Extending the Specificity of DRL 72-s Behavior for Screening Antidepressant-Like Effects of Glutamatergic Clinically Validated Anxiolytic or Antidepressant Drugs in Rats.

Both an agonist and its associated prodrug for metabotropic glutamate2/3 (mGlu2/3) receptors demonstrated anxiolytic efficacy in large, randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials studying patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). These mGlu2/3 receptor agonists produced robust preclinical anxiolytic-like effects in rodent models. Several different metabotropic glutamate2 receptor positive allosteric modulators have been found to produce antidepressant-like effects on several preclinical screening paradigms, including differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-second (DRL 72-s) behavior [increased reinforcers, decreased response rate, and cohesive rightward shifts in inter-response time distributions]. Although mGlu2/3 receptor agonists have not been tested formally for therapeutic effects in treating patients with major depressive disorder, these compounds generally fail to exert antidepressant-like effects in preclinical screening paradigms and did not improve depressive symptoms in GAD trials. Thus, the present studies were designed to test the potential antidepressant-like effects of the mGlu2/3 receptor agonist 1S,2S,5R,6S-2-aminobicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-bicarboxylate monohydrate (LY354740) on the DRL 72-s schedule. LY354740 did not test similarly to clinically validated antidepressant drugs when administered alone or when coadministered with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine in rats. Another glutamate-based antidepressant drug, the uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate channel blocker racemic ketamine, exerted antidepressant-like effects when administered at subanesthetic doses in rats. The findings further support the specificity of rat DRL 72-s behavior when screening for anxiolytic versus antidepressant drugs and extend testing of compounds with glutamatergic mechanisms of action. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The metabotropic glutamate2/3 receptor agonist and clinically validated anxiolytic drug 1S,2S,5R,6S-2-aminobicyclo[3.1.0]hexane-2,6-bicarboxylate monohydrate did not test similar to antidepressant drugs (increased reinforcers, decreased response rate, and cohesive rightward shifts in the inter-response time distribution) when tested on differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-second (DRL 72-s) behavior and also did not enhance the antidepressant-like effects of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine. The uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine increased the reinforcement rate, decreased the response rate, and induced a rightward shift in the inter-response time distribution similar to antidepressant drugs; these results confirm the utility of DRL 72-s schedule of reinforcement when testing clinically validated anxiolytic versus antidepressant glutamatergic drugs.