Pro-social and pro-cognitive effects of LIT-001, a novel oxytocin receptor agonist in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia.

Piotrowska, D.; Potasiewicz, A.; Popik, P.; Nikiforuk, A.

doi:10.1101/2023.05.24.542076

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.05.24.542076

Pro-social and pro-cognitive effects of LIT-001, a novel oxytocin receptor agonist in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia.

Piotrowska, D.·Potasiewicz, A.·Popik, P.·Nikiforuk, A.

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Abstract

Social and cognitive dysfunctions are the most persistent symptoms of schizophrenia. Since oxytocin (OXT) is known to play a role in social functions and modulates cognitive processes, we investigated the effects of a novel, nonpeptide, selective OXT receptor agonist, LIT-001, in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Administration of methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM; 22 mg/kg) on the 17th day of pregnancy is known to cause developmental disturbances of the brain, which lead to schizophrenia-like symptomatology in the offspring. Here, we examined the effects of acutely administered LIT-001 (1, 3, and 10 mg/kg) in MAM-exposed males and females on social behaviour, communication and cognition. We report that MAM-treated adult male and female rats displayed reduced social behaviour, ultrasonic communication and novel object recognition test performance. LIT-001 partially reversed these deficits, increasing the total social interaction time and the number of happy 50 kHz ultrasonic calls in male rats. The compound ameliorated MAM-induced deficits in object discrimination in both sexes. Present results confirm the pro-social activity of LIT-001 and demonstrate its pro-cognitive effects following acute administration.

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Piotrowska, D., Potasiewicz, A., Popik, P., Nikiforuk, A.. 2023-05-24. Pro-social and pro-cognitive effects of LIT-001, a novel oxytocin receptor agonist in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.24.542076

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