Effects of Acute Motor Restraint Stress on the Expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 Genes Expression in Hippocampus of Male Rats

Stress is mentioned as a common problem in daily life. Disrupting the homeostasis of metal elements such as zinc in the central nervous system, stress causes diseases or dysfunction of various tissues. Zinc plays an important role in the function of vital organs, especially the central nervous system. Disorders of zinc homeostasis in turn lead to the development or progression of diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression, learning disabilities, and ischemia. Zinc transporters (ZnT) and ZIP proteins maintain Zinc homeostasis in the live organisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acute motor restraint stress on the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 genes in the hippocampus of rats as one of the tissues with high zinc density. Adult male rats were divided into groups of control and stress. RNA was extracted from hippocampal tissue and changes in the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3 and Znt4 genes were monitored by real-time PCR. The results showed that due to stress induction, Znt1 gene expression increased significantly and no significant changes were observed in the expression of other studied genes. Identifying those zinc transporter genes that are altered by stress can make it possible to find a cure for stress by regulating zinc levels in the body through Zinc-containing drugs.