The effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on the changes of depressive like behaviors in chronic unpredictable mild stress model rats and its possible mechanism

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Objective To investigate the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the depressive like behaviors and expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), IL-1β and NF-κB of hippocampal in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats. Methods Thirty-two adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=8): Control group, Control+ rTMS group, CUMS group and CUMS+ rTMS group. The sucrose preference test, forced swim test and open field test were used to evaluate depressive like behaviors for each groups. In addition, the expression of BDNF, NF-κB and IL-1β in hippo were detected by western blot and ELISA after behavioral test, respectively. Results 1.The effects of rTMS on depressive like behaviors of CUMS rats: in the sucrose preference test, the sucrose preference rate of CUMS rats (0.67±0.06) was significantly lower than Control group (0.91±0.04), which was higher in the CUMS+ rTMS group (0.83±0.08). In the forced swim test, the immobility time of CUMS group ((26.88±11.33)s) was longer than Control group ((15.22±6.75)s) and CUMS+ rTMS group ((18.41±6.95)s). In the open field test, both the total distance traveled and number of central area entry times of CUMS group((849.165±769.01)cm, (7.42±5.68)) were significantly shorter ((6224.81±1403.2)cm) and smaller (22.86±3.72) than Control group, and those of the CUMS+ rTMS were longer ((4105.57±1516.92)cm) and larger (21.25±3.45). All the behavioral results were statistically significant (P 0.05). 2. The effects of rTMS on the hippocampal expressions of BDNF, NF-κB and IL-1β in CUMS rats: compared with Control group, the hippocampal expression of BDNF in CUMS rats was significantly decreased, while the expressions of NF-κB and IL-1β in the hippocampus were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with CUMS group, the hippocampa expression of BDNF in the CUMS+ rTMS group was increased, and the expressions of NF-κB and IL-1β in the hippocampus was significantly decreased (P<0.05). There are no expressions of BDNF, NF-κB and IL-1β between Control group and Control+ rTMS group had no differences. Conclusion rTMS increased the expression of BDNF, reduced the production of NF-κB and IL-1β, and alleviated depressive like behaviors in CUMS rats. Key words: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; BDNF; NF-κB; IL-1β; Rats