Transport stress (TS) in animals lead to change in blood composition, brain structure, and the endocrine system as well as behavior. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), influences many physiological functions and plays a significant role in coping with stress. This study aimed to explore the effect of stress on behavior, HPA axis, GABA transmitters and the distribution of GABAergic interneurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum of the brain by a rat model of simulated transport stress (STS). Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group (n = 12, no stress), a TS1d group (n = 12, 2 h stress for 1 d) and a TS7d group (n = 12, 2 h stress each day for 7 d). After STS, the rats were subjected to open-field testing (OFT) followed by serologic analysis, colorimetry, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The total score of the OFT showed the similar profile with serum concentrations of corticosterone (CORT) and norepinephrine (NE), which in the TS7d group were all higher than the TS1d group but lower than the control group. STS also reduced GABA, glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) and GABA transporter 1 (GAT1) expression in the TS1d and these markers were increased in the TS7d, suggesting that GABA was related to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activation under stress. The number of parvalbumin (PV)-, somatostatin (SOM)-, and calretinin (CR)- positive cells were decreased with stress increase. Our findings revealed that STS affected the behavior of rats, synthesis and release of GABA by altering the HPA axis.

动物体内的运输压力（TS）导致血液成分，大脑结构和内分泌系统以及行为的改变。γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）是哺乳动物中枢神经系统（CNS）中的主要抑制性神经递质，影响许多生理功能，并在应对压力中发挥重要作用。这项研究旨在通过模拟运输压力（STS）大鼠模型探讨应激对行为，HPA轴，GABA递质以及GABA能神经元在大脑前额叶皮层（PFC）和纹状体中的分布的影响。将36只雄性Sprague Dawley大鼠随机分为对照组（n = 12，无应激），TS1d组（n = 12，2 h应激1 d）和TS7d组（n = 12，12 h应激）每天7天）。在STS之后，对大鼠进行野外试验（OFT），然后进行血清学分析，比色法，蛋白质印迹和免疫组化。OFT的总成绩与皮质酮（CORT）和去甲肾上腺素（NE）的血清浓度相似，在TS7d组中均高于TS1d组，但低于对照组。STS还降低了TS1d中的GABA，谷氨酸脱羧酶67（GAD67）和GABA转运蛋白1（GAT1）表达，并且这些标记在TS7d中升高，表明GABA与压力下的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴激活有关。随着压力的增加，小白蛋白（PV）-，生长抑素（SOM）-和钙调蛋白（CR）-阳性细胞的数量减少。我们的发现表明STS影响了大鼠的行为，