The phosphodiesterase type 2 inhibitor BAY 60-7550 reverses functional impairments induced by brain ischemia by decreasing hippocampal neurodegeneration and enhancing hippocampal neuronal plasticity.

Cognitive and affective impairments are the most characterized consequences following cerebral ischemia. BAY 60-7550, a selective phosphodiesterase type 2 inhibitor (PDE2-I), presents memory-enhancing and anxiolytic-like properties. The behavioral effects of BAY 60-7550 have been associated with its ability to prevent hydrolysis of both cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) thereby interfering with neuronal plasticity. Here, we hypothesize that PDE2-I treatment could promote functional recovery after brain ischemia. Mice C57Bl/6 were submitted to bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO), an experimental model of transient brain ischemia, for 20 min. During 21 days after reperfusion, the animals were tested in a battery of behavioral tests including the elevated zero maze (EZM), object location task (OLT) and forced swim test (FST). The effects of BAY 60-7550 were evaluated on neuronal nuclei (NeuN), caspase-9, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the hippocampus. BCCAO increased anxiety levels, impaired hippocampus-dependent cognitive function and induced despair-like behavior in mice. Hippocampal neurodegeneration was evidenced by a decrease in NeuN and increase incaspase-9 protein levels in BCCAO mice. Ischemic mice also showed low BDNF protein levels in the hippocampus. Repeated treatment with BAY 60-7550 attenuated the behavioral impairments induced by BCCAO in mice. Concomitantly, BAY 60-7550 enhanced expression of pCREB and BDNF protein levels in the hippocampus of ischemic mice. The present findings suggest that chronic inhibition of PDE2 provides functional recovery in BCCAO mice possibly by augmenting hippocampal neuronal plasticity.

Middle-aged, but not young, rats develop cognitive impairment and cortical neurodegeneration following the four-vessel occlusion/internal carotid artery model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.

Permanent, stepwise occlusion of the vertebral arteries (VAs) and internal carotid arteries (ICAs) following the sequence VA→ICA→ICA, with an interstage interval (ISI, →) of 7 days, has been investigated as a four-vessel occlusion (4-VO)/ICA model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. This model has the advantage of not causing retinal damage. In young rats, however, 4-VO/ICA with an ISI of 7 days fails to cause behavioral sequelae. We hypothesized that such a long ISI would allow the brain to efficiently compensate for cerebral hypoperfusion, preventing the occurrence of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. The present study evaluated whether brain neurodegeneration and learning/memory deficits can be expressed by reducing the length of the ISI and whether aging influences the outcome. Young, male Wistar rats were subjected to 4-VO/ICA with different ISIs (5, 4, 3 or 2 days). An ISI of 4 days was used in middle-aged rats. Ninety days after 4-VO/ICA, the rats were tested for learning/memory impairment in a modified radial maze and then examined for neurodegeneration of the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Regardless of the ISI, young rats were not cognitively impaired, although hippocampal damage was evident. Learning/memory deficits and hippocampal and cortical neurodegeneration occurred in middle-aged rats. The data indicate that 4-VO/ICA has no impact on the capacity of young rats to learn the radial maze task, despite 51% hippocampal cell death. Such resistance is lost in middle-aged animals, for which the most extensive neurodegeneration observed in both the hippocampus and cerebral cortex may be responsible.

Depletion of 5 hydroxy-triptamine (5-HT) affects the antidepressant-like effect of neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in mice.

Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the genesis of depression as well as in antidepressant drug effects. Inhibitors of nitric oxide synthases (NOS) exert antidepressant-like effect in several animal models, but also interfere with the locomotor activity. The involvement of different isoforms of NOS in the antidepressant-like effects is not clearly established. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of acute or repeated administration of selective inhibitors of neuronal NOS (nNOS) and induced NOS (iNOS), 7 nitroindazole (7NI) and 1400W, respectively, in mice subjected to open field (OF) and forced swim test (FST). We also investigated if the antidepressant-like effect of nNOS inhibitor, 7NI, was dependent on hippocampal serotonin. The results demonstrated that single or repeated (3 and 7days) administration of 7NI resulted in antidepressant-like effects in mice, evidenced by a significant decrease in immobility time in the FST. However, antidepressant-like effects of the iNOS inhibitor, 1400W, were only identified after repeated administration for 3 or 7days. The effects of both inhibitors were comparable to those obtained with the classical antidepressant fluoxetine. It was also demonstrated that the effect of 7NI was dependent of hippocampal serotonin. We concluded that inhibition of nNOS and iNOS result in antidepressant-like effects, and that these effects hold up after repeated administration.

Sildenafil prevents mortality and reduces hippocampal damage after permanent, stepwise, 4-vessel occlusion in rats.

The present study evaluated the effects of sildenafil using the 4-vessel occlusion (VO)/internal carotid artery (ICA) model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (HCC). We previously found that permanent, three-stage occlusion of the vertebral arteries (VA) and ICA, four-VO/ICA, with an interstage interval (ISI) of 7 days was innocuous and caused no structural or functional outcomes in rats. Therefore, before testing sildenafil, we evaluated how a reduction in the number of occlusion stages (from three stages to two) and a shortening of the ISI might impact the survival rate, capacity for learning and memory, and histomorphological integrity of the hippocampus. Survival decreased from 100% to 70%, 62%, and 0% as the ISI was shortened from 7 to 5, 4, or 3 days, respectively. Using the two shortest ISIs, sildenafil (0.75-3.0 mg/kg, p.o.) abolished the mortality rate by approximately 95%. Profound neurodegeneration occurred in the CA1, CA2, CA3, and CA4 hippocampal subfields after an ISI of 4 days. Despite this, however, memory performance was unaffected. Subsequently, sildenafil treatment reduced 4-VO/ICA-induced hippocampal damage. The present results suggest that sildenafil may be potentially beneficial in the treatment of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Further studies should examine the manner by which the chronic 4-VO/ICA model may effectively cause cognitive impairment, thus improving its applicability in testing the effects of drugs against structural and/or functional outcomes of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.