title: An organoselenium compound improves behavioral, endocrinal and neurochemical changes induced by corticosterone in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  3-(4-Fluorophenylselenyl)-2,5-diphenylselenophene (F-DPS) is a promising organoselenium compound that shows antidepressant-like properties related to interaction with the serotonergic system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this study, a mouse model of anxiety/depressant-like behavior induced by long-term corticosterone treatment was used to evaluate behavioral, endocrinal, and neurochemical changes in mice and their possible modulation of F-DPS treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Swiss mice were subjected to 4 weeks of corticosterone administration (20 μg/ml in drinking water) and a new therapeutic approach with F-DPS (0.1 mg/kg/day, intragastric route, during 1 week) was employed to modulate changes induced by corticosterone exposure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment with corticosterone caused a significant depressant-like behavior in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test, which was accompanied by anxiety-like condition in the light-dark test and novelty suppressed-feeding; similarly to the classical antidepressant drug paroxetine, F-DPS treatment was effective in reversing these behavioral changes. Further, F-DPS normalized serum levels of corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone, which were increased after corticosterone exposure. Corticosterone also significantly inhibited glutamate uptake in the prefrontal cortex of mice, whereas glutamate release was not modified. Besides normalizing glutamate uptake in the corticosterone-exposed mice, F-DPS promoted an inhibition of 5-HT uptake in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In addition, hippocampal monoamine oxidase-A activity was also inhibited by F-DPS treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest a modulation of both serotonergic and glutamatergic systems by F-DPS after a long-term corticosterone exposure in mice, which may be involved in the antidepressant- and anxiolytic-like actions of this organoselenium compound.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Síntese, Reatividade e Avaliação Farmacológica e Toxicológica de Organocalcogênios, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, CEP 97105-900, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bibiana Mozzaquatro
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.forename: Cristiani Folharini
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Bortolatto
authors.forename: Suélen Osório
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Heck
authors.forename: André Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Marta Maria Medeiros Frescura
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Gilson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeni
authors.forename: Cristina Wayne
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Nogueira
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003863:Depression / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D016566:Organoselenium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C000594800:2,5-diphenyl-3-(4-fluorophenylseleno)-selenophene; D016566:Organoselenium Compounds; D012701:Serotonin; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003345:Corticosterone