TITLE:
Effects of the Novel Anti-Asthenic Drug Ladasten on Behavior and T-Cell Subsets Alterations in a Social Defeat Animal Model of Depression
AUTHORS:
Anna V. Tallerova, Larisa P. Kovalenko, Iosif B. Tsorin, Andrey D. Durnev, Sergey B. Seredenin
KEYWORDS:
Ladasten; Social Defeat Stress; Depression; Cytokines; T-Cells
JOURNAL NAME:
Pharmacology & Pharmacy,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
6,
2014
ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the anti-asthenic
drug ladasten on behavioral patterns and T-cell subsets in blood, spleen, and thymus in socially stressed male C57Bl/6 mice. Mice subjected to social
defeat stress (SDS) for 25 days developed a depressive-like phenotype. The submissive SDS animals were assigned to one of two treatment
groups: one group was treated with ladasten (30 mg/kg, i.p.)
for up to 5 days, and the other one was administered vehicle as a control. Twenty four hours after the last injection,
behavioral parameters were tested, and trunk blood and tissue samples were collected.
SDS mice from the vehicle-treated group showed a subordinate and passive avoidance
behavior with significantly decreased spontaneous locomotor activity (SLA) and exhibited
impaired parameters in the forced swimming test (FST). Changes in behavioral status were correlated with an increase spleen weight,
a decrease in thymic index and a shift in the CD4/CD8 balance toward T-cytotoxic
cells. The behavior parameters were reversed in the group treated with ladasten
compared to the untreated SDS group and were similar to those of unstressed mice.
Treatment of socially stressed mice with ladasten normalized the amount of T-lymphocyte
cells in the blood, spleen, and thymus. These
findings support the notion that depression is accompanied by cell-mediated immune
activation and that targeting this pathway may be a new therapeutic approach for
treatment. Furthermore, our data support further investigations of ladasten as a
potent anti-depressive drug which can be used alone as well as in combination with
other anti-depressants.