Activation of 5-HT1A postsynaptic receptors by NLX-101 results in functional recovery and an increase in neuroplasticity in mice with brain ischemia

Publication date: Available online 3 December 2019Source: Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological PsychiatryAuthor(s): Rafael Pazinatto Aguiar, Lígia Mendes Soares, Erika Meyer, Fernanda Canova da Silveira, Humberto Milani, Adrian Newman-Tancredi, Mark Varney, Jos Prickaerts, Rúbia M. Weffort de OliveiraAbstractPharmacological interventions that selectively activate serotonin 5-hydroxytryptramine-1A (5-HT1A) heteroreceptors may prevent or attenuate the consequences of brain ischemic episodes. The present study investigated whether the preferential 5-HT1A postsynaptic receptor agonist NLX-101 (a.k.a. F15599) mitigates cognitive and emotional impairments and affects neuroplasticity in mice that are subjected to the bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) model of brain ischemia. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram (Esc) was used for comparative purposes because it is able to decrease morbidity and improve recovery in stroke patients and ischemic rodents. Sham and BCCAO mice received daily doses of NLX-101 (0.32 mg/kg, i.p) or Esc (20 mg/kg, i.p) for 28 days. During this period, they were evaluated for locomotor activity, anxiety- and despair-related behaviors and hippocampus-dependent cognitive function, using the open field, elevated zero maze, forced swim test and object location test, respectivelly. The mice's brains were processed for biochemical and histological analyses. BCCAO mice exhibited high anxiety and despair-like b...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research