Antidepressant-like effect of m-trifluoromethyl-diphenyl diselenide in the mouse forced swimming test involves opioid and serotonergic systems

Serotonergic and opioid systems have been implicated in major depression and in the action mechanism of antidepressants. The organoselenium compound m-trifluoromethyl-diphenyl diselenide (m–CF3–PhSe)2 shows antioxidant and anxiolytic activities and is a selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A activity. The present study was designed to investigate the antidepressant-like effect of (m–CF3–PhSe)2 in female mice, employing the forced swimming test. The involvement of the serotonergic and opioid systems in the antidepressant-like effect of (m–CF3–PhSe)2 was appraised. (m–CF3–PhSe)2 at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg (p.o.) exhibited antidepressant-like action in the forced swimming test. The effect of (m–CF3–PhSe)2 (50 mg/kg p.o.) was prevented by pretreatment of mice with WAY100635 (0.1 mg/kg, s.c. a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist), ritanserin (4 mg/kg, i.p., a non-selective 5HT2A/2C receptor antagonist), ondansetron (1 mg/kg, i.p., a selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonist) and naloxone (1 mg/kg, i.p., a non-selective antagonist of opioid receptors). These results suggest that (m–CF3–PhSe)2 produced an antidepressant-like effect in the mouse forced swimming test and this effect seems most likely to be mediated through an interaction with serotonergic and opioid systems.