Effects of lithium on aggression in Drosophila

Lithium is a common medication used to treat mania and bipolar disorder, but the mechanisms by which lithium stabilizes mood and modifies aggression are still not fully understood. Here we found that acute but not chronic lithium significantly suppresses aggression without affecting locomotion in Dr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuropsychopharmacology (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2023-04, Vol.48 (5), p.754-763
Main Authors: Wang, Rencong, Ma, Baoxu, Shi, Kai, Wu, Fengming, Zhou, Chuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affective disorders
Aggression
Animals
Bipolar disorder
Drosophila
Drosophila melanogaster
Glycogen
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
Insects
Kinases
Lithium
Lithium - pharmacology
Locomotion
Male
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Lithium is a common medication used to treat mania and bipolar disorder, but the mechanisms by which lithium stabilizes mood and modifies aggression are still not fully understood. Here we found that acute but not chronic lithium significantly suppresses aggression without affecting locomotion in Drosophila melanogaster. Male flies treated with acute lithium are also less competitive than control males in establishing dominance. We also provided evidence that glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a well-known target of lithium, plays an important role in the anti-aggressive effect of lithium in Drosophila. Our genetic data showed that acute knockdown of GSK-3 in neurons can mimic the inhibitory effect of acute lithium on aggression, while specific overexpression of GSK-3 in a subset of P1 neurons profoundly promotes aggression which can be partially rescued by acute lithium application. Thus, these findings revealed the inhibitory effect of lithium on aggression in Drosophila and laid a groundwork for using Drosophila as a powerful model to investigate the mechanisms by which lithium reduces aggression.
ISSN:0893-133X
1740-634X
DOI:10.1038/s41386-022-01475-2