ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the effect of serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT on pathological aggressive behavior, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in pubertal rats. Methods Forty-two 21-day-old male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups:model group, normal group, model+8-OH-DPAT group, model+normal saline (NS) group, normal+8-OH-DPAT group and normal+NS group, with 7 rats in each group. The rats in the model, model+8-OH-DPAT and model+NS groups were given a series of early chronic stresses to establish the pathological aggressive animal model, and the other 3 groups were fed normally. Then the rats in the model+8-OH-DPAT and normal+8-OH-DPAT groups were injected intraperitoneally with 8-OH-DPAT (0.5 mg/kg), while the rats in the model+NS and normal groups were administered with 2 mL of NS. We determined the aggressive behaviors of the rats through resident-intruder test and detected the protein expressions of BDNF and GDNF in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus by Western blotting. Results (1) Compared with the normal group, the latency in the first attack in the model group was significantly shorter (P0.05). (2) The protein expressions of BDNF and GDNF in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the model group were significantly lower than those in the normal group (P<0.01), but they were significantly decreased in the model+NS group compared with the normal+NS group (P<0.05, P<0.01) and were significantly increased in the model+8-OH-DPAT group compared with the model+NS group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion The expressions of BDNF and GDNF in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus may be related to the pathological aggressive behaviors induced by early chronic stress in puberty rats. 5-HT1A receptor agonist can reduce the pathological aggressive behaviors induced by early chronic stress and increase the expressions of BDNF and GDNF in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in puberty rats.