Liver abnormalities have been reported to occur in up to 20 % of patients on a long-term therapy with the tricyclic antidepressant drug imipramine (IMI). The mechanism involved in this IMI-induced process is unknown but a contribution of oxidative stress is highly likely. Chronic mild stress (CMS) is widely used for modeling depressive-like behavior in rats. In the present study, we examined the effects of CMS and chronic IMI treatment, applied alone or in combination, on the levels of oxidative stress markers, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), non-protein sulfhydryl groups, and sulfane sulfur as well as on activities of key antioxidant enzymes: catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase in the rat liver. Administration of IMI for 5 weeks to rats subjected to CMS resulted in a gradual significant reduction of anhedonia measured by sucrose intake, in a majority of animals (CMS IMI-reactive, CMS IMI-R), although about 20 % of rats did not respond to the IMI treatment (CMS IMI non-reactive, CMS IMI-NR). CMS-induced hepatic oxidative stress, estimated by increased ROS and MDA concentrations, was not prevented by the IMI administration, moreover, in CMS IMI-NR animals, the level of the marker of lipid peroxidation, i.e., MDA was increased in comparison to CMS-subjected rats and activity of antioxidant enzymes (GPx and CAT) was decreased compared to IMI-treated rats. The clinical significance of this observation remains to be established.
Keywords: Chronic mild stress; Depression; Imipramine; Liver; Oxidative stress.