Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T00:25:21.529Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effect of the antidepressant tianeptine on the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

C Delbende*
Affiliation:
European Institute for Peptide Research, Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, CNRS URA 650, UA INSERM, University of Rouen, 76134Mont-Saint-Aignan
E Mocaër
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier, 6 place des Pléiades, 92415Courbevoie Cedex, France
M Rettori
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier, 6 place des Pléiades, 92415Courbevoie Cedex, France
A Kamoun
Affiliation:
Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier, 6 place des Pléiades, 92415Courbevoie Cedex, France
H Vaudry*
Affiliation:
European Institute for Peptide Research, Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, CNRS URA 650, UA INSERM, University of Rouen, 76134Mont-Saint-Aignan
*
*Present address: Laboratoire de Biologie Animate, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille I, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
** Correspondence and reprints.
Get access

Summary

The effect of the antidepressant agent, tianeptine, on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was studied in adult male rats under basal and stressed conditions. Chronic treatment with tianeptine (10 mg/kg; 2 weeks; twice a day) induced a significant decrease of hypothalamic CRF (–12%) and pituitary ACTH concentrations (–21%), suggesting that tianeptine reduces the activity of hypothalamic CRF neurons and pituitary corticotrophs. The possible effect of tianeptine in the neuroendocrine response to stress was thus investigated. Rats were submitted to restraint stress for 30 min; under these conditions ACTH and corticosterone levels were considerably increased. A single injection of tianeptine was found to significantly reduce stress-evoked elevations of plasma ACTH and corticosterone. Time-course experiments, consisting of administering tianeptine 1–3 h before immobilization stress, revealed that the maximum inhibitory effect of tianeptine occurs about 2 h after injection of the antidepressant. Administration of various doses of tianeptine (from 2.5 to 20 mg/kg) showed that the effect of the drug was dose-dependent; the maximum effective dose being 10 mg/kg. Taken together, these data indicate that tianeptine may exert original ‘anti-stress’ activity.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier, Paris 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Angelucci, LPatucchioli, FRBohus, Bde Kloet, R (1982) Serotoninergic innervation and glucocorticoid binding in the hippocampus: relevance to depression.Adv Biochem Psychopharmacol 31, 365370Google Scholar
Calogero, AEBernardini, RMargioris, ANBagdy, GGallucci, WTMunson, PJTamarkin, LTomai, TPBrady, LGold, PWChrousos, GP (1989) Effects of serotonergic agonists and antagonists on corticotropin- releasing hormone secretion by explanted rat hypothalami. Peptides 10, 189200CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Defrance, RMarey, CKamoun, A (1988) Antidepressant and anxiolytic activities of tianeptine. An overview of clinical trials. Clin Neuropharmacol 11, S74S82Google ScholarPubMed
Delbende, CJégou, STranchand Bunel, DBlasquez, CVaudry, H (1989) Gamma-aminobutyric acid inhibits the release of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) from rat hypothalamic slices. Brain Res 497, 8693CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delbende, CContesse, VMocaër, EVaudry, H (1991) The novel antidepressant, tianeptine, reduces stressevoked stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Eur J Pharmacol 202, 391396CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delbende, CDelarue, CLefebvre, HTranchand Bunel, DSzafarczyk, AMocaër, EKamoun, AJëgou, SVaudry, H (1992) Glucocorticoids, transmitters and stress. Br J Psychiatry 160, 2434CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fattaccini, CMBolanos-Jimenez, FGozlan, HHamon, M (1990) Tianeptine stimulates uptake of 5-hydroxytryptamine in vivo in the rat brain. Neuropharmacology 29, 118CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbs, DMVale, W (1983) Effect of serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine on corticotropin-releasing factor and vasopressin secretion into hypophysial portal blood brain. Brain Res 280, 176179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gold, PWChrousos, GKellner, CPost, RRoy, AAuerginos, PSchulte, HOldfield, ELoriaux, DL (1984) Psychiatric implications of basic and clinical studies with corticotropin-releasing factor. Am J Psychiatry 141,619627Google ScholarPubMed
