Antidepressant-like effects in various mice strains in the forced swimming test
- 25 February 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Psychopharmacology
- Vol. 166 (4) , 373-382
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-002-1335-4
Abstract
Strain differences in mice have been reported in response to drugs in the mouse forced swimming test (FST), even if few antidepressants were examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of genetic factors, using five antidepressants (imipramine, desipramine, citalopram, paroxetine and bupropion) in the mouse FST, in outbred strains (Swiss, NMRI) and inbred strains (DBA/2, C57BL/6J Rj). Moreover, whole brain levels of dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), serotonin (5-HT) in vehicle treated animals, which were or were not subjected to the FST, were measured by HPLC analysis in an attempt to explain behavioural differences. For each antidepressant, a dose range (1–16 mg/kg) was tested in the locomotor apparatus and only non-psychostimulant doses were then tested in the FST in order to detect antidepressant-like activity. No baseline differences among Swiss, NMRI, DBA/2 and C57BL/6J Rj strains were observed in our experiments, allowing the comparison of different antidepressants in each strain. Imipramine (16 mg/kg), desipramine, citalopram (4–16 mg/kg) and paroxetine (8 and 16 mg/kg) treatment decreased the immobility time in the Swiss strain and the size of the effect reached more than 20% for each of these antidepressants. C57BL/6J Rj was the only strain sensitive to bupropion (2 and 4 mg/kg). In the NMRI strain, only paroxetine treatment decreased the immobility time (16 mg/kg). Our study showed that drug sensitivity is genotype dependent. FST results have shown that Swiss mice are the most sensitive strain to detect 5-HT and/or NA treatment. The use of DBA/2 inbred mice may be limited, as an absence of antidepressant-like response was observed in the FST. The lack of sensitivity to antidepressant treatment in DBA/2 strains could be due to high DA, NA and 5-HT whole brain concentrations.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Intra- and interstrain differences in models of “behavioral despair”Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 2001
- Stress-induced changes of norepinephrine uptake sites in the locus coeruleus of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice: a quantitative autoradiographic study using [3H]-tomoxetineNeuroscience Letters, 1999
- The role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors in antidepressant drug actions in the mouse forced swimming testEuropean Journal of Pharmacology, 1996
- Role of the serotonergic system in the forced swimming testNeuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 1995
- Antidepressants suppress bulbectomy-induced augmentation of voluntary alcohol consumption in C57Bl/6j but not in DBA/2j micePhysiology & Behavior, 1994
- Dissociation of multiple behavioral effects between olfactory bulbectomized C57B1/6J and DBA/2J micePhysiology & Behavior, 1992
- Behavioural and neuroanatomical divergence between two sublines of C57BL/6J inbred miceBehavioural Brain Research, 1991
- Correlations between behavior of mice in Porsolt's swim test and in tests of anxiety, locomotion, and explorationBehavioral and Neural Biology, 1990
- Involvement of prefrontal dopamine neurones in behavioural blockade induced by controllable vs uncontrollable negative events in ratsBehavioural Brain Research, 1990
- Placebo effect of saline on locomotor activity in several strains of miceJournal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1967