Long-term cortisol treatment impairs behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to 5-HT1 agonists in the rat

The effects of chronic cortisol treatment on neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to serotonin1 (5-HT1) receptor agonists were studied in conscious, freely moving rats. Seven-day cortisol treatment (25 mg/kg/day with osmotic minipumps) markedly suppressed basal plasma corticotropin (ACTH) and corticosterone concentrations, indicating a suppression of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Cortisol also decreased body weight, food intake, plasma norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (E) levels. In the drug challenge studies, we used two 5-HT1 agonists, the 5-HT1B and 5-HT1C agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP), and the 5-HT1A agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OHDPAT), to examine the effect of cortisol on their behavioral and neuroendocrine effects. After 7-day cortisol treatment, plasma prolactin responses to both m-CPP and 8-OHDPAT were significantly decreased. While the plasma NE, E, and food intake responses to m-CPP were also significantly reduced by cortisol treatment, these same responses to 8-OHDPAT were unchanged. The effect of m-CPP on locomotor activity was also decreased. Since only the responses to m-CPP and 8-OHDPAT previously shown to be antagonized by pretreatment with the 5-HT1/5-HT2 antagonist, metergoline, were significantly attenuated after cortisol treatment, these changes may be specific to 5-HT receptors. These data indicate that chronic exposure to high glucocorticoid levels alters 5-HT1 receptor-mediated functions and provides additional evidence relevant to the contribution of glucocorticoid elevation to the symptoms of depression.