3. RESULTS
3.1 Fingolimod attenuated PCP-induced spatial memory deficit in
rats in the Morris water maze
The results of the Morris water maze test showed significant main
effects of treatment and number of testing days. Overall, latencies to
reach the platform decreased for all groups over the 4 training days.
Compared with the control, PCP-treated (10 mg/kg, i.p.) rats took a
significantly longer time to reach the platform, and fingolimod-treated
(0.5 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, i.p.) rats spent significantly less time to find
the platform from day 2 (Figure 2A). In the probe test, the crossing
times of the virtual platform and the time spent in the target quadrant
for the PCP-treated rats were significantly lower than those for the
control, indicating impairments in spatial learning and memory function.
This deficit was attenuated by fingolimod treatment (0.5 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg,
i.p.) in a dose-dependent manner (Figure 2B, C). Swimming speed showed
no significant difference in the groups (Figure 2D). These results
indicated that fingolimod effectively reversed spatial memory impairment
in PCP-treated rats.