Teratogenic, anti-angiogenic and biochemical effects of an atypical-antidepressant Tianeptine on chick embryo

Tianeptine is an atypical antidepressant used to treat disorders like Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), anxiety, Parkinson’s disease, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), erectile dysfunction, asthma, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Tianeptine is not globally accepted in the treatment of MDD and anxiety as some countries have restricted its prescription or have revised the warning labels and stated its abuse potential. The aim of this study was to assess the potential teratogenic effect of Tianeptine on developing 3-4 day old Gallus gallus domesticus embryos. Treated embryos were divided into two groups based on dosage viz. 10ppm and 100ppm Tianeptine. The results of our study showed that Tianeptine induces mild to severe teratogenesis for the selected doses. Embryos treated with Tianeptine showed teratogenic defects like neural tube defects (NTDs), abnormal neurogenesis, anomalous lumbar flexure and torsion, formation of haematomas and ophthalmic defects. Tianeptine treatment also negatively affected angiogenesis by decreasing the vessel density, total vessel network length, total segments and total branching points of the blood vessels on the Yolk-sac membrane (YSM). Biochemical studies showed that Tianeptine treatment increased the total protein content, increased the Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) level and decreased the Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) level in the treated embryos. This study sheds light on the potential detrimental effects Tianeptine may have on other embryonic models. More studies on atypical antidepressants like Tianeptine need to be carried out to assess its impact on embryonic development and developmentally regulated gene expression.