# Pyschosocial Stress and the Response to Stroke

> **NIH NIH R37** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2022 · $724,494

## Abstract

Project Summary
Social isolation (SI) predicts morbidity and mortality from a multitude of health conditions,
including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Patients with high levels of social support
or large social networks exhibit more rapid and extensive functional recovery after stroke than
socially isolated individuals, and the impact of these factors appears to be greater in elderly
women. Social interaction overcomes the detrimental effects of SI by promoting adaptive
behaviors and favorable neuroendocrine responses to biological stressors. Despite the huge
impact of SI on post-stroke recovery, no study has attempted to mitigate the detrimental effects
of isolation on neurobehavioral outcomes using target-based approaches.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that are emerging as a powerful intervention
tool for many diseases including stroke. They regulate a broad spectrum of biological pathways
through fine-tuning of protein expression levels and altering gene expression levels. They have
the ability to concurrently target multiple effectors of pathways involved in disease pathology.
Very recent studies have found that microRNAs mediate many aspects of social interaction,
leading us to hypothesize that miRNA regulation is involved in post-stroke pathology after SI.
Preliminary studies have found that expression of several miRNAs including miR-181c-5p and
miR-124-5p, which are involved in regulation of inflammation, long term potentiation and
neurotrophin signaling, are modulated by post-stroke isolation in aged mice. In this proposal we
will determine which miRNAs are differentially expressed in aged male and female mice isolated
after stroke and determine if blocking (with genetic deletion or antagomirs) or enhancing (mimics)
these target miRNA modulates their effects. The overall goal of this proposal is to determine if
manipulation of target miRNAs can improve functional recovery after stroke in aged animals
subjected to SI, a major risk factor for poor recovery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10436908
- **Project number:** 5R37NS096493-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Louise D. McCullough
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $724,494
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10436908

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10436908, Pyschosocial Stress and the Response to Stroke (5R37NS096493-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10436908. Licensed CC0.

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