Protective Effects of Spirulina platensis, Voluntary Exercise and Environmental Interventions Against Adolescent Stress-Induced Anxiety and Depressive-Like Symptoms, Oxidative Stress and Alterations of BDNF and 5HT-3 Receptors of the Prefrontal Cortex in Female Rats

Nasroallah Moradi-Kor; Masoomeh Dadkhah; Ali Ghanbari; Hadi Rashidipour; Ahmad Reza Bandegi; Mehdi Barati; Parviz Kokhaei; Ali Rashidy-Pour

doi:10.2147/NDT.S247599

Protective Effects of Spirulina platensis, Voluntary Exercise and Environmental Interventions Against Adolescent Stress-Induced Anxiety and Depressive-Like Symptoms, Oxidative Stress and Alterations of BDNF and 5HT-3 Receptors of the Prefrontal Cortex in Female Rats

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2020 Jul 24:16:1777-1794. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S247599. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Nasroallah Moradi-Kor^{1

2}, Masoomeh Dadkhah³, Ali Ghanbari², Hadi Rashidipour⁴, Ahmad Reza Bandegi⁵, Mehdi Barati⁶, Parviz Kokhaei⁷, Ali Rashidy-Pour^{2

8}

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
² Research Center of Physiology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
³ Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
⁴ School of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran.
⁵ Laboratory of Endocrine Research, Research Center of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
⁶ Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁷ Cancer Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
⁸ Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Ample evidence indicates that chronic adolescence stress is associated with an increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. Given the importance of the effective therapeutic ways to overcome adolescent stress-related deficits, the present study investigated the effects of Spirulina platensis (SP), environmental enrichment (EE), and voluntary exercise (EX) and their combination on anxiety or depression-like behaviors, oxidative stress, and alterations of BDNF and 5HT-3 receptors in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) induced by adolescent stress in adult female rats.

Methods: During the adolescent period (PNDs30-40), rats were subjected to restraint stress. Then, the animals were subjected to SP treatment (200 mg/kg/day), EX, EE, and the combined treatments (SP+EX, and SP+EE) for 15 days between PNDs41-55. Subsequently, anxiety or depression-like behaviors, BDNF levels, oxidative stress markers and mRNA expression of BDNF and 5HT₃ in the PFC were assessed.

Results: Stressed rats demonstrated enhanced anxiety levels and depression-like behaviors in adulthood. Regarding the oxidative stress markers, stressed rats exhibited significantly higher levels of malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation product, higher activities of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) and significantly lower total antioxidant reactivity capacity in the PFC. Additionally, adolescent stress significantly increased 5HT3 receptor mRNA expression and decreased BDNF content and its mRNA expression in the PFC. Treatments with SP, EX, EE, and the combined interventions alleviated these deficits.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that appropriate interventions during the adolescent period can protect against adolescent stress-induced behavioral, and biochemical defects and oxidative stress damage in adulthood.

Keywords: adolescent stress; anxiety; depression; environmental enrichment; oxidative stress; physical activity spirulina.