induced anxiety-like behavior primarily reflected in the OFT, whereas chemogenetic inhibition of these neurons mitigated heat-triggered anxiety in the OFT. Notably, the reduction in CRFR2 expression or the specific inhibition of CRFR2 in PVTVglut2 neurons diminished heat-induced anxiety-like behavior in the OFT. Thus, our findings demonstrate that the CRFR2 and activity of Vglut2 neurons within the PVT contribute to the development of anxiety-like behavior in the OFT following heat exposure in male mice.
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BibTeX
@article{zhou2026crfr2,
title = {{CRFR2 in paraventricular thalamus (PVT) mediates heat-induced anxiety in male mice.}},
author = {Ying Zhou and Shuqing Zhu and Ziyuan Ye and Shangwu Ye and Xiaomin Chen and Wenxi Chen and Jieshan Li and Gang Shu and Songbo Wang and Qingyan Jiang and Lina Wang},
journal = {Cell \& bioscience},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s13578-026-01624-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907926},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - CRFR2 in paraventricular thalamus (PVT) mediates heat-induced anxiety in male mice.
AU - Ying Zhou
AU - Shuqing Zhu
AU - Ziyuan Ye
AU - Shangwu Ye
AU - Xiaomin Chen
AU - Wenxi Chen
AU - Jieshan Li
AU - Gang Shu
AU - Songbo Wang
AU - Qingyan Jiang
AU - Lina Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Cell & bioscience
DO - 10.1186/s13578-026-01624-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907926
AB - As global warming escalates, heat stress in both animals and humans has emerged as a pressing concern. As a physiological response to uncomfortable high ambient temperature, heat stress also significantly affects the emotional states of animals. The paraventricular thalamus (PVT), a pivotal brain region for stress response and emotion regulation, expresses many CRF receptors. However, the role of CRF receptors in the PVT in emotion regulation under heat conditions remains unclear. In our study, we revealed distinct sex-specific responses to heat conditions in mice: male mice presented significantly increased anxiety-like behavior, whereas female mice presented no significant alterations. After heat exposure, the male mice presented anxiety-like behavior, accompanied by a trend toward upregulation CRFR2 expression in the PVT and inhibition of the AKT/CREB signaling pathway. Conversely, reducing CRFR2 expression or inhibiting CRFR2 in the PVT effectively alleviated heat-induced anxiety-like behavior in the OFT. Furthermore, our findings revealed that chemogenetic activation of Vglut2 neurons in the PVT induced anxiety-like behavior primarily reflected in the OFT, whereas chemogenetic inhibition of these neurons mitigated heat-triggered anxiety in the OFT. Notably, the reduction in CRFR2 expression or the specific inhibition of CRFR2 in PVTVglut2 neurons diminished heat-induced anxiety-like behavior in the OFT. Thus, our findings demonstrate that the CRFR2 and activity of Vglut2 neurons within the PVT contribute to the development of anxiety-like behavior in the OFT following heat exposure in male mice.
SN - 2045-3701
ER -