[Gene c-Fos expression in brain of rats resistant and predisposed to emotional stress after intraperitoneal injection of the ACTH(4-10)analog--semax].
Umriukhin. P E PE; Koplik. E V EV; Grivennikov. I A IA; Miasoedov. N F NF; Sudakov. K V KV
Key Findings
- Semax injection increased c‑Fos expression in the lateral septum of stress‑prone rats and in the paraventricular hypothalamus of all rats under baseline conditions.
- When rats were exposed to emotional stress, prior Semax injection lowered stress‑induced c‑Fos activity in the paraventricular hypothalamus and medial septum of stress‑prone rats.
- Semax tended to reduce stress‑related c‑Fos cells in the lateral septum and basolateral amygdala in both resistant and stress‑prone groups.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, this study hints that Semax could act as an anti‑stress agent by modulating brain stress pathways, but the evidence is limited to rodents and gene‑expression markers. No human dosing, safety, or performance data are provided, so any self‑experiment should be approached with caution and viewed as exploratory rather than a proven protocol.
Summary
In rats, the peptide Semax (an ACTH fragment) changes activity of a stress‑related gene called c‑Fos in brain areas that control emotion. It boosts c‑Fos in some regions under normal conditions, but when the animals are stressed it reduces the stress‑induced c‑Fos response, especially in rats that are naturally more prone to stress. This suggests Semax may have calming, anti‑stress effects in the brain.
Abstract
The effect of the ACTH(4-10) analog Semax on immediate early gene c-Fos expression was studied in Wistar rats with high and low resistance to emotional stress under the usual conditions and during psychoemotional loading. Fos-immunoreactive cells in the were counted automatically with the help of a computer. It was shown that under the usual conditions the intraperitoneal Semax injection induced immediate early gene c-Fos expression in the lateral septal region in rats predisposed to emotional stress and in the paraventricular hypothalamus in rats of both groups. Preliminary Semax injection decreased the stress-induced c-Fos expression in the paraventricular hypothalamus and medial septum in rats predisposed to emotional stress and tended to reduce the number of stress-induced c-Fos-immunopositive cells in the lateral septum and basolateral amygdala in both groups of animals. The obtained data suggest that Semax differently affects the immediate early c-Fos gene expression in the brain of rats resistant and predisposed to emotional stress and this effect reflects the antistressor properties of the regulatory peptide.
Study Information
pubmed
2001