Galanin (1-15)-fluoxetine interaction in the novel object recognition test. Involvement of 5-HT1A receptors in the prefrontal cortex of the rats.

Galanin (1-15) [GAL(1-15)] participates in mood regulation and depression. GAL(1-15) is also able to enhance the antidepressant effects induced by Fluoxetine (FLX) in the forced swimming test through interaction between GALR1-GALR2 and 5-HT1A receptors that induced changes in the binding characteristics and mRNA of the 5-HT1AR in the hippocampus. Since the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a core region for the interaction between emotional processing and cognition with a high density of 5-HT1AR and GALR1 and GALR2, we have analyzed the binding characteristics and mRNA levels of 5-HT1AR in the mPFC after GAL(1-15)-FLX administration in the rats. GAL(1-15) increased the Kd and the Bmax of the 5HT1AR agonist binding in the mPFC as well as the mRNA levels of 5-HT1AR in mPFC. Moreover, GAL(1-15) reversed the effects of memory impairment induced by FLX(10 mg/kg) in the Novel Object Recognition task. GALR2 was involved in these effects, since the specific GALR2 antagonist M871 blocked GAL(1-15) mediated actions at behavioral level. On the contrary GAL(1-15) did not reverse the effect of FLX in the Object Location Memory task. In conclusion, our results describe an interactions between GAL(1-15) and FLX in the mPFC involving interactions at the 5-HT1AR receptor level in the plasma membrane with changes at the transcriptional level with implications also at functional level. The GALR1-GALR2-5-HT1A heteroreceptor could be postulated to be used to reverse some of the adverse effects of FLX on memory processes.