Features of the functioning of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems of some parts of the rat brain after AZT (zidovudine) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine drugs administration

Abstract

Zidovudine (AZT) is an antiretroviral drug that has proven itself not only in treating HIV infection, but is associated with side effects on the central nervous system. All psychopathological symptoms are based on the processes of activation and inhibition of neurotransmitter systems, therefore, the purpose of this work was a comparative study of indi­cators characterizing the main monoaminergic systems of the brain of rats, including levels of amino acids precursors and metabolites, in different parts of the brain of rats when exposed to drugs zidovudine (AZT) and heptral (SAM) individually and in combination; to evaluate a possible corrective effect of S-adenosyl-L-methionine under experimental conditions. The latter has a potential neuroprotective effect on improving cognitive impairment during brain aging, which is associated with inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. The results of the experiment showed that the effect of AZT is reflected to a greater extent on the functioning of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system of the hypothalamus (increased dopamine levels), the striatum and midbrain of rats (decreased neurotransmitter content), an increase in serotonin concentration was noted only in the midbrain. The use of SAM against the background of AZT led to normalizing the dopamine content in the hypothalamus, striatum and brain stem of rats, serotonin - in the stem, which indicates the corrective effect of the drug on the studied neurotransmitter systems. The combined use of SAM and AZT leads to increasing serotonin concentrations in all studied parts of the brain of rats and are close to the values in the group of animals treated only with SAM.