Investigation of the effects of calorie restriction ON A chronic unpredictable mild severe stress model in rats

The number of various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases, which have become a modern problem of our age and occur as a result of stress exposure, is increasing day by day. One of the new therapeutic interventions of interest in this regard is calorie restriction. Currently, brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)protein expression, which increases with calorie restriction, draws attention in terms of being up to date. OBJECTIVE: In addition to the effect of calorie restriction on behavioral changes in the chronic unpredictable mild-severe stress CUMS)model, it was aimed to investigate the tissue morphology of chronic stress in the hippocampus histopathologically and BDNF protein expression immunohistochemically. MATERIAL and METHODS: In the present study, 7-9 weeks old male rats and 48 rats, 8 in each group, were used. In order to create the chronic stress process, the CUMS model was applied. Then calorie restriction was applied. Open field test and elevated plus maze test was performed to examine behavioral changes. Morphometric measurement and immunohistochemical BDNF expression in Dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 regions were evaluated histopathologically in hippocampus tissues. CONCLUSION: According to behavioral findings, 50 % and 25 % calorie restriction, excluding 25 % chronic calorie restriction applied after stress, were found to be anxiolytic in the CUMS model. All findings on the DG region in the same groups were similar to each other. An important finding of the study which the DG region is the most effective region in the stress model of calorie restriction. Except for 25% chronic calorie restriction applied after stress, 50% acute calorie restriction and 25% chronic calorie restriction have important findings which is the increase in BDNF protein expression in the DG and CA1 regions.