Behavioural Brain Research 233 (2012) 526–535 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Behavioural Brain Research j ourna l ho me pa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/bbr Research report Tianeptine treatment induces antidepressive-like effects and alters BDNF and energy metabolism in the brain of rats Franciela P. Della a , Helena M. Abelaira a , Gislaine Z. Réus a,∗ , Karine F. Ribeiro a , Altamir R. Antunes a , Giselli Scaini b , Isabela C. Jeremias b , Lis Mairá M. dos Santos b , Gabriela C. Jeremias b , Emilio L. Streck b , João Quevedo a a Laboratório de Neurociências and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina (INCT-TM), Programa de Pós-Graduac ¸ ão em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, 88806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil b Laboratório de Bioenergética and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina (INCT-TM), Programa de Pós-Graduac ¸ ão em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, 88806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil h i g h l i g h t s ◮ Tianeptine presented antidepressive-like behavior in rats. ◮ Tianeptine increased BDNF levels in the rat brain. ◮ Tianeptine treatment altered energy metabolism in the rat brain. a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 28 March 2012 Received in revised form 9 May 2012 Accepted 23 May 2012 Available online 31 May 2012 Keywords: Tianeptine BDNF Energy metabolism Forced swimming test Depression a b s t r a c t The present study was aimed at investigating the behavioral and molecular effects of tianeptine. To this aim, Wistar rats were treated with tianeptine (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg) or imipramine (30 mg/kg) acutely and chronically. The results showed that both treatments reduced the immobility time. The BDNF levels were increased in the prefrontal cortex with tianeptine and decreased in the nucleus accumbens after acute treatment; in chronic treatment, BDNF levels were increased in the prefrontal and hippocampus with tianeptine. Acute treatment decreased the citrate synthase activity in the prefrontal cortex with tianep- tine, and increased it in the amygdala with imipramine; chronic treatment increased the citrate synthase in the hippocampus with tianeptine. The creatine kinase was increased in the prefrontal cortex with tianeptine and in the amygdala with imipramine after acute treatment; chronic treatment increased the creatine kinase activity in the hippocampus with imipramine and tianeptine. The complex I activity was decreased in the prefrontal cortex with imipramine and increased in the hippocampus with tianeptine. The other complexes were increased with imipramine and tianeptine at all doses, but were related to the treatment given and the brain area studied. Chronic treatment increased the malate dehydrogenase activ- ity in the amygdala with tianeptine. Acute treatment decreased the succinate activity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala with tianeptine; chronic treatment increased the succinate activity in the hippocampus with tianeptine at all doses. In conclusion, tianeptine exerted antidepressant-like behavior which can be attributed to its effects on pathways related to depression, such as BDNF and metabolism energy. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Abbreviation: BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor. ∗ Corresponding author at: Laboratório de Neurociências, Programa de Pós- Graduac ¸ ão em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, 88806-000 Criciúma, SC, Brazil. Tel.: +55 48 34312759; fax: +55 48 3431 2736. E-mail address: gislainezilli@hotmail.com (G.Z. Réus). 1. Introduction Major depression is a serious and recurrent disorder manifested with symptoms at the psychological, behavioral and physiological levels. Depression affects some 17–20% of the World’s population and can have a wide ranging impact including premature death and major social and economic consequences [1,2]. Among people suf- fering with major depression, 75–85% have recurrent episodes and 10–30% have an incomplete recovery, showing persistent, resid- ual depressive symptoms [3]. Despite the devastating impact of 0166-4328/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2012.05.039