Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2018 May;16(2):197-208. 10.9758/cpn.2018.16.2.197.

Effects of Tianeptine on Adult Rats Following Prenatal Stress

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Soonchunhyang Medical Research Institute, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. hak3962@sch.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Development of Ginseng and Medical Plants Research Institute, Rural Administration, Eumseong, Korea.
  • 3Department of Integrative Plant Science, Chung-Ang University, Anseong, Korea.
  • 4Department of Convergence Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Plus Program, and Institute of Korean Medicine, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
Exposing a pregnant female to stress during the critical period of embryonic fetal brain development increases the risk of psychiatric disorders in the offspring. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of antidepressant tianeptine on prenatally stressed (PNS) rats.
METHODS
In this study, a repeated variable stress paradigm was applied to pregnant rats during the last week of gestation. To investigate the effects of antidepressant tianeptine on PNS rats, behavioral and protein expression analyses were performed. Forced swim test, open field test, and social interaction test were performed to determine changes in PNS rats compared to non-stressed offspring. Haloperidol was used as a positive control as an antipsychotic drug based on previous studies.
RESULTS
Behavioral changes were restored after treatment with tianeptine or haloperidol. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses of the prefrontal cortex revealed downregulation of several neurodevelopmental proteins in PNS rats. After treatment with tianeptine or haloperidol, their expression levels were increased.
CONCLUSION
Downregulation of several proteins in PNS rats might have caused subsequent behavioral changes in PNS rats. After tianeptine or haloperidol treatment, behavioral changes in PNS rats were restored. Therefore, tianeptine might decrease incidence of prenatal stress related-psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

Keyword

Prenatal stress; Laboratory animal model; Tianeptine; Haloperidol; Behavior test; Psychiatric disorder

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Animals
Behavior Rating Scale
Blotting, Western
Brain
Critical Period (Psychology)
Depression
Down-Regulation
Female
Haloperidol
Humans
Incidence
Interpersonal Relations
Models, Animal
Prefrontal Cortex
Pregnancy
Rats*
Schizophrenia
Haloperidol
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