Chronic mild stress stimulates nitric oxide production in rat brain cortex and hippocampus / 浙江大学学报·医学版

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the nitric oxide (NO) levels in rat brain cortex and hippocampus after chronic mild stress.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into control group and model group randomly. Model rats were induced by consecutive chronic mild stress; weight gain, open field test and sucrose solution consumption were investigated before and after procedure. Nitric oxide contents in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were determined by spectrophotometric assays.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Decreased locomotion, loss of interest and anhedonia were observed in chronic mild stress rat model group. Nitric oxide contents in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were significantly higher in chronic mild stress group [(31.00 +/-2.55)nmol/mg.pro and (38.11 +/-1.73)nmol/mg.pro, respectively] than those in control group [(26.97 +/-1.38)nmol/mg.pro and (36.06 +/-0.87)nmol/mg.pro, respectively] (P <0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chronic stress can stimulate NO release, and dysfunction of nitric oxide pathway may be involved in development of depression.</p>