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Involvement of nitric oxide-cGMP pathway in the antidepressant-like effects of adenosine in the forced swimming test.

Kaster MP, Rosa AO, Santos AR, Rodrigues AL

Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário Trindade - 88040-900, Florianópolis-SC, Brasil.

We have previously shown that an acute administration of adenosine produces an antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test (FST) and in the tail suspension test in mice. In this work we investigated the contribution of the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway to adenosine's antidepressant-like effect in the FST since this signalling pathway is assumed to play an important role in depression. The effect of adenosine (10 mg/kg i.p.) was prevented by pre-treatment with L-arginine (750 mg/kg i.p.), S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP, 25 microg/site i.c.v), or sildenafil (5 mg/kg i.p.), but not with D-arginine (750 mg/kg i.p.). Treatment of mice with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine ( L-NNA, 0.03 and 0.3 mg/kg i.p.), Methylene Blue (18 mg/kg i.p.), or ODQ (30 pmol/site i.c.v.) potentiated the effect of adenosine (1 mg/kg i.p.) in the FST. The reduction of immobility time elicited by adenosine (10 mg/kg i.p.) in the FST was prevented by pre-treatment with sildenafil (0.5 and 5 mg/kg i.p.). Together the results indicate that the effect of adenosine in the FST appears to be mediated through an interaction with the NO-cGMP pathway.

Published 5 October 2005 in Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, 8(4): 601-6.
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