Research reportType II pyrethroid deltamethrin produces antidepressant-like effects in mice

•Relationship between BDNF and the action of antidepressants has been implicated.•We investigated whether type II pyrethroids has an antidepressant-like effect in mice.•Deltamethrin (DM) increased the expression of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus.•Single and repeated administration of DM exerted antidepressant-like effects.•DM may be a possible source for the development of drugs to treat depression.

Pyrethroids, which are widely used insecticides with low acute toxicity in mammals, affect sodium channels in neurons. In primary culture of rat cortical neurons, the type II pyrethroid deltamethrin (DM) markedly enhances the expression of the mRNA of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and exerts neurotrophic effects. In this study, we investigated the antidepressant-like effect of DM in mice. The effects of DM were assessed using the forced swimming test (FST) and were compared with those of type I pyrethroid permethrin (PM). Intraperitoneal administration of DM (5 and 10 mg/kg), but not of PM (10 mg/kg), increased the expression of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus. DM, but not PM, significantly decreased the immobility time in the FST, and did not affect locomotor activity and motor coordination, suggesting that DM has an antidepressant-like effect. This effect of DM was inhibited by intracerebroventricular injection of K252a, which is an inhibitor of the BDNF receptor TrkB, indicating that the antidepressant-like effects of DM are mediated by BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways. Repeated administration of DM, but not of PM, also exerted antidepressant-like effects, which were long lasting. The results of the present study suggest that DM possesses antidepressant-like properties, and may be a possible source for the development of drugs to treat neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders including depression.