title: Sensitivity during the forced swim test is a key factor in evaluating the antidepressant effects of abscisic acid in mice.
abstract: Abscisic acid (ABA), a crucial phytohormone, is distributed in the brains of mammals and has been shown to have antidepressant effects in the chronic unpredictable mild stress test. The forced swim test (FST) is another animal model that can be used to assess antidepressant-like behavior in rodents. Here, we report that the antidepressant effects of ABA are associated with sensitivities to the FST in mice. Based on mean immobility in the 5-min forced swim pre-test, ICR mice were divided into short immobility mice (SIM) and long immobility mice (LIM) substrains. FST was carried out 8 days after drug administration. Learned helplessness, as shown by increased immobility, was only observed in SIM substrain and could be prevented by an 8-day ABA treatment. Our results show that ABA has antidepressant effects in SIM substrain and suggest that mice with learned helplessness might be more suitable for screening potential antidepressant drugs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Arrhythmias, Ministry of Education of China, East Hospital, and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200120, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Cong-Cong
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Mian
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Fang-Han
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Arrhythmias, Ministry of Education of China, East Hospital, and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200120, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Qiang
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, China. Electronic address: jnzhou@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiang-Ning
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006380:Helplessness, Learned; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D013550:Swimming; D016704:Synapsins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016704:Synapsins; D000040:Abscisic Acid
keywords: Abscisic acid; Forced swim; Long immobility mice; Short immobility mice