Evidence for the involvement of the opioid system in the agmatine antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test

Abstract

This study investigated the involvement of the opioid system in the antidepressant-like effect of agmatine in the mouse forced swimming test (FST). The antidepressant-like effects of agmatine (10 mg/kg, i.p.), as well as those of fluoxetine (32 mg/kg, i.p, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) or morphine (5 mg/kg, s.c., a nonselective opioid receptor agonist) in the FST was completely blocked by pretreatment of mice with naloxone (1 mg/kg, i.p., a nonselective opioid receptor antagonist). Pretreatment of mice with naltrindole (3 mg/kg, i.p., a selective δ-opioid receptor antagonist), clocinnamox (1 mg/kg, i.p., an irreversible μ-opioid receptor antagonist), but not with 2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)- N-methyl- N-[(1 S)-1-(3-isothiocyanatophenyl)-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)ethyl]acetamide (DIPPA; 1 mg/kg, i.p., a selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist) completely blocked the anti-immobility effect of agmatine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) in the FST. These results firstly demonstrate that the antidepressant-like effects of agmatine in the FST seem to be mediated, at least in part, by an interaction with the opioid system, that involves an activation of δ- and μ-opioid receptors.