Abstract
To investigate whether atypical antipsychotic drugs exert an effect on the neuroprotective protein Bcl-2, rats were chronically treated with clozapine or olanzapine for 28 days. The expression of bcl-2 mRNA and Bcl-2 protein was determined, respectively, by in situ hybridization in tissue sections and Western blot on tissue samples from rat frontal cortex and hippocampus. The bcl-2 mRNA positive cells were increased in these regions after drug treatments, and quantitative analysis revealed that the upregulation of bcl-2 mRNA and Bcl-2 protein is significantly greater than in vehicle control (p<0.05 or p<0.01). It is demonstrated that neuroprotective protein Bcl-2 is involved in the action of atypical antipsychotic drugs, and might represent a neuroprotective mechanism of these drugs.
Copyright 2004 Elsevier B.V.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Antipsychotic Agents / pharmacology*
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Benzodiazepines / pharmacology
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Brain / drug effects*
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Brain / metabolism
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Cell Survival / drug effects
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Cell Survival / physiology
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Clozapine / pharmacology
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Frontal Lobe / drug effects
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Frontal Lobe / metabolism
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Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
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Gene Expression Regulation / physiology
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Hippocampus / drug effects
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Hippocampus / metabolism
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Male
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Neuroprotective Agents / pharmacology*
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Olanzapine
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / genetics
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism*
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RNA, Messenger / drug effects
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RNA, Messenger / metabolism
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Rats
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Rats, Wistar
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Up-Regulation / drug effects*
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Up-Regulation / physiology
Substances
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Antipsychotic Agents
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Neuroprotective Agents
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
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RNA, Messenger
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Benzodiazepines
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Clozapine
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Olanzapine