Treatment with tianeptine induces antidepressive-like effects and alters the neurotrophin levels, mitochondrial respiratory chain and cycle Krebs enzymes in the brain of maternally deprived adult rats.

Maternally deprived rats were treated with tianeptine (15 mg/kg) once a day for 14 days during their adult phase. Their behavior was then assessed using the forced swimming and open field tests. The BDNF, NGF and energy metabolism were assessed in the rat brain. Deprived rats increased the immobility time, but tianeptine reversed this effect and increased the swimming time; the BDNF levels were decreased in the amygdala of the deprived rats treated with saline and the BDNF levels were decreased in the nucleus accumbens within all groups; the NGF was found to have decreased in the hippocampus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens of the deprived rats; citrate synthase was increased in the hippocampus of non-deprived rats treated with tianeptine and the creatine kinase was decreased in the hippocampus and amygdala of the deprived rats; the mitochondrial complex I and II-III were inhibited, and tianeptine increased the mitochondrial complex II and IV in the hippocampus of the non-deprived rats; the succinate dehydrogenase was increased in the hippocampus of non-deprived rats treated with tianeptine. So, tianeptine showed antidepressant effects conducted on maternally deprived rats, and this can be attributed to its action on the neurochemical pathways related to depression.

Tianeptine exerts neuroprotective effects in the brain tissue of rats exposed to the chronic stress model.

Animal models of chronic stress represent valuable tools by which to investigate the behavioral, endocrine and neurobiological changes underlying stress-related psychopathologies, such as major depression, and the efficacy of antidepressant therapies. The present study was aimed at investigating the neurochemical effects of the antidepressant tianeptine in rats exposed to the chronic stress model. To this aim, rats were subjected to 40days of chronic unpredictable stressful stimuli, after which the animals received saline or tianeptine (15mg/kg) once a day for 7days. Additionally, IL-6, IL-1, TNF-α levels and oxidative stress parameters were assessed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HPC), amygdala (AMY) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in all of the experimental groups studied. The results indicated that chronic mild stress and tianeptine did not exercise any effects on cytokines in all of the structures studied; in the PFC and AMY thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels were decreased in control rats treated with tianeptine in the HPC; superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was found to have decreased in stressed rats treated with saline in the PFC, HPC, AMY and NAc, and tianeptine reversed this effect; catalase (CAT) activity was found to have decreased in the PFC, HPC and NAc of stressed rats treated with saline, but was shown to have increased in stressed rats treated with tianeptine, and tianeptine also reversed the decreases in CAT activity in stressed rats treated with saline, suggesting that tianeptine exerted antioxidant activity. In conclusion, the present findings open new vistas on the pharmacological activity of tianeptine, in particular, concerning its ability to attenuate oxidative stress.

Tianeptine treatment induces antidepressive-like effects and alters BDNF and energy metabolism in the brain of rats.

The present study was aimed at investigating the behavioral and molecular effects of tianeptine. To this aim, Wistar rats were treated with tianeptine (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg) or imipramine (30 mg/kg) acutely and chronically. The results showed that both treatments reduced the immobility time. The BDNF levels were increased in the prefrontal cortex with tianeptine and decreased in the nucleus accumbens after acute treatment; in chronic treatment, BDNF levels were increased in the prefrontal and hippocampus with tianeptine. Acute treatment decreased the citrate synthase activity in the prefrontal cortex with tianeptine, and increased it in the amygdala with imipramine; chronic treatment increased the citrate synthase in the hippocampus with tianeptine. The creatine kinase was increased in the prefrontal cortex with tianeptine and in the amygdala with imipramine after acute treatment; chronic treatment increased the creatine kinase activity in the hippocampus with imipramine and tianeptine. The complex I activity was decreased in the prefrontal cortex with imipramine and increased in the hippocampus with tianeptine. The other complexes were increased with imipramine and tianeptine at all doses, but were related to the treatment given and the brain area studied. Chronic treatment increased the malate dehydrogenase activity in the amygdala with tianeptine. Acute treatment decreased the succinate activity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala with tianeptine; chronic treatment increased the succinate activity in the hippocampus with tianeptine at all doses. In conclusion, tianeptine exerted antidepressant-like behavior which can be attributed to its effects on pathways related to depression, such as BDNF and metabolism energy.