Figure 4.

Haloperidol-induced gene expression changes that are strain specific and reversed by cystamine treatment. A/J mice were treated with vehicle (n = 3) or cystamine (10 mg⋅kg⁻¹⋅day⁻¹ ip) for 3 days, followed by treatment with haloperidol (10 mg⋅kg⁻¹⋅day⁻¹ ip) in the presence (n = 4) or absence (n = 4) of cystamine (10 mg⋅kg⁻¹⋅day⁻¹ ip) for 4 days. C57BL/6 mice were treated with haloperidol (10 mg⋅kg⁻¹⋅day⁻¹) (n = 4) or vehicle (n = 3) for 4 days. Four hours after the last treatment, striatal tissue was harvested, and the level of Pmch or Fosb mRNA was assessed by RT-PCR analysis. Haloperidol treatment decreases Pmch and increases Fosb mRNA levels by 60-fold (P = 0.04) and 5-fold (P = 0.003), respectively, in A/J mice. Their expression in C57BL/6 mice was not altered by haloperidol treatment, and the haloperidol-induced expression changes in A/J mice were completely (Pmch) (P = 0.57 relative to vehicle-treated group) or partially (Fosb) (P = 0.07 relative to vehicle-treated group) reversed by cystamine coadministration.