biostudies-literatureBrivio Pcycle XXXVII of the doctorate in Pharmacological Biomolecular Sciences, Experimental and Clinical, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di MilanoStatutory activity of the Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences (Krakow, Poland)Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca7321https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10139155biostudies-literatureUnknown24(8)Despite several antidepressant treatments being available in clinics, they are not effective in all patients. In recent years, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been explored as adjunctive therapy for many psychiatric disorders, including depression, for its antioxidant properties. Given the promising efficacy of this compound for the treatment of such pathologies, it is fundamental to investigate, at the preclinical level, the ability of the drug to act in the modulation of neuroplastic mechanisms in basal conditions and during challenging events in order to highlight the potential features of the drug useful for clinical efficacy. To this aim, adult male Wistar rats were treated with the antidepressant venlafaxine (VLX) (10 mg/kg) or NAC (300 mg/kg) for 21 days and then subjected to 1 h of acutInternational journal of molecular sciencesChronic N-Acetyl-Cysteine Treatment Enhances the Expression of the Immediate Early Gene <i>Nr4a1</i> in Response to an Acute Challenge in Male Rats: Comparison with the Antidepressant Venlafaxine.PMC10139155PRIN20172017MLC3NFPapp MBrivio PGallo MTLason MCalabrese FLitwa EFumagalli FGruca PfalseChronic N-Acetyl-Cysteine Treatment Enhances the Expression of the Immediate Early Gene <i>Nr4a1</i> in Response to an Acute Challenge in Male Rats: Comparison with the Antidepressant Venlafaxine.Despite several antidepressant treatments being available in clinics, they are not effective in all patients. In recent years, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been explored as adjunctive therapy for many psychiatric disorders, including depression, for its antioxidant properties. Given the promising efficacy of this compound for the treatment of such pathologies, it is fundamental to investigate, at the preclinical level, the ability of the drug to act in the modulation of neuroplastic mechanisms in basal conditions and during challenging events in order to highlight the potential features of the drug useful for clinical efficacy. To this aim, adult male Wistar rats were treated with the antidepressant venlafaxine (VLX) (10 mg/kg) or NAC (300 mg/kg) for 21 days and then subjected to 1 h of acut2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Apr2026-04-07T17:36:42.721Z2024-11-09T20:46:48.262ZS-EPMC101391553710848110.3390/ijms24087321