Stress ulcer susceptibility and depression in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats

In a series of studies, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) normotensive rats were more susceptible to water-restraint-induced stress ulcer as compared to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) Fisher-344 (F344) and Wistar rats. In these same studies, WKY rats were also deficient in several behavioral tasks. The four strains were observed in the open-field test of emotionality and WKYs were judged more emotional. In a study on "learned helplessness" WKYs were more deficient in the acquisition of a shuttlebox escape response following unavoidable shock the day before. The prevalence of freezing behavior in the shuttlebox task and the low ambulation scores in the open-field test suggested depressive behavior as a WKY behavior characteristic. WKY rats were judged more depressed in the Porsolt forced-swim test as compared to the other strains. A possible depression-ulcer relationship may exist in WKY rats. This strain may represent a good model for studying possible relationships between depression and stress-induced disease.