The University of Toledo Translation Journal of Medical Sciences 
Endocrinology Abstract, Department of Medicine Research Symposium  UTJMS 2023 May 5; 11(1):e1-e1  
 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-650    
 

Glucocorticoid-induced Stress Mechanism 
in Mouse Primary Neurons 
 
Stephen Prevoznik1*, Xiaolu Zhang, PhD 2, Mahmoud Eladawi3; Srija Chunduri2; 
Rammohan Shukla2, PhD, David Kennedy, PhD1 
 

1Division of Cardiology , Department of Medicine, The University of Toledo, 
Toledo, OH 43614 
2Department of Neurosciences, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614 
3College of Engineering, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614 
 
*Corresponding author: Stephen.Prevoznik@rockets.utoledo.edu  
 
Published: 05 May 2023 
 

Introduction: Depression is a disease that effects an estimated 5% of adults globally, and is the leading 
cause of disability worldwide. This study aimed to examine whether inducing a depression-like state 
caused any changes in gene expression or axon length in cultured neurons. 

 

Methods: To accomplish this primary E18 cortex neurons were cultured for a total of 11 days in Poly-
D-Lysine coated six well plates. The cells were grown in NbActiv1 for the duration of the experiment. 
The media was changed on day four. After 8 days, the neurons were treated with either Dexamethasone, 
RU 486 + Dexamethasone, or received no treatment. RU 486 is a progestin antagonist that was used to 
block the effects of Dexamethasone. Treatments were reapplied on day 10 and cells were harvested for 
RNA extraction 24 hours later. One plate of cortex neurons was grown in an IncuCyte incubator to allow 
axon length to be continuously measured by NueroTrack software.  

 

Results: Controls had an average of 69.36 mm/mm2 and a variance of .71. Dexamethasone had an 
average length of 68.87 mm/mm2 with a variance of 2.05. RU 486 and Dexamethasone had an average 
of 70.27 with a variance of .97. A p value of .00115 was calculated for the data. 

 

Conclusion: It was concluded that dexamethasone does reduce the axon lengths of neurons, and that it 
can be used to induce a depression like state in neuron culture. Next, gene expression profiling of these 
neuron cultures will be characterized by RNA sequencing. 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-650
mailto:Stephen.Prevoznik@rockets.utoledo.edu