BPC 157, L-NAME, L-Arginine, NO-Relation, in the Suited Rat Ketamine Models Resembling Negative-Like Symptoms of Schizophrenia

We attempted throughout the NO-system to achieve the particular counteraction of the ketamine-induced resembling negative-like schizophrenia symptoms in rats using pentadecapeptide BPC 157, and NO-agents, NG-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME), and/or L-arginine, triple application. This might be the find out the NO-system organized therapy (i.e., simultaneously implied NO-system blockade (L-NAME) vs. NO-system over-stimulation (L-arginine) vs. NO-system immobilization (L-NAME+L-arginine)). The ketamine regimen (intraperitoneally/kg) included: 3 mg (cognitive dysfunction, novel object recognition test), 30 mg (anxiogenic effect (open field test) and anhedonia (sucrose test)), and 8 mg/3 days (social withdrawal). Medication (mg/kg intraperitoneally) was L-NAME (5), L-arginine (100), and BPC 157 (0.01), alone and/or together, given immediately before ketamine (L-NAME, L-arginine, and combination) or given immediately after (BPC 157 and combinations). BPC 157 counteracted ketamine-cognition dysfunction, social withdrawal, and anhedonia, and exerted additional anxiolytic effect. L-NAME (antagonization, social withdrawal) and L-arginine (antagonization, cognitive dysfunction, anhedonia) both included worsening cognitive dysfunction, anhedonia, and anxiogenic effect (L-NAME), social withdrawal, and anxiogenic effect (L-arginine). Thus, ketamine-induced resembling negative-like schizophrenia symptoms were L-NAME non-responsive, L-arginine responsive (cognition dysfunction), L-NAME responsive, L-arginine non-responsive (social withdrawal), L-NAME responsive, L-arginine responsive, opposite effect (anhedonia) and L-NAME responsive, L-arginine responsive, parallel effect (both anxiogening). In cognition dysfunction, BPC 157 overwhelmed NO-agents effects. The mRNA expression studies in brain tissue evidenced considerable overlapping of gene overexpression in healthy rats treated with ketamine or BPC 157. With the BPC 157 therapy applied immediately after ketamine, the effect on Nos1, Nos2, Plcg1, Prkcg, and Ptgs2 (increased or decreased expression), appeared as a timely specific BPC 157 effect on ketamine-specific targets.

Automated summary

In this study, we used BPC 157 and NO agents to counteract ketamine-induced negative-like schizophrenia symptoms. BPC 157 was found to alleviate cognitive dysfunction, social withdrawal, and anhedonia, and also had an additional anxiolytic effect. L-NAME and L-arginine had different effects on different symptoms. The gene expression studies in brain tissue showed that BPC 157 had a specific effect on ketamine-specific targets.