Methane-rich saline ameliorates depressive-like behaviors during chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)

• Published in: Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology 2024-12, Vol.397 (12), p.10203-10213
• Main Authors: Nasab, Mohammad Ghaffari, Rezvani, Mohammad Ebrahim, Hosseini, Seyed Mohammad Sadegh, Mehrjerdi, Fatemeh Zare
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antidepressive Agents - pharmacology; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cognitive ability; Corticosterone; Corticosterone - blood; Depression - drug therapy; Disease Models, Animal; Enzymatic activity; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - metabolism; Hippocampus - pathology; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - drug effects; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - metabolism; Hypothalamus; Inflammation; Ischemia; Lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Male; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Methane; Neurosciences; Open-field behavior; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pituitary; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Saline Solution - administration & dosage; Saline Solution - pharmacology; Stress, Psychological - drug therapy; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Sucrose; Swimming behavior; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Tumor necrosis factor-α
• ISSN: 0028-1298; 1432-1912; 1432-1912
• DOI: 10.1007/s00210-024-03284-4

Depression, considered the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder, is multifactorial and complex. Oxidative stress and inflammation significantly contribute to its etiology. Conversely, methane, a novel therapeutic gas, has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing tissue resilience against ischemic injuries and inflammation. In this study, we investigated the effect of methane-rich saline (MRS) on depression using the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model. Depressed rats received MRS treatment, and depression-like behaviors and cognitive function were assessed through sucrose preference, open field, forced swimming, and Morris water maze tests. Additionally, we measured serum corticosterone levels, antioxidant enzyme activity, hippocampal malondialdehyde (MDA), and TNFα levels, and investigated histological changes in the hippocampus. Our findings revealed that MRS significantly ameliorated Depressive-like behaviors and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, MRS administration regulated serum corticosterone levels and also MRS reduced hippocampal lipid peroxidation, TNFα, and hippocampus tissue damage. MRS likely exerts its effects by reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory factors and modulating the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. These results demonstrate the protective effects of MRS on the hippocampus in CUMS animals.