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Analgesic effect of tianeptine in mice
I T Uzbay1, M G Cinar, M Aytemir
1Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Ankara, Turkey. tuzbay@obs.gata.edu.tr
Abstract:
The effects of tianeptine, a novel and unusual tricyclic antidepressant drug, on tail-flick and hot-plate tests, which are two thermal analgesia evaluating methods, have been investigated in mice. Tianeptine (5 and 10 mg/kg), para-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) (100 mg/kg) and a combination of pCPA and tianeptine (10 mg/kg) or saline were injected to mice intraperitoneally. pCPA (100 mg/kg) was injected 24 h before tianeptine or saline treatment when it was combined with tinaeptine (10 mg/kg) or tested alone. The tail-flick latencies and hot-plate reaction times of the mice were measured between 15th and 180th minutes following injections. Tianeptine (10 mg/kg) exhibited a significant antinociceptive activity that could be measured by both tests as compared to groups which were treated with saline or pCPA alone between 15th and 180th min of the observation period. The lower dose of tianeptine (5 mg/kg) or pCPA (100 mg/kg) did not produce any significant changes on tail-flick latency or hot-plate reaction time of the mice. However, pretreatment with pCPA completely blocked the antinociceptive effect induced by tianeptine (10 mg/kg) in both tests used in the present study. Furthermore, tianeptine (10 mg/kg) did not cause any significant impairment effects on rotarod performance of the mice. Our results suggested that tianeptine has a prominent thermal antinociceptive activity in mice and that increased serotonergic activity may be responsible for the analgesic effect of tianeptine.
Insights
Tianeptine, an antidepressant, demonstrated significant pain relief in mice using thermal analgesia tests. This analgesic effect was dependent on serotonin activity and was blocked by pCPA.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Neuroscience
- Analgesia
Background:
- Tianeptine is an antidepressant with a unique tricyclic structure.
- Thermal nociception tests like tail-flick and hot-plate are standard methods for evaluating analgesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the antinociceptive effects of tianeptine in mice.
- To explore the role of serotonergic pathways in tianeptine's analgesic action.
Main Methods:
- Mice were administered tianeptine (5 and 10 mg/kg), p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) (100 mg/kg), or saline.
- Thermal analgesia was assessed using tail-flick and hot-plate tests.
- Locomotor activity was evaluated using the rotarod test.
Main Results:
- Tianeptine (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced nociception in both thermal tests.
- p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) pretreatment completely blocked tianeptine's antinociceptive effect.
- Tianeptine did not impair motor performance on the rotarod test.
Conclusions:
- Tianeptine exhibits potent thermal antinociceptive activity in mice.
- The analgesic effect of tianeptine appears to be mediated by increased serotonergic activity.
- Tianeptine is a promising candidate for pain management without significant motor impairment.