Fig. 4.

Female SSTCre:γ2^f/fmice do not exhibit behavioral resilience to UCMS. Behavioral analyses of female SSTCre:γ2^f/f mice and γ2^f/f controls under NS and UCMS conditions. A) Experimental design. B) Weight gain of female mice was unaffected by UCMS. and genotype (stress x genotype F_1,293 = 2.53, p = 0.11, 3-way repeated measurement ANOVA). C,D) The distance traveled in the OFT was increased in SSTCre:γ2^f/f vs. γ2^f/f mice (C) (F_1,42 = 7.76, p = 0.008) independent of stress. The center duration (D) showed an anxiogenic effect of UCMS (F_1,42 = 8.50, p = 0.0057). UCMS decreased the time spent in the center of SSTCre:γ2^f/f (p = 0.02, n = 14–15) but not γ2^f/f mice (p = 0.55, n = 8–9). E) In the EPM, SSTCre:γ2^f/f vs. γ2^f/f mice spent an increased percentage of time on open arms (F_1,39 = 14.53, p = 0.0005) independent of UCMS. F) The latency to feed in the NSFT showed a UCMS effect (F_1,40 = 4.613, p = 0.038) and a stress × genotype interaction (F_1,40 = 12.43, p = 0.0011) with the expected reduction in latency to feed in NS SSTCre:γ2^f/f vs. NS γ2^f/f mice (p = 0.009, n = 9–15) and a reduced feeding latency in UCMS vs. NS SSTCre:γ2^f/f mice (p < 0.001, n = 13–15) but not UCMS vs. NS γ2^f/f mice (p = 0.73, n = 8–9). G) The SSPT showed a UCMS-induced overall reduction in grooming duration (F_1,36 = 39.23, p < 0.0001) and an interaction of stress x genotype effects (F_1,36 = 7.053, p = 0.0117). NS SSTCre:γ2^f/f mice spent more time grooming than NS γ2^f/f mice (p = 0.017, n = 9–13), and UCMS reduced the grooming duration in SSTCre:γ2^f/f (p < 0.001, n = 11–13) but not γ2^f/f mice (p = 0.11, n = 8–9). H) The SPT showed no effects of UCMS and genotype. Data were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Bar graphs represent means ± SE. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.