Zhenlong Li, Yuanyuan Xu, Rourou Li, Zhenyu Sheng, Xinya Chen, Xueman Liu, Chau-Shoun Lee, Hsien-Yu Peng, Tzer-Bin Lin, Ming-Chun Hsieh, Cheng-Yuan Lai, Han-Fang Wu, Dylan Chou
BACKGROUND: BTRX-246040, a nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide (NOP) receptor antagonist, is being developed for the treatment of depressive patients. However, the underlying mechanism of this potential antidepressant is still largely unclear. Here, we studied the antidepressant-related actions of BTRX-246040 in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG). METHODS: The tail suspension test (TST), forced swim test (FST), female urine sniffing test (FUST), sucrose preference test (SPT), and learned helplessness (LH) combined with pharmacological approaches were employed to examine the antidepressant-like effects and the drug effects on LH-induced depressive-like behavior in C57BL/6J mice...
June 5, 2023: International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology