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Blockade of phencyclidine‐induced effects by a nitric oxide donor
Author(s) -
BujasBobanovic M,
Bird D C,
Robertson H A,
Dursun S M
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1038/sj.bjp.0703406
Subject(s) - phencyclidine , sodium nitroprusside , pharmacology , mechanism of action , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , neuroscience , nmda receptor , nitric oxide , psychotomimetic , psychosis , medicine , chemistry , psychology , receptor , psychiatry , in vitro , biochemistry
Phencyclidine (PCP) is widely used as an animal model of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to better understand the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the mechanism of action of PCP and to determine whether positive NO modulators may provide a new approach to the treatment of schizophrenia. The effects of the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), were studied in PCP‐treated rats. Following drug administration, behavioural changes and the expression of c‐ fos , a metabolic marker of functional pathways in the brain, were simultaneously monitored. Acute PCP (5 mg kg −1 , i.p.) treatment induced a complex behavioural syndrome, consisting of hyperlocomotion, stereotyped behaviours and ataxia. Treatment with SNP (2–6 mg kg −1 , i.p.) by itself produced no effect on any behaviour studied but completely abolished PCP‐induced behaviour in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. PCP had differential regional effects on c‐ fos expression in rat brain, suggesting regionally different patterns of neuronal activity. The most prominent immunostaining was observed in the cortical regions. Pre‐treatment with SNP blocked PCP‐induced c‐ fos expression at doses similar to those that suppress PCP‐induced behavioural effects. These results implicate the NO system in the mechanism of action of PCP. The fact that SNP abolished effects of PCP suggests that drugs targeting the glutamate‐NO system may represent a novel approach to the treatment of PCP‐induced psychosis and schizophrenia.British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) 130 , 1005–1012; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0703406