Consequences of early life MK-801 administration: long-term behavioural effects and relevance to schizophrenia research

Comparison of the MK-801-induced increase in non-rewarded appetitive responding with dopamine agonists and locomotor activity in rats

Systemic administration of the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)- receptor antagonist, MK-801, has been proposed to model cognitive deficits similar to those seen in patients with schizophrenia. Evidence has shown that MK-801 increases the probability of operant responding during extinction, possibly modeling perseveration, as would be seen in patients with schizophrenia. This MK-801-induced behavioral perseveration is reversed by dopamine receptor antagonism. To further explore the role of dopamine in this behavioral change, the current study sought to determine if the MK-801-induced increase in non-rewarded operant responding could be mimicked by dopamine agonism and determine how it was related to locomotor activity. Male Long Evans rats were treated systemically with MK-801, cocaine, GBR12909 or apomorphine (APO) and given a single trial operant extinction session, followed by a separate assessment of locomotor activity. Both MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg) and cocaine (10 mg/kg) significantly increased responding during the extinction session and both increased horizontal locomotor activity. No dose of GBR-12909 (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg) was found to effect non-rewarded operant responding or locomotor activity. APO (0.05, 0.5, 2 or 5 mg/kg) treatment produced a dose-dependent decrease in both operant responding and locomotor activity. These results suggest the possibility that, rather than a primary influence of increased dopamine concentration on elevating bar-pressing responses during extinction, other neurotransmitter systems may be involved.

Glutamate signaling in benign and malignant disorders: current status, future perspectives, and therapeutic implications

Glutamate, a nonessential amino acid, is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. As such, glutamate has been shown to play a role in not only neural processes, such as learning and memory, but also in bioenergetics, biosynthetic and metabolic oncogenic pathways. Glutamate has been the target of intense investigation for its involvement not only in the pathogenesis of benign neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, and amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but also in carcinogenesis and progression of malignant diseases. In addition to its intracellular activities, glutamate in secreted form is a phylogenetically conserved cell signaling molecule. Glutamate binding activates multiple major receptor families including the metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) and ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), both of which have been implicated in various signaling pathways in cancer. Inhibition of extracellular glutamate release or glutamate receptor activation via competitive or non-competitive antagonists decreases growth, migration and invasion and induces apoptosis in breast cancer, melanoma, glioma and prostate cancer cells. In this review, we discuss the current state of glutamate signaling research as it relates to benign and malignant diseases. In addition, we provide a synopsis of clinical trials using glutamate antagonists for the treatment of NDD and malignant diseases. We conclude that in addition to its potential role as a metabolic biomarker, glutamate receptors and glutamate-initiated signaling pathways may provide novel therapeutic opportunities for cancer.

Neonatal NMDA receptor blockade alters anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in a sex-dependent manner in mice

There is increasing evidence that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockade in the neonatal period has a long-lasting influence on brain and behavior development and has been linked to an increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in later life. We sought to determine whether postnatal NMDA receptor blockade can affect normal development of body weight, corticosterone levels, anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in male and female mice in adulthood. For this purpose, male and female NMRI mice were treated with either saline or phencyclidine (PCP; 5 and 10 mg/kg, s.c.) on postnatal days (PND) 7, 9, and 11, and then subjected to different behavioral tests, including open field, elevated plus-maze, elevated zero-maze, light-dark box, tail suspension test and forced swimming test in adulthood. The results indicated that neonatal PCP treatment reduced body weight during neonatal and adulthood periods, and did not alter baseline corticosterone levels in both male and female mice. Moreover, this study obtained some experimental evidence showing the PCP at dose of 10 mg/kg increases stress-induced corticosterone levels, anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in males, while decreasing levels of anxiety without any significant effect on depression in female mice in adulthood. These data support the argument that neonatal NMDA receptor blockade can lead to behavioral abnormalities and psychiatric diseases in adulthood. Collectively, our findings suggest that neonatal exposure to PCP may have profound effects on the development of anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in a sex- and dose-dependent manner in mice.