Abstract
Astrocytic markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and connexin 43 (CX43) are known to have altered expression in brains of subjects with psychiatric disorders including autism and major depression. The current study investigated whether GFAP and CX43 expressions are affected by several commonly used psychotropic medications (clozapine, fluoxetine, haloperidol, lithium, olanzapine, and valproic acid). Using SDS-PAGE and western blotting technique, we observed that CX43 protein expression in prefrontal cortex was significantly increased following chronic treatment with fluoxetine and clozapine, while it was significantly decreased by haloperidol and lithium. GFAP protein expression was significantly decreased following chronic treatment with clozapine and valproic acid. These results suggest that astroglial markers GFAP and CX43 could be potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 127-134 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Schizophrenia Research |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue number | 1-3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2008 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding for this study was provided by Stanley Medical Research Institute grant 02R-232. The funding source had no further role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Funding Information:
Grant support by Stanley Medical Research Institute (02R-232) to SHF is acknowledged. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the kind gift of olanzapine from Eli Lilly and Company and provided by Dr. L. Jaton. We wish to thank L. Iversen for secretarial assistance.
Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Autism
- Connexin 43
- GFAP
- Prefrontal cortex
- Rat
- Schizophrenia