In several rodent models, acute administration of the metabotropic glutamate 2/3 (mGlu2/3) receptor antagonist LY341495 induced antidepressant-like effects via a mechanism of action similar to that of ketamine. However, the effects of chronic mGlu2/3 antagonism have not yet been explored. Therefore, we investigated the effects of chronic LY341495 treatment on the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling and the levels of synaptic proteins in mice subjected to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS). LY341495 (1 mg/kg) was administered daily for 4 weeks to mice with and without CUS exposure. After the final treatment, the forced swimming test (FST) was used to assess antidepressant-like effects. The hippocampal levels of mTORC1-related proteins were derived by Western blotting. Chronic LY341495 treatment reversed the CUS-induced behavioral effects of FST. CUS significantly reduced the phosphorylation of mTORC1 and downstream effectors [eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP-1) and small ribosomal protein 6 (S6)], as well as the expression of synaptic proteins postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) and AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 (GluA1) in the hippocampus. However, chronic LY341495 treatment rescued these deficits. Our results suggest that the activation of hippocampal mTORC1 signaling is related to the antidepressant effect of chronic LY341495 treatment in an animal model of CUS-induced depression.
Keywords: LY341495; chronic unpredictable stress; depression; hippocampus; mTORC1.