Greden, JFGardner, RKing, DGrunhaus, LCarroll, BJKronfol, Z (1983) Dexamethasone suppression tests in antidepressant treatment of melancholia. The process of normalization and test-retest reproducibility. Arch Gen Psychiatry 40, 493500CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hillhouse, EWMilton, NGN (1989) Effect of acetylcholine and 5-hydroxytryptamine on the secretion of corticotropin-releasing factor-41 and arginine vasopressin from the rat hypothalamus in vitro. J Endocrinol 122,713718CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holsboer, FMüller, OADoerr, HGSippell, WGStalla, GKGerken, ASteiger, ABoll, EBenkert, O (1984) ACTH and multisteroid responses to corticotropin-releasing factor in depressive illness: relationship to multisteroid responses after ACTH stimulation and dexamethasone suppression. Psychoneuroendocrinology 9, 147160CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holsboer, FGerken, AStalla, GKMüller, OA (1985) ACTH, Cortisol and corticosterone output after ovine corticotropin-releasing factor challenge during depression and after recovery. Biol Psychiatry 20, 276286CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ixart, GSzafarczyk, AMalaval, FAssenmacher, I (1985) Impairment of the ether-stress-induced ACTH surge in rats by ablation of the suprachiasmatic nuclei or by ip injections of p-chlorophenylalanine. Neuroendocrinal Lett 7, 171174Google Scholar
Liposits, ZSPhelix, CPaull, WK (1987) Synaptic interaction of serotonergic axons and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) synthesizing neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of the rat. A light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical study. Histochemistry 86, 541549CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lôo, HDeniker, P (1988) Position of tianeptine among antidepressive chemotherapies. Clin Neuropharmacol 11, S97S102Google ScholarPubMed
Lôo, HMalka, RDefrance, RBarrucand, DBenard, JYNiox-Rivière, HRaab, ASarda, AVachonfrance, GKamoun, A (1988) Tianeptine and amitriptyline: controlled double-blind trial in depressed alcoholic patients. Neuropsychobiology 19, 7985CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mennini, TMocaër, EGarattini, S (1987) Tianeptine, a selective enhancer of serotonin uptake in rat brain. Naunyn-Schmiedehergs Arch Pharmacol 336, 478482Google ScholarPubMed
Mocaër, ERettori, M-CKamoun, A (1988) Pharmacological antidepressive effects and tianeptine-induced 5-HT uptake increase. Clin Neuropharmacol 11, S32S42Google ScholarPubMed
Peiffer, AVeilleux, SBarden, N (1991) Antidepressant and other centrally acting drugs regulate glucocorticoid receptor messenger RNA levels in rat brain. Psychoneuroendocrinology 16, 505515CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pépin, M-CBeaulieu, SBarden, N (1989) Antidepressants regulate glucocorticoid receptor messenger RNA concentrations in primary neuronal cultures. Mol Brain Res 6, 7783CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sapolsky, RMKrey, LCMc Ewen, BS (1984) Glucocorticoid-sensitive hippocampal neurons are involved in terminating the adrenocortical stress response. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81, 61746177CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tonon, M-CBurlet, ALauber, MCuet, PJégou, SGouteux, LLing, NVaudry, H (1985) Immunohistochemical localization and radioimmunoassay of corticotropin-releasing factor in the forebrain and hypophysis of the frog Rami ridibunda. Neuroendocrinology 40, 109119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallarino, MDelbende, CTranchand Bunel, DOttonello, IVaudry, H (1989) Proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-related peptides in the brain of the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri. Peptides 10, 12231230CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaudry, HTonon, M-CDelarue, CVaillant, RKraicer, J (1978) Biological and radioimmunological evidence for melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) of extrapituitary origin in the rat brain. Neuroendocrinology 27, 924CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.