title: Anxiolytic-like effect of central administration of NOP receptor antagonist UFP-101 in rats submitted to the elevated T-maze.
abstract: Depression and anxiety disorders present several genetic and neurobiological similarities. Drugs with antidepressant activity are effective in the treatment of a wide spectrum of anxiety disorders. Preclinical results showed that acute and chronic treatment with the NOP antagonist [Nphe(1),Arg(14),Lys(15)]N/OFQ-NH(2) (UFP-101) produced antidepressant-like effects in rodents. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of central administration of UFP-101 on the anxiety-related behavior in rats as evaluated in the elevated T-maze (ETM) test. Our results showed that UFP-101 reduced the latency of inhibitory avoidance in the ETM, indicating an anxiolytic-like effect. The endogenous peptide N/OFQ prevented this anxiolytic-like action of UFP-101, demonstrating its modulation via central NOP receptors. However, UFP-101 failed to interfere with the latency to escape. No change was observed in locomotor activity after UFP-101 treatment, ruling out any nonspecific motor effect. In conclusion, our results showed that the central administration of UFP-101 presents an anxiolytic-like effect in rats evaluated in the ETM test, providing new insights for drug development to treat anxiety disorders targeting the N/OFQ-NOP receptor system.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, CCB, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88049-900 Florianópolis, Brazil.
authors: Marcelo
authors: M
authors: Duzzioni
authors: Filipe S
authors: FS
authors: Duarte
authors: Leandro R
authors: LR
authors: Leme
authors: Elaine C
authors: EC
authors: Gavioli
authors: Thereza C M
authors: TC
authors: De Lima
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D018847:Opioid Peptides; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000819:agonists; D000094942:Nociceptin Receptor
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D018847:Opioid Peptides; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D000094942:Nociceptin Receptor; C479838:(Nphe(1),Arg(14),Lys(15))N-OFQ NH(2); C000722285:Oprl1 protein, rat