Involvement of opioid system in behavioral despair induced by social isolation stress in mice

Authors

Arvin Haj-Mirzaian, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Rajan Nikbakhsh, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Kiana Ramezanzadeh, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mehdi Rezaee, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Hossein Amini-Khoei, Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
Arya Haj-Mirzaian, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Maria Ghesmati, Department of Microbiology, Islamic Azad University of Lahijan Branch, Lahijan, Iran.
Khashayar Afshari, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nazgol-Sadat Haddadi, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ahmad Reza Dehpour, Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: dehpoura@sina.tums.ac.ir.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie

Abstract

Social isolation stress (SIS) as a type of chronic stress could induce depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors. Our study evaluates the role of opioid system on negative behavioral impacts of SIS in male NMRI mice. We investigated effects of morphine, a nonselective opioid receptor (OR) agonist, naltrexone (NLX), an OR antagonist, naltrindole (NLT), a delta opioid receptor (DOR) antagonist, SNC80, a DOR agonist, U-69593, a kappa opioid receptor (KOR) agonist, nor-Binaltorphimine, a selective KOR antagonist and cyprodime hydrochloride a selective mu opioid receptor (MOR) antagonist on depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors. Using RT-PCR we evaluated ORs gene expression in mice brain. Our findings showed that SIS induced anxiety- and depressive-like behavior in the forced swimming test, open field test, splash test and hole-board test. Moreover, administration of SNC-80 significantly mitigated anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. NLT decreased grooming-activity in the splash test. Excitingly, administration of agents affecting KOR failed to alter the negative effects of SIS. RT-PCR demonstrated that MOR and KOR gene expression decreased in socially isolated mice; however, SIS did not affect DORs expression. Our findings suggest that SIS at least in part, probably via altering endogenous opioids particularly MORs and KORs but not DORs mediated negative impacts on behavior; also, it could be concluded that DORs might be considered as a novel target for studying depression and anxiety.

First Page

938

Last Page

944

DOI

10.1016/j.biopha.2018.10.144

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Recommended Citation

Haj-Mirzaian, Arvin; Nikbakhsh, Rajan; Ramezanzadeh, Kiana; Rezaee, Mehdi; Amini-Khoei, Hossein; Haj-Mirzaian, Arya; Ghesmati, Maria; Afshari, Khashayar; Haddadi, Nazgol-Sadat; and Dehpour, Ahmad Reza, "Involvement of opioid system in behavioral despair induced by social isolation stress in mice" (2019). Internal Medicine. 319.
https://scholar.bridgeporthospital.org/internal_medicine/319

Identifier

30551548 (pubmed); 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.10.144 (doi); S0753-3322(18)34016-2 (pii)