Abstract

Role of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) ligands in the regulation of affective behavior

C. A. TURNER; E. L. GULA; L. P. TAYLOR; H. AKIL; S. J. WATSON
Society for Neuroscience. 2007.

Abstract

Previous work in our lab has found the FGF system to be altered post-mortem in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) (Evans et al., 2004). While the receptors were typically downregulated, some of the ligands were downregulated and others were upregulated. We tested whether some of the upregulated ligands were part of a compensatory change given downregulation of other members of the family, or whether the upregulated ligands played a functional role in affective behavior. To this end, we microinjected the various FGF ligands into the lateral ventricle and subsequently tested the rats. Here, we report our findings with the FGF ligands on depression-like behavior in the forced swim test (FST) and anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plusmaze (EPM). While some ligands exhibited antidepressant-like effects, others appeared to induce depression-like behavior. These findings suggest a physiological antagonism between the various ligands in the regulation of affective behavior. Thus, the FGF family of ligands may offer several novel targets for the treatment of MDD.