# Investigating the effects of antipsychotic drugs as a treatment for improving the activity of the unc-33 /Dpysl2 gene in C. elegans

## TL;DR

This study explores how antipsychotic drugs affect a gene related to schizophrenia in worms exposed to stress.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel use of C. elegans to investigate antipsychotic drugs' impact on a schizophrenia-related gene under stress.

## Key findings

- Antipsychotic drugs did not affect the unc-33 promoter activity in stressed C. elegans.
- Exposure to antipsychotics decreased the lifespan of stressed C. elegans.

## Abstract

Prenatal stress is hypothesized to contribute to the development of schizophrenia. Lee and colleagues determined that prenatal stress in rats decreases levels of Dpysl2, which is found to be inactivated in schizophrenic patients.
UNC-33
, the homolog to Dpysl2 in
C. elegans
, is important for axonal outgrowth and synapse formation. Herein, we study the effects of antipsychotic drugs on developing
C.elegans
exposed to stress through high temperatures. Results indicate that the

unc-33

promoter was not impacted by antipsychotic drug treatment, but the lifespan was decreased.