Depression-related behavior and mechanical allodynia are blocked by 3-(4-fluorophenylselenyl)-2,5-diphenylselenophene in a mouse model of neuropathic pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation.

Abstract: Clinically, it is suggested that chronic pain might induce mood disorders like depression and anxiety. Based on this antidepressant drugs have emerged as a new therapy for pain. In this study, the effect of acute and subchronic treatments with 3-(4-fluorophenylselenyl)-2,5-diphenylselenophene (F-DPS) on behavioral changes induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) was evaluated. At the 4th week after surgery, PSNL caused a significant depression-like behavior in mice evaluated in the forced swimming test (FST) and the tail suspension test (TST), which was accompanied by increased pain sensitivity. The anxiety-like behavior assessed in the light–dark test (LDT) was not modified by PSNL. Acute treatment with F-DPS, at a dose of 1 mg/kg, intragastrically (i.g.) administered 30 min before the FST, produced a significant anti-immobility effect in PSNL mice. The antidepressant drug paroxetine showed acute antidepressant-like action at a dose 10 times higher than F-DPS. Subchronic treatment with F-DPS (0.1 mg/kg, i.g.) reversed depression-like behavior of sciatic nerve-ligated mice in the TST and FST and produced a significant anxiolytic-like action in both sham-operated and PSNL animals. Although the acute F-DPS treatment did not produce anti-allodynic effect, F-DPS subchronic treatment significantly reduced pain sensitivity in PSNL mice. These findings demonstrated that F-DPS blocked behavioral changes induced by neuropathic pain, suggesting that it might be attractive in the pharmacological approach of pain-emotion diseases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]