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Neville V, Mendl M, Paul ES, Seriès P, Dayan P. A primer on the use of computational modelling to investigate affective states, affective disorders and animal welfare in non-human animals. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:370-383. [PMID: 38036937 PMCID: PMC11039423 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01137-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Objective measures of animal emotion-like and mood-like states are essential for preclinical studies of affective disorders and for assessing the welfare of laboratory and other animals. However, the development and validation of measures of these affective states poses a challenge partly because the relationships between affect and its behavioural, physiological and cognitive signatures are complex. Here, we suggest that the crisp characterisations offered by computational modelling of the underlying, but unobservable, processes that mediate these signatures should provide better insights. Although this computational psychiatry approach has been widely used in human research in both health and disease, translational computational psychiatry studies remain few and far between. We explain how building computational models with data from animal studies could play a pivotal role in furthering our understanding of the aetiology of affective disorders, associated affective states and the likely underlying cognitive processes involved. We end by outlining the basic steps involved in a simple computational analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikki Neville
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK.
| | - Michael Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford, UK
| | | | - Peggy Seriès
- Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Peter Dayan
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics & University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Zhang T, Wang J, Wang Y, He L, Lv S, Wang Y, Li W. Wenyang-Tianjing-Jieyu Decoction Improves Depression Rats of Kidney Yang Deficiency Pattern by Regulating T Cell Homeostasis and Inflammation Level. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2024; 20:631-647. [PMID: 38545129 PMCID: PMC10966763 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s445636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Chronic inflammation is one of the key mechanisms of depression. Wenyang-Tianjin-Jie Decoction (WTJD) is an effective antidepressant found in the course of diagnosis and treatment, but the mechanism of therapeutic effect is not clear. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of WTJD in the kidney yang deficiency (KYD) type of depression rats and reveal its mechanisms. Materials and Methods We selected forty 6-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats for the study. We established a KYD [Phellodendron amurense Rupr (Huangbai) solution oral gavage and 4°C environments; 8 weeks] type of depression (chronic unpredictable mild stimulus; 6 weeks) rat model first. After successful modeling, we used WTJD or fluoxetine on rats for 3 weeks. Then we evaluated the depression and KYD behavior. Finally, we observed the expression of key inflammatory factors and proteins in peripheral blood and hippocampus, and further investigated the immune balance of Th17/Treg and Th1/Th2 cells and the activity of their main regulatory pathways JAK2/STAT3 and TLR4/TRAF6/NF-κB. Results The imbalance of Th17/Treg and Th1/Th2 cells in rats were related to KYD and depressive symptoms. Through this study, we found that WTJD can inhibit the activity of JAK2/STAT3 and TLR4/TRAF6/NF-κB pathways, balance Th17/Treg and Th1/Th2 cell homeostasis, regulate the levels of inflammatory factors in the hippocampus and peripheral blood, and reverse KYD and depression. Conclusion This study confirmed that WTJD had a reliable effect on depression rats with KYD, and its mechanism was to regulate the immune homeostasis of hippocampal T cells and related inflammatory factors to improve KYD and depression symptoms in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Zhang
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiexin Wang
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yi Wang
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Linxi He
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shangbin Lv
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yiran Wang
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weihong Li
- Basic Medical College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
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Sitnikova E. Behavioral and Cognitive Comorbidities in Genetic Rat Models of Absence Epilepsy (Focusing on GAERS and WAG/Rij Rats). Biomedicines 2024; 12:122. [PMID: 38255227 PMCID: PMC10812980 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12010122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Absence epilepsy is a non-convulsive type of epilepsy characterized by the sudden loss of awareness. It is associated with thalamo-cortical impairment, which may cause neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive problems. Rats with spontaneous absence-like seizures are widely used as in vivo genetic models for absence epilepsy; they display behavioral and cognitive problems similar to epilepsy in humans, such as genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) and Wistar Albino rats from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij). Depression- and anxiety-like behaviors were apparent in GAERS, but no anxiety and depression-like symptoms were found in WAG/Rij rats. Deficits in executive functions and memory impairment in WAG/Rij rats, i.e., cognitive comorbidities, were linked to the severity of epilepsy. Wistar rats can develop spontaneous seizures in adulthood, so caution is advised when using them as a control epileptic strain. This review discusses challenges in the field, such as putative high emotionality in genetically prone rats, sex differences in the expression of cognitive comorbidities, and predictors of cognitive problems or biomarkers of cognitive comorbidities in absence epilepsy, as well as the concept of "the cognitive thalamus". The current knowledge of behavioral and cognitive comorbidities in drug-naive rats with spontaneous absence epilepsy is beneficial for understanding the pathophysiology of absence epilepsy, and for finding new treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evgenia Sitnikova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 5A Butlerova St., Moscow 117485, Russia
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Imamura K, Bota A, Shirafuji T, Takumi T. The blues and rhythm. Neurosci Res 2023:S0168-0102(23)00199-2. [PMID: 38000448 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Most organisms, including humans, show daily rhythms in many aspects of physiology and behavior, and abnormalities in the rhythms are potential risk factors for various diseases. Mood disorders such as depression are no exception. Accumulating evidence suggests strong associations between circadian disturbances and the development of depression. Numerous studies have shown that interventions to circadian rhythms trigger depression-like phenotypes in human cases and animal models. Conversely, mood changes can affect circadian rhythms as symptoms of depression. Our preliminary data suggest that the phosphorylation signal pathway of the clock protein may act as a common pathway for mood and clock regulation. We hypothesize that mood regulation and circadian rhythms may influence each other and may share a common regulatory mechanism. This review provides an overview of circadian disturbances in animal models and human patients with depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyomichi Imamura
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Chuo, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
| | - Ayaka Bota
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Chuo, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
| | - Toshihiko Shirafuji
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Chuo, Kobe 650-0017, Japan
| | - Toru Takumi
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Chuo, Kobe 650-0017, Japan; RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Chuo, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
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Whitney AJ, Lindeque Z, Kruger R, Steyn SF. Running from depression: the antidepressant-like potential of prenatal and pre-pubertal exercise in adolescent FSL rats exposed to an early-life stressor. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2023:1-15. [PMID: 37969008 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2023.52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We aimed to answer the questions of whether early-life (perinatal and/or juvenile) exercise can induce antidepressant-like effects in a validated rodent model of depression, and whether such early-life intervention could prevent or reverse the adverse effects of early-life stress in their offspring. METHODS Male and female Flinders sensitive line rats born to a dam that exercised during gestation, or not, were either maternally separated between PND02 and 16 and weaned on PND17 or not. Half of these animals then underwent a fourteen-day low-intensity exercise regimen from PND22. Baseline depressive-like behaviour was assessed on PND21 and then reassessed on PND36, whereafter hippocampal monoamine levels, redox state markers and metabolic markers relevant to mitochondrial function were measured. RESULTS Pre-pubertal exercise was identified as the largest contributing factor to the observed effects, where it decreased immobility time in the FST by 6%, increased time spent in the open arms of the EPM by 9%. Hippocampal serotonin and norepinephrine levels were also increased by 35% and 26%, respectively, whilst nicotinic acid was significantly decreased. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that pre-pubertal low-intensity exercise induces beneficial biological alterations that could translate into antidepressant behaviour in genetically susceptible individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh J Whitney
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Zander Lindeque
- Human Metabolomics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Ruan Kruger
- Hypertension in African Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
- MRC Research Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Stephan F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Whitney AJ, Lindeque Z, Kruger R, Steyn SF. Genetically predisposed and resilient animal models of depression reveal divergent responses to early-life adversity. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2023:1-13. [PMID: 37592838 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2023.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Early-life adversity (ELA) is one of the strongest predictors of childhood depression that may be exacerbated by a genetic predisposition to develop depression. We therefore investigated the bio-behavioural effects of an early-life stressor in an accepted rodent model of depression. METHODS The Flinders sensitive line (FSL) and resistant line (FRL) rats were subjected to an early-life stressor, whereafter their bio-behavioural response during pubertal onset was evaluated. Male and female pups were maternally separated for 3 h per day from postnatal day 02 (PND02) to 17, when they were also weaned. Control animals were left undisturbed, until weaning on PND21. Depressive-like behaviour was analysed on PND21 and reassessed on PND36. Hippocampal monoamine levels, markers of oxidative stress and metabolic markers implicating mitochondrial function were also measured. RESULTS On PND21, the non-maternal separation and early weaning (non-MSEW) FSL rats spent 10% more time mobile than their FRL controls in the tail suspension test (TST) yet displayed increased depressive-like behaviour in the forced swim test (FST) on PND36. This depressive-like behaviour coincided with increased hippocampal norepinephrine levels, serotonin turnover and a dysfunctional redox state. Maternal separation and early weaning (MSEW) appeared to initially reduce early-life (PND21) depressive-like behaviour in the TST but then induced depressive-like behaviour on PND36 and increased norepinephrine levels more profoundly in the FRL rats. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the need to further investigate the stress response pathway in these animals and that the absence or presence of genetic susceptibility may influence the presentation of