Reiterated male-to-female violence disrupts hippocampal estrogen receptor β expression, prompting anxiety-like behavior

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health concern whose neurological/behavioral sequelae remain to be mechanistically explained. Using a mouse model recapitulating an IPV scenario, we evaluated the female brain neuroendocrine alterations produced by a reiterated male-to-female violent interaction (RMFVI). RMFVI prompted anxiety-like behavior in female mice whose hippocampus displayed a marked neuronal loss and hampered neurogenesis, namely reduced BrdU-DCX-positive nuclei and diminished dendritic arborization in the dentate gyrus (DG): effects paralleled by a substantial down- regulation of the estrogen receptor R (ERR). R ). After RMFVI, the DG harbored reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pools and tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) phosphorylation. Accordingly, ERR R knockout (KO) mice had heightened anxiety and curtailed BDNF levels at baseline while dying prematurely during the RMFVI procedure. Strikingly, injecting an ERR R antagonist or agonist into the wild-type (WT) female hippocampus enhanced or reduced anxiety, respectively. Thus, reiterated male-to-female violence jeopardizes hippocampal homeostasis, perturbing the ERR/BDNF R /BDNF axis and ultimately instigating anxiety and chronic stress.