Chronic administration of quetiapine attenuates the phencyclidine-induced recognition memory impairment and hippocampal oxidative stress in rats.
Jue He, Fan Liu, Qian Zu, Zhizhong Xu, Huifei Zheng, Xinmin Li, Wenqiang Wang
Neuroreport September 5, 2018 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001078 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled experimental animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats, phencyclidine (PCP) model of schizophrenia |
| Interventions | Quetiapine Phencyclidine (PCP) |
| Dose | Quetiapine 10 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally; PCP 50 mg/kg subcutaneously |
| Duration | 16 days of quetiapine treatment; behavioral testing on day 18 |
| Measures | Object recognition behavioral test, hippocampal nitrotyrosine protein expression |
| Key findings | Chronic quetiapine (10 mg/kg/day for 16 days) significantly attenuated object recognition memory impairment and hippocampal oxidative stress (nitrotyrosine expression) in PCP-injected rats, whereas acute quetiapine on day 16 did not. The authors suggest that the reduction in hippocampal oxidative stress may be related to quetiapine's beneficial effects on object recognition memory, and that neuroprotective mechanisms are involved in chronic quetiapine treatment. |
Abstract
The underlying mechanism of atypical antipsychotics in treating cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic drug, on object recognition memory and hippocampal oxidative stress in a phencyclidine (PCP) rat model of schizophrenia. Rats were treated with chronic quetiapine (10 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) for 16 days or acute quetiapine (10 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) on day 16. On day 16, 1 h after the administration of quetiapine, the rats were administered PCP (50 mg/kg, subcutaneously). After the last object recognition behavioral test on day 18, the rats were killed for the measurement of hippocampal protein expression of nitrotyrosine, a protein marker of oxidative stress. The results showed that chronic quetiapine significantly attenuated object recognition memory impairment and hippocampal oxidative stress in the PCP-injected rats. These suggest that the attenuating effect of chronic quetiapine on hippocampal oxidative stress may be related to quetiapine's beneficial effects on object recognition memory in PCP rats, and further suggest that neuroprotective mechanisms are involved in chronic quetiapine treatment.