Mouse Model Study: Early Life Chronic Stress Effects on Sox2 and Bcl2 mRNA Expression in Gastrointestinal Tissues

Objective: Early-life chronic stress can impact the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and increase cancer risk. Studies on mouse models have shown that maternal stress can cause lasting changes in offspring's physiology and behaviour. These changes can be observed in the GI tract, where disturbances in cellular processes, such as apoptosis, can occur. This study examined mRNA expression in the GI tissues of maternally stressed mice, focusing on Sox2 and Bcl2 mRNA expressions. Materials and Methods: Pregnant Balb/c mice were randomly divided into three groups. The litters of the control were exposed to routine conditions. In contrast, others were randomly exposed to unpredictable maternal separation (MS) for three hours every day between 1-14 postnatal days (PND). Half of the MS dams were exposed to unpredictable maternal stress (MSUS) within these three hours. Five-week-old litters were sacrificed, and total RNA was isolated from the muscle, duodenum, and stomach tissues using the Phenol-Chloroform technique. Sox2, Bcl2 and Gapdh, mRNA expression was measured by Rotor-Gene Q. The data obtained were analysed using One-Way ANOVA tests and Kruskal-Wallis in GraphPad Prism9. Results: Although the Bcl2 mRNA expression in the stomach remained unchanged, it significantly increased in the duodenum of MS (p=0.0132). Similarly, while the Sox2 mRNA expression in muscle did not change substantially, it increased significantly in gastric tissue of MSUS (p=0.0030). Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between the Sox2 and Bcl2 genes in gastric tissue (p=0.005). Conclusion: Early life stress, GI dysfunction, and cancer susceptibility may be intricately linked. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in cancer susceptibility may have new implications for developing interventions that can reduce the risk of developing cancer. This research may also provide insights into new strategies for treating cancer in predisposed individuals.