Vortioxetine improved schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits in a Poly I:C-induced maternal immune activation model of schizophrenia in rats
Corresponding Author
Mehmet Taskiran
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Correspondence
Mehmet Taskiran, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Erciyes University, 38030 Kayseri, Turkey.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSacide Yildiz Taskiran
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorGokhan Unal
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorNuh Mehmet Bozkurt
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorAsuman Golgeli
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Mehmet Taskiran
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Correspondence
Mehmet Taskiran, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Erciyes University, 38030 Kayseri, Turkey.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSacide Yildiz Taskiran
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorGokhan Unal
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorNuh Mehmet Bozkurt
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorAsuman Golgeli
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Search for more papers by this authorFUNDING INFORMATION
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Abstract
Background
Several studies provide clear evidence that exposure to various infections during pregnancy are linked with an increased risk for schizophrenia. In preclinical studies, administration of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) in pregnant rodents can induce maternal immune activation leading to impairments in brain function in the offspring.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vortioxetine, a multimodal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), in the pathophysiology of Poly I:C-induced schizophrenia-like model in rats.
Methods
For this purpose, Poly I:C (8 mg/kg, ip) was injected into pregnant animals 14 days after mating, and tail blood was taken for determination of IL-6 levels after 2 h. At postnatal days 83–86, behavioral tests were performed.
Results
Our results revealed that Poly I:C caused impairments in prepulse inhibition, novel object recognition, social interaction, and open-field tests. Chronic administration of vortioxetine (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg, ip, postnatal days 69–83) caused significant improvements in these deficits.
Conclusion
Overall, our findings indicate that vortioxetine may provide new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of schizophrenia. We think that increased serotonergic activity in frontal brain regions may provide the ameliorative effect of vortioxetine, especially on negative and cognitive symptoms. Therefore, it will be useful to determine the efficacy of vortioxetine with combined drugs with further studies.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
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| fcp13028-sup-0001-Supplementary_Table1.pdfPDF document, 544.7 KB |
Table S1. MIA model reporting guidelines checklist. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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