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We report here studies on the antistress protective actions of three peptides of the glyproline family: Pro-Gly-Pro, Pro-Gly, and Gly-Pro. Stress (10 min forced swimming) evoked typical changes in the behavioral activity of rats in the elevated cross maze and hole board tests, providing evidence of a significant increase in anxiety and a decrease in the level of orientational-investigative activity. Prior (15 min before stress) i.p. administration of Pro-Gly-Pro and Gly-Pro at a dose of 3.7 microM/kg significantly decreased the stress-induced behavioral abnormalities. This demonstrates the possibility that peptides Pro-Gly-Pro and Gly-Pro may affect CNS structures involved in forming the body's responses to stress-inducing factors. Peptide Pro-Gly, at an equimolar dose, had no marked protective effect and only slightly decreased the stress-induced abnormalities in the behavior of rats.

Experiments on male outbred albino rats showed that stress (10-min swimming) increased anxiety and inhibited orientation and exploratory activities. Poststress (15 min after the end of swimming) intranasal administration of peptides Pro-Gly-Pro and Gly-Pro in a dose of 3.7 micromol/kg prevented stress-induced behavioral disorders. This effect persisted for 3 h.

Tripeptide PGP in a dose of 1 mg/kg had a correcting effect on behavioral disorders in rats induced by stress exposure (forced swimming). PGP prevented the increase in anxiety and decrease in orientation and exploratory activity. Our results suggest that the effect of this peptide is realized via central nervous structures involved in organism's response to stress factors.

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