The neuroimmunophilin GPI-1046 partially protects against 3-acetylpyridine toxicity in the rat.

There are no published reports assessing whether the non-immunosuppressant immunophilin ligand GPI-1046, which has putative neurotrophic effects in a variety of models of neurotoxicity, possesses neuroprotective effects in the 3-acetylpyridine (3AP) toxicity model in rats. The purpose of the present study was to assess whether 3AP toxicity is mitigated by administration of GPI-1046. Survival after 3AP challenge and licking performance in surviving rats were used to measure the beneficial effects of GPI-1046. GPI-1046 increased animal survivability and partially ameliorated 3AP-induced performance deficits at the lick task when GPI-1046 was administered concurrently with a peri-lethal dose of 3AP (50 mg/kg).