Oxytocin Prevents the Development of 3-NP-Induced Anxiety and Depression in Male and Female Rats: Possible Interaction of OXTR and mGluR2.

Oxytocin Prevents the Development of 3-NP-Induced Anxiety and Depression in Male and Female Rats: Possible Interaction of OXTR and mGluR2. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2020 Nov 17;: Authors: Khodagholi F, Maleki A, Motamedi F, Mousavi MA, Rafiei S, Moslemi M Abstract Huntington disease (HD) is a progressive neurological disorder with dominant motor symptoms. It also has psychiatric manifestations, like anxiety and depression, that can emerge themselves before motor symptoms and impose a major burden on patients. Oxytocin (OXT) is a newly emerged treatment for disorders like autism and schizophrenia and recently is using to alleviate depression and anxiety. In the current study, we investigated the behavioral and molecular effects of OXT on the development of anxiety and depression in 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced model of HD. Anxiety- and depression-like behaviors as well as the levels of oxytocin receptor (OXTR), metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 2, mGluR5, and glutathione (GSH) were measured in striatum, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. Also, we questioned if sex had any modulatory effect. We found that 3-NP increased anxiety and depression compared to controls. It also reduced the levels of OXTR and mGluR2, increased mGluR5, and reduced GSH in studied brain regions. Pretreatment with OXT before the injection of 3-NP ameliorated anxiety and depression. Additionally, it protected the brain from developing low levels...
Source: Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Cell Mol Neurobiol Source Type: research