Objective: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a devastating major mental illness, and its pathophysiology is still not completely understood. Several studies suggest that decreased cellular plasticity may be involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders.
The aims this study is to examine the protein profile of synaptosomes from prefrontal cortex of rats treated with m-amphetamine compared to control group, and to identify possible changes in target proteins for BD.
Methods: Prefrontal cortex of male Wistar rats treated with m-amphetamine and control group were obtained by dissecation of cerebral cortex. The tissues were homogenized and the synaptosomes were prepared by direct Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The synaptosome fractions were analyzed by a mass spectrometer LC-MS/MS and different protein composition between groups will be identified.
Results: Preliminary results identify changes in the protein profile between rats treated with m-amphetamine and control animal.
Discussion: The synaptosomal fracion contains proteins for NMDA, AMPA and mGlu receptors. These receptors have been associated with BD pathophysiology, however these findings were described only in brain tissue. The study of exact location of neurochemical changes in BD could raise future treatment target with higher specificity.
Conclusion: The study of synaptosome fraction and the specific changes in protein profile may be a promising model to investigate the mechanism associated with neuroplasticity and treatment response in BD.