Olfactory bulbectomy alters alpha-1 acid glycoprotein levels in rat plasma

Olfactory bulbectomy in rats causes neurochemical, behavioral, as well as physiological alterations. These alterations make this surgical procedure a useful animal model for depression. In humans, depression was shown to be accompanied by increases in plasma cortisol, inability to decrease cortisol in the dexamethasone suppression test and increases in plasma alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), an endogenous modulator for the serotonin uptake site. Utilizing a recently developed radial immunodiffusion assay for rat AGP we were able to confirm the increases in plasma AGP in the rat. However, we did not observe increased corticosterone in the rat. We also observed the aggressive behavior of muricide in olfactory bulbectomized rats. These results seem to indicate that olfactory bulbectomy is a good model for depression in the human condition and that AGP may be a putative marker for this condition.