Behavioural Alterations Induced by Acute and Subacute Administration of 3-Nitropropionic Acid in Rats*

Anita Lukács, Andrea Szabó, András Papp, and László Nagymajtényi

Department of Public Health, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine, Szeged, Hungary


* This work was presented as a poster in the 8th DKMT Euroregional Conference in Timişoara, Romania.

Corresponding author: Anita Lukács
    Department of Public Health
    University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine
    Dóm tér 10., H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
    Telephone: +36-62-545-119
    Fax number: +36-62-545-120
    E-mail: lukacsa@puhe.szote.u-szeged.hu

CEJOEM 2006, Vol.12. No.4.: 309–316

Key words:
3-nitropropionic acid, behavioural alterations, rat

Abstract:
Animals treated with the succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) mimic the brain lesions and dysfunctions seen in Huntington’s disease and, consequently, treatment with 3-NP can serve to model this disease. In rats, acute and subacute systemic administration of 3-NP caused decreased locomotor activity and altered pre-pulse inhibition. In the present study, male Wistar rats received systemically 10 or 20 mg/kg 3-NP; as a single dose (acute treatment) or in six consecutive injections (subacute treatment). Controls were given saline. Before the treatment, 30 minutes after the single administration, and after the sixth injection in the subacute treatment, behavioural investigations (open field activity, acoustic startle response, and rota-rod) were done. In acute treatment, low dose of 3-NP significantly decreased the horizontal activity and caused significant local hyperactivity in the open field test. In the acoustic startle response, the number of “noise-positive responses” displayed nosignificant change. Low dose of 3-NP reduced the time spent on the rod. In subacute treatment, decreased horizontal and local activity was measured; the vertical activity significantly decreased in the high-dose group compared to the low-dose one. The differences in the number of acoustic startle responses were below the level of significance. 3-NP had a negative effect on the time spent on the rod. Our results showed that 3-NP had an effect on the locomotor activity and on the pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle. The results can contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of 3-NP toxicity and thereby they might prove useful in developing neuroprotective strategies in models based on the neurotoxic effect.

Received: 11 October 2006
Accepted: 30 January 2007
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