Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway confers resilience versus susceptibility to inescapable electric stress.

The transcription factor Keap1-Nrf2 signaling plays a key role in the oxidative stress which is involved in psychiatric disorders. In the learned helplessness (LH) paradigm, protein levels of Keap1 and Nrf2 in the prefrontal cortex and dentate gyrus of hippocampus from LH (susceptible) rats were lower than control and non-LH (resilience) rats. Furthermore, protein expressions of Keap1 and Nrf2 in the parietal cortex from major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder were lower than controls. These results suggest that Keap1-Nrf2 signaling might contribute to stress resilience which plays a key role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders.