BPC 157, L-NAME, L-Arginine, NO-Relation, in the Suited Rat Ketamine Models Resembling “Negative-Like” Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Biomedicines June 21, 2022 Andrea Zemba Čilić, M. Zemba, M. Cilic et al.
In rats, the peptide BPC 157 counteracted ketamine-induced negative-like schizophrenia symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction, social withdrawal, and anhedonia, and also produced an anxiolytic effect. The study employed NO-system agents L-NAME and L-arginine to explore the role of nitric oxide. Ketamine at various doses caused distinct symptom profiles that responded differently to L-NAME and L-arginine. BPC 157, given immediately after ketamine, reversed these effects and, in some cases, overcame the effects of the NO agents. Gene expression analysis in brain tissue showed that BPC 157 and ketamine produced overlapping overexpression patterns, and BPC 157 specifically altered expression of Nos1, Nos2, Plcg1, Prkcg, and Ptgs2.