Analysis of antipruritic effects of SSRIs using various atopic dermatitis model mice

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common inflammatory skin disease with chronic itch. The pathophysiology of AD is complex and multifactorial. The mechanism of chronic itch is poorly understood. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to treatment of depressants. Recently, it is suggested that SSRIs have potential treatments of AD via antipruritic, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects. Here, we investigated whether paroxetine, which is the most potent in SSRIs, exerts an antipruritic effect using NC/Nga (NC) mice (Matsuda et al., 1997) and novel AD model mice (FADS mice; Nunomura et al., 2019). The number of scratching behaviors were increased in these model mice as compared with healthy mice. In addition, we examined the effect of paroxetine (10 mg/kg) by single intraperitoneal injection to NC or FADS mice. Paroxetine suppressed scratching behaviors in these mice while H₁ receptor antagonist, terfenadine did not. Furthermore, paroxetine did not affect total distance moved in these mice. These results suggest that SSRIs exert the antipruritic effects for chronic itch by AD.