Strain and colony differences in the neurotoxic sequelae of MK-801 visualized with the Amino-Cupric-Silver method

BUENO A, SE OLMOS S, MANZINI F, DESMOND NL, DE OLMOS J

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2003 vol. 55 p. 287 - 287

p>The strain and sex of a species under investigation may influence the animal's physiological response to a variety of stimuli. Strain and sex differences are important considerations when evaluating animal models. In the rodent MK-801 model of schizophrenia, degenerative changes occur widely in the main olfactory system and in a number of cortical brain regions. In the present report, we compare the effects of MK-801 neurotoxicity in two strains of female rats and also two lines within each strain. The magnitude and regional extent of the neurodegeneration detected with the amino-cupric-silver method varied markedly both between the Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rat strains and also between two lines derived from each strain. For example, terminal degeneration occurred in layer VI of somatosensory cortex and the central extended amygdala in Sprague-Dawley but not Wistar rats. Moreover, MK-801 treatment led to somatodendritic degeneration in the dentate gyrus of the dorsal hippocampus an