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Effects of Social Isolation on Connexin 43 Expression in the Left Ventricle of Female Prairie Voles

Social stress plays a key role in the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and depression. Previous studies in animals have shown that social isolation leads to depressive like behaviors and increased incidence of arrhythmias. Alterations in the expression of left ventricular (LV) connexin43 (Cx43) has been identified in the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias in some forms of CVD. Prairie voles, which are socially monogamous rodents, were used to investigate the hypothesis that social isolation leads to increased depressive like behaviors and decreased LV Cx43 expression. Adult prairie voles were paired with or isolated from a sibling for 4 weeks. Then, half of the paired and isolated animals were exposed to 7 days of chronic mild stressors (CMS) while the other half remained undisturbed. The animals were subjected to the forced swim test (FST) as an index of depressive behavior. Following the FST, hearts were collected and LV Cx43 expression was determined by Western blotting. Data indicate a significant increase in depressive behavior during the FST exhibited by the paired+CMS, isolated, and isolated+CMS groups compared to the paired group. The expression of LV Cx43 was significantly lower in all groups as compared to the paired group. We conclude that a reduction in the expression of LV Cx43 may be a mechanism for the increased arrhythmogenesis in animals that exhibit depressive like behaviors. MH77581, HL112350, IOER 3726