Effects of citalopram on glucose and immune system in long-term stress rats

Objective To explore the effects of citalopram on glucose and immune system in long-term stress rats.Methods Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into control group,stress group,and two experimental groups.Stressed rat models were made by forced swimming.Blood sugar and index of adrenal gland,thymus,spleen were measured.Immunohistochemistry was used for detection of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins. Thymocytes apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL method.ResultsCompared with stress group,blood sugar of control group decreased on the 20th and 29th day,which of experimental group decreased on the 29th day(P0.05).Compared with control group,blood sugar of experimental groups incressed on the 20th day(P0.05).Compared with stress group,the index of adrenal gland decreased,and the indexes of thymus and spleen increased in control group and experimental group 1(P0.05).Compared with control group and experimental group 1,the indexes of thymus and spleen in experimental group 2 decreased(P0.05).Expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased,Bax protein increased,TUNEL staining-positive thymus cells increased in stress group.Expression of Bcl-2 protein increased,Bax protein decreased,TUNEL staining-positive cells were reduced in experimental group 1.ConclusionCitalopram may effectively regulate the functions of endocrine and immune system in chronic stress rats through regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins of thymus cells and antagonizing the apoptosis.