L-4-Fluorophenylglycine produces antidepressant-like effects and enhances resilience to stress in mice

Antidepressive synergism between crocin and D-AP5 in acute restraint-stressed mice

Emerging evidence suggests that crocin rescues stress-induced depressive symptoms in mice via stimulation of hippocampal neurogenesis. Glutamate modulators mainly involving N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs) have highlighted a role in neural development, synaptic plasticity, and depression. The research presented here was designed to appraise the interaction between NMDAR agents and crocin on depressive-related behaviors in the NMRI male mice exposed to acute restraint stress (ARS) for a period of 4 h. The mice were submitted to the splash test, forced swimming test, and tail suspension test to evaluate depressive-like behavior. The ARS decreased the grooming duration in the splash test and increased immobility time in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test, suggesting a depressive-like phenotype. NMDA (0.25 and 0.5 μg/mouse, intracerebroventricular) did not alter depression-related profiles in both non-acute restraint stress (NARS) and ARS mice, while the same doses of NMDAR antagonist D-AP5 potentiated the antidepressive-like activities in the ARS mice compared with the NARS mice. Moreover, a low dose of NMDA did not change depression-related parameters in the crocin-treated NARS or ARS mice, while D-AP5 enhanced the crocin response in the NARS and ARS mice. Isobologram analysis noted a synergism between crocin and D-AP5 on antidepressive-like behavior in the NARS and ARS mice. Collectively, the combination of crocin and D-AP5 was shown to mitigate depression symptoms and can be potentially used for the treatment of depression disorders.

The role of resilience in the relationship between stress and alcohol

Stress plays a well-documented role in alcohol consumption and the risk for developing alcohol use disorder. The concept of resilience - coping with and successfully adapting to stressful life experiences - has received increasing attention in the field of addiction research in recent decades, and there has been an accumulation of evidence for resilience as a protective factor against problematic alcohol consumption, risk for alcohol use disorder, disorder severity, and relapse. The conceptual and methodological approaches used in the generation of this evidence vary considerably across investigations, however. In light of this, we carried out this review in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the meaning and scope of resilience, what factors contribute to resilience, how it is measured, and how it relates to alcohol-associated phenotypes. Implications for treatment through the use of resilience-building interventions are likewise discussed, as well as implications for future research on the role of resilience in the etiology and clinical outcomes of alcohol use disorder.

Comprehensive review of amino acid transporters as therapeutic targets

The solute carrier (SLC) family, with more than 400 membrane-bound proteins, facilitates the transport of a wide array of substrates such as nutrients, ions, metabolites, and drugs across biological membranes. Amino acid transporters (AATs) are membrane transport proteins that mediate transfer of amino acids into and out of cells or cellular organelles. AATs participate in many important physiological functions including nutrient supply, metabolic transformation, energy homeostasis, redox regulation, and neurological regulation. Several AATs have been found to significantly impact the progression of human malignancies, and dysregulation of AATs results in metabolic reprogramming affecting tumor growth and progression. However, current clinical therapies that directly target AATs have not been developed. The purpose of this review is to highlight the structural and functional diversity of AATs, the molecular mechanisms in human diseases such as tumors, kidney diseases, and emerging therapeutic strategies for targeting AATs.