title: The effects of ifenprodil on the activity of antidepressant drugs in the forced swim test in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  According to reports in the literature, more than 30% of depressive patients fail to achieve remission. Therapy with the conventional antidepressant drugs may induce the serious adverse reactions. Moreover, its benefits may be seen at least 2-4 weeks after the first dose. Therefore, the alternative strategies for prevention and treatment of depression are sought. The main aim of our study was to assess the effects of ifenprodil given at a non-active dose (10mg/kg) on the activity of antidepressant agents from diverse pharmacological groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The antidepressant-like effect was assessed by the forced swim test in mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ifenprodil potentiated the antidepressant-like effect of imipramine (15mg/kg) and fluoxetine (5mg/kg) while did not reduce the immobility time of animals which simultaneously received reboxetine (2.5mg/kg) or tianeptine (15mg/kg).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The concomitant administration of certain commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs that affect the serotonergic neurotransmission (i.e., typical tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) with a negative modulator selectively binding to the GluN1/N2B subunits of the NMDA receptor complex (i.e., ifenprodil) may induce a more pronounced antidepressant-like effect than monotherapy. However, these findings still need to be confirmed in further experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland. Electronic address: ewa.poleszak@umlub.pl.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poleszak
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wośko
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serefko
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wlaź
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kasperek
authors.affiliation: Medical Biology Unit, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dudka
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Gynecology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wróbel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland; Department of Pharmacobiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wlaź
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D007099:Imipramine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D009025:Morpholines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077593:Reboxetine; D013550:Swimming; D013841:Thiazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D009025:Morpholines; D010880:Piperidines; D013841:Thiazepines; D005473:Fluoxetine; C050504:tianeptine; D000077593:Reboxetine; D007099:Imipramine; C010739:ifenprodil
keywords: Antidepressant-like activity; Forced swim test; Ifenprodil; Mice