TABLE 4.
Relative mRNA expression of HPA-related parameters in the hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus and PFC of piglets of the different treatment groups.
| Treatment group |
P-values (F-test) |
|||||
| Parameter | DA | DG | C | Treatment | Sex | Treatment × sex |
| Hypothalamus | ||||||
| MR | 1.01 ± 0.11 | 0.90 ± 0.11 | 0.89 ± 0.11 | 0.687 | 0.352 | 0.487 |
| GR | 1.05 ± 0.14 | 1.10 ± 0.14 | 1.27 ± 0.14 | 0.523 | 0.055 | 0.087 |
| MR/GR ratio | 1.22 ± 0.17 | 1.02 ± 0.17 | 0.75 ± 0.17 | 0.182 | 0.829 | 0.284 |
| CRHR1 | 1.21 ± 0.11a | 0.81 ± 0.11b | 1.02 ± 0.11 | <0.01 | 0.567 | <0.05 |
| CRHR2 | 1.27 ± 0.14 | 1.07 ± 0.14 | 1.11 ± 0.14 | 0.551 | 0.495 | 0.250 |
| AVPR1A | 1.21 ± 0.16 | 1.42 ± 0.16 | 1.12 ± 0.16 | 0.437 | 0.552 | 0.378 |
| OXTR | 0.97 ± 0.21 | 1.29 ± 0.21 | 1.27 ± 0.21 | 0.472 | 0.697 | 0.715 |
| Amygdala | ||||||
| MR | 1.05 ± 0.15 | 0.82 ± 0.15 | 1.24 ± 0.15 | 0.078 | 0.297 | 0.162 |
| GR | 0.89 ± 0.10 | 0.96 ± 0.10 | 0.85 ± 0.10 | 0.721 | 0.866 | 0.428 |
| MR/GR ratio | 1.26 ± 0.35 | 1.35 ± 0.36 | 1.78 ± 0.35 | 0.580 | 0.070 | 0.704 |
| CRHR1 | 1.09 ± 0.13 | 0.82 ± 0.13 | 1.16 ± 0.13 | 0.122 | 0.645 | 0.290 |
| CRHR2 | 1.22 ± 0.18 | 0.99 ± 0.18 | 1.20 ± 0.18 | 0.474 | 0.568 | 0.157 |
| AVPR1A | 1.11 ± 0.16 | 1.04 ± 0.16 | 1.12 ± 0.16 | 0.882 | 0.134 | 0.379 |
| OXTR | 1.09 ± 0.11 | 0.87 ± 0.11 | 0.79 ± 0.11 | 0.127 | 0.428 | 0.658 |
| Hippocampus | ||||||
| MR | 1.00 ± 0.09a | 0.65 ± 0.09b | 0.79 ± 0.09 | <0.01 | 0.452 | 0.248 |
| GR | 0.93 ± 0.08 | 0.99 ± 0.08 | 0.92 ± 0.08 | 0.823 | 0.358 | 0.293 |
| MR/GR ratio | 1.32 ± 0.14 | 0.93 ± 0.15 | 0.93 ± 0.14 | 0.108 | 0.117 | 0.304 |
| AVPR1A | 1.37 ± 0.28 | 1.90 ± 0.29 | 1.69 ± 0.28 | 0.315 | 0.566 | 0.529 |
| OXTR | 1.24 ± 0.15 | 1.31 ± 0.15 | 1.28 ± 0.15 | 0.946 | 0.250 | 0.596 |
| BDNF | 1.13 ± 0.13 | 1.54 ± 0.13 | 1.38 ± 0.13 | 0.100 | <0.05 | 0.914 |
| PFC | ||||||
| MR | 0.62 ± 0.05c | 0.64 ± 0.05c | 1.12 ± 0.05d | <0.001 | <0.01 | <0.001 |
| GR | 0.54 ± 0.04c | 0.54 ± 0.04c | 0.98 ± 0.04d | <0.001 | <0.05 | <0.001 |
| MR/GR ratio | 1.23 ± 0.08 | 1.29 ± 0.08 | 1.17 ± 0.08 | 0.507 | 0.954 | 0.083 |
| CRHR1 | 0.66 ± 0.05c | 0.66 ± 0.05c | 1.01 ± 0.05d | <0.001 | 0.067 | 0.067 |
| CRHR2 | 0.70 ± 0.10 | 0.67 ± 0.10 | 1.02 ± 0.10 | 0.070 | 0.377 | 0.724 |
| AVPR1A | 1.05 ± 0.14 | 1.05 ± 0.14 | 1.31 ± 0.14 | 0.350 | 0.738 | 0.277 |
| OXTR | 0.93 ± 0.06 | 0.85 ± 0.06 | 1.00 ± 0.06 | 0.184 | <0.05 | 0.212 |
DA (deprivation alone), DG (deprivation with a group of littermates), and C (control, no deprivation); MR (mineralocorticoid receptor; NR3C2), GR (glucocorticoid receptor; NR3C1), CRHR1/CRHR2 (corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1/2), AVPR1A (arginine vasopressin receptor 1A), OXTR (oxytocin receptor), BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). Data are presented as LSM ± SE. Within a row, significant differences are indicated by different superscript letters (a,bp < 0.01; c,dp<0.001; Tukey-Kramer test; n = 20 pigs/treatment). Bold numbers highlight significant differences.