Mitochondrial Toxicity by 3-NP Enhanced Susceptibility to Defective Social Behaviors in Male Wistar Rats

Introduction:The impaired mitochondrial function in neurons is a principal abnormality in many medical conditions.Behavioral changes are the key aspects that emerge under these conditions.In the curre nt study, we investigated whether social interactions are influenced by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced mitochondrial failure.We also assessed changes in glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and FKBP5 protein levels, cytochrome contents, and monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B activities in the striatum (ST), hippocampus (HIP), and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the subjects.Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were treated with 3-NP.Then, the social and non-social behaviors of 3-NP-treated rats were investigated.Different dissected brain regions were considered regarding GR and FKBP5 protein levels, cytochrome contents, and MAO-A and MAO-B. Results:We found a significantly decreased duration of social behaviors and impaired nonsocial behavioral tests.We detected a decreasing trend in GR and FKBP5 protein levels.Moreover, cytochrome contents and MAO A and B activities decreased in the dissected brain regions. Conclusion:Impaired social/non-social behaviors and decreased levels of investigated molecular variables in the regions mentioned above after 3-NP treatment might point to processes connecting mitochondrial failure to behavioral impairment, particularly social type.