Behavioral and Metabolic Effects of the Atypical Antipsychotic Ziprasidone on the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.docVIP

Behavioral and Metabolic Effects of the Atypical Antipsychotic Ziprasidone on the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans Priscila Gubert , Gabriel Costa Aguiar , Tácito Mour?o , Jessika Cristina Bridi , Alexandre Guimar?es 3 3 3 1 Barros , Félix Alexandre Soares , Marco Aurélio Romano-Silva 3 2 1,3* 1 Departamento de Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2 Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, 3 INCT de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Abstract Atypical antipsychotics are associated with metabolic syndrome, primarily associated with weight gain. The effects of Ziprasidone, an atypical antipsychotic, on metabolic syndrome has yet to be evaluated. Here in, we evaluated lipid accumulation and behavioral changes in a new experimental model, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Behavioral parameters in the worms were evaluated 24 h after Ziprasidone treatment. Subsequently, lipid accumulation was examined using Nile red, LipidTox green and BODIPY labeling. Ziprasidone at 40 μM for 24 h effectively decreased the fluorescence labeling of all markers in intestinal cells of C. elegans compared to control (0.16% dimethyl sulfoxide). Ziprasidone did not alter behaviors related to energetic balance, such as pharynx pumping, defecation cycles and movement. There was, however, a reduction in egg-production, egg-laying and body-length in nematodes exposed to Zipra