Chronic Administration of Catechin Decreases Depression and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in a Rat Model Using Chronic Corticosterone Injections

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated administration of the exogenous stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) induces dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and results in depression and anxiety. The current study sought to verify the impact of catechin (CTN) administration on chronic CORT-induced behavioral alterations using the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Additionally, the effects of CTN on central noradrenergic systems were examined by observing changes in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in rat brains. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg CTN (i.p.) 1 h prior to a daily injection of CORT for 21 consecutive days. The activation of the HPA axis in response to the repeated CORT injections was confirmed by measuring serum levels of CORT and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in the hypothalamus. Daily CTN administration significantly decreased immobility in the FST, increased open-arm exploration in the EPM test, and significantly blocked increases of TH expression in the locus coeruleus (LC). It also significantly enhanced the total number of line crossing in the open-field test (OFT), while individual differences in locomotor activities between experimental groups were not observed in the OFT. Taken together, these findings indicate that the administration of CTN prior to high-dose exogenous CORT significantly improves helpless behaviors, possibly by modulating the central noradrenergic system in rats. Therefore, CTN may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression and anxiety disorders.

Antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like effects of hydrogen sulfide in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats through inhibition of hippocampal oxidative stress

“…On the basis of the depression-like behaviors in STZinduced diabetic rats and the discovery of antidepressant-like effects of H 2 S, we conducted the EPM test to evaluate anxious behavior in STZ-induced diabetic rats and the anxiolytic-like effects of H 2 S. The EPM test is a widely used behavioral test in which anxiety is reflected in reductions in both the number of entries and the time spent in the open arms (Lee et al, 2013). STZ-induced diabetic rats demonstrated a decrease in the time spent in and the percentage of entries into the open arms without significant change in total arm entries.…”

Selective vulnerability of dorsal raphe‐medial prefrontal cortex projection neurons to corticosterone‐induced hypofunction

“…The 24‐hr time point was chosen based on studies describing the pharmacokinetics of CORT in rats (Fediuc, Campbell, & Riddell, ; Sapolsky, Krey, & McEwen, ). As weight loss is a robust indicator of chronically elevated CORT levels in rats (Johnson, Fournier, & Kalynchuk, ; Lee et al., ; Workman et al., ), plasma CORT levels were not obtained at the time of sucrose preference testing or electrophysiology.…”

Efeitos da corticosterona e do estrógeno na atividade do eixo HPA de ratas: comportamento e comprimento dos telômeros

“…(73) In the groups submitted to corticosterone administration, the immobility time was higher in both the untreated group with estradiol cypionate and in the group treated with supra-physiologic dose when compared to the untreated group receiving saline. These data corroborate with others described in the literature, in which treatment with corticosterone (22) as well as exposure to stress (74) increase behavior similar to depression.…”

“…Exposição prolongada aos glicocorticóides, como por exemplo, durante a administração crônica de corticosterona, leva a alterações comportamentais semelhantes à depressão; conforme verificado pelos testes de nado forçado (LEE et al, 2013) 1.3 EIXO HIPOTÁLAMO-PITUITÁRIA-GÔNADAS EM FÊMEAS O ciclo reprodutivo das fêmeas depende da liberação coordenada dos hormônios sexuais (CHRISTENSEN et al, 2012). Os neurônios produtores do hormônio liberador das gonodotrofinas (GnRH), distribuem-se ao longo do núcleo pré-óptico hipotalâmico em mamíferos (KUENZEL; BLÄHSER, 1991), sendo o ponto de integração para outras regiões do cérebro que controlam o sistema reprodutor (HERDE et al, 2013;POMPOLO;RAWSON;CLARKE, 2001).…”

“…The hippocampus is a sensitive area to the increase the concentration of glucocorticoids secretion and participates of the regulatory circuit of the HPA axis (19). Long-term exposure to glucocorticoids, such as during chronic administration of corticosterone leads to behavioral changes similar to depression (20)(21)(22).…”