Citalopram Attenuates Tau Hyperphosphorylation and Spatial Memory Deficit Induced by Social Isolation Rearing in Middle-Aged Rats

Social isolation (SI) is considered as a chronic stress. Here, middle-aged rats (8 months) were group or isolation reared for 6 weeks. Following the initial two-week period of rearing, citalopram (10 mg/kg i.p.) was administered for 28 days. Changes in recognition memory, depression and anxiety-like behavior, and phosphorylated tau were investigated. We found that SI did not lead to obvious depression/anxiety-like behavior in middle-aged rats. Memory deficits and increased tau hyperphosphorylation at Tau-1, Ser396 episodes could be almost reversed by citalopram. The level of Ser9-phosphorylated GSK-3 beta (inactive form) was significantly decreased in the SI group which also could be almost reversed by citalopram, suggesting that the citalopram could prevent GSK-3 beta from SI-induced overactivation. The melatonin level was decreased in SI group compared with group housed (GH) group, and citalopram could partly restore the level of melatonin. We also found that citalopram could increase MT1 and MT2 in mRNA level. Our results demonstrate that citalopram increases the level of melatonin which negatively regulates GSK-3 beta and attenuates tau hyperphosphorylation and spatial memory deficit induced by SI in middle-aged rats. Suggesting that SI might constitute a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and citalopram may represent a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD.