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Modulatory effect of olanzapine on neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the rat striatum

  • Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Short communication
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Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) has been thought to be a novel factor involved in the mechanisms of mental disorders pathogenesis for quite some time. However, little is known about potential crosstalk between neuronal NO signaling and neuroleptics action. The present work was, therefore, focused on gene expression of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in the brains of rats chronically treated with olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic drug. Studies were carried out on adult, male Sprague–Dawley rats that were divided into 2 groups: control and experimental animals treated with olanzapine (28-day-long intraperitoneal injection, at dose 5 mg/kg daily). All individuals were killed under anesthesia and the whole brains excised. Immunohistochemical procedure was used for histological assessment of the whole brain, and for both descriptive and quantitative analysis of nNOS protein distribution in selected brain structures. Long-term treatment with olanzapine is reflected in different changes in the number of enzyme-expressing cells in the rat brain. Olanzapine decreased the number of nNOS-expressing cells and possibly reduced NO synthesis in the rat striatum. Olanzapine can be taken into account as a potential inhibitor of NO synthesis in the rat striatum.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr Jacek Stępniewski, PhD, from Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków for his valuable assistance.

Funding

This research was funded by the Medical University of Silesia grants for Department of Histology No; PCN-1–011/K/0/O and PCN-1–225/K/I.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Histology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, ul. Medyków18, 40-752, Katowice, Poland

    Julia Kistowska, Artur Pałasz, Anna Lipiec-Borowicz, Aleksandra Suszka-Świtek & Kinga Mordecka-Chamera

  2. Department and Clinic of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, ul. Ziolowa 45/47, 40-635, Katowice, Poland

    Marek Krzystanek

  3. Department of Neurosciences and Behaviour, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil

    Itiana Castro Menezes

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  1. Julia Kistowska
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  2. Artur Pałasz
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  3. Anna Lipiec-Borowicz
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  4. Aleksandra Suszka-Świtek
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  7. Kinga Mordecka-Chamera
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Contributions

Conceptualization, A.P.; methodology, J.K.; A.S–S.; A.B.; investigation, A.P.; J.K.; A.S–S.; A.B.; resources, I.C.M., K.M-C; data curation, A.P.; J.K.; writing—original draft preparation, A.P.; J.K.; M.K; writing—review and editing, A.P.; I.C.M.; supervision, A.P., funding acquisition, A.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Artur Pałasz.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All experiments were conducted in accordance with the European Union guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals (2010/63/EU). Experimental protocols were reviewed and approved by the local bioethic committee at the Medical University of Silesia (agreement no 36/2012, dated 18.04.2012). The authors attest that all efforts were made to minimize the number of animals used and their suffering.

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Kistowska, J., Pałasz, A., Lipiec-Borowicz, A. et al. Modulatory effect of olanzapine on neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the rat striatum. J Neural Transm 131, 275–280 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02743-9

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