Indole-pyruvic acid, a tryptophan ketoanalogue, antagonizes the endocrine but not the behavioral effects of repeated stress in a model of depression.
Increased glucocorticoid secretion is frequent in mood disorders and is normalized by long-term antidepressant therapy. Many antidepressants act by increasing central serotonin transmission. We investigated the effects of a serotonin precursor, indole-pyruvic acid (IPA), in an animal model of depression based on repeated exposure to unpredictable stress. Rats were divided in groups, and IPA (20 mg/kg), the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (IMI) (5 mg/kg), or vehicle was administered daily during 3 weeks of repeated exposure to various stressors according to the procedure described by Katz et al [Katz RJ, Roth KA, Carroll BJ (1981): Neurosci Biobehav Rev 5:247-251]. After treatment, rats were evaluated for stress-induced exploratory behavior and killed 24 hr later. Serum corticosterone levels and glucocorticoid receptor ( GR) immunoreactivity (IR) in the nuclei of neurons located in the hippocampal subregion CA1 were also measured. Rats exposed to repeated stress showed a lower exploratory behavior score (p < 0.01), higher basal corticosterone levels (p < 0.01), and stronger GR IR in the hippocampus (p < 0.05) than control rats. All of these effects were antagonized by IMI treatment. IPA administration did not affect the behavioral response induced by repeated stress (p < 0.01) but normalized serum corticosterone levels. In addition, IPA treatment produced a decrease in GR IR (p < 0.05 versus control group) that was not modified by exposure to repeated stress.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)[1]References
- Indole-pyruvic acid, a tryptophan ketoanalogue, antagonizes the endocrine but not the behavioral effects of repeated stress in a model of depression. Biagini, G., Pich, E.M., Carani, C., Marrama, P., Gustafsson, J.A., Fuxe, K., Agnati, L.F. Biol. Psychiatry (1993) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
