Aripiprazole attenuates the medial prefrontal cortex morphological and biochemical alterations in rats with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a loss of dendritic spines in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Multiple subclinical and clinical studies have evidenced the ability of antipsychotics to improve neuroplasticity. In this study, it was evaluated the effect of the atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole (ARI) on the behavioral and mPFC neuronal disturbances of rats with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion (nVHL), which is a heuristic developmental model relevant to the study of schizophrenia. ARI attenuated open field hyperlocomotion in the rats with nVHL. Also, ARI ameliorated structural neuroplasticity disturbances of the mPFC layer 3 pyramidal cells, but not in the layer 5 neurons. These effects can be associated with the ARI capability of increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Moreover, in the animals with nVHL, ARI attenuated the immunoreactivity for some oxidative stress-related molecules such as the nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS-2), 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), as well as the reactive astrogliosis in the mPFC. These results contribute to current knowledge about the neurotrophic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of antipsychotics which may be contributing to their clinical effects and envision promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effects of the atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole on behavioral and neuronal disturbances in the medial prefrontal cortex of rats with neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion. The results showed that aripiprazole attenuated hyperlocomotion and improved structural neuroplasticity disturbances in the layer 3 pyramidal cells of the medial prefrontal cortex. These effects may be mediated by increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.