Abstract
We investigated the effect of stabile gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, M.W. 1419), an original antiulcer peptide studied in inflammatory bowel disease and now multiple sclerosis clinical trials (LD-1 not achieved, no side effects reported), in methamphetamine (METH)-induced neurotoxicity, representing an animal model of monoamine disruption. METH dose of 40 mg/kg b.w. (s.c.) was administered to Wistar rats 24 h prior to random assignment to control (saline, 1 ml/200 g b.w., i.p.) or BPC 157 (10 µg/kg, i.p.) group. Rats were monitored (phenotype, locomotor activity) for 7 days and histopathological analysis of striata was performed. All animals had neurodegenerative phenotype, but these traits became more pronounced in controls compared to BPC 157 rats. Gradual decline in locomotor activity in BPC 157 rats was similar to behavior of healthy rats, while there was a marked hyperactivity in controls 7 days after METH administration. A higher number of red neurons counted in control rat striata and significantly higher number of normal-appearing neurons in BPC 157 rats imply its beneficial effect on striatum. Therefore, we propose BPC 157as a potential therapeutic agent in monoamine disorders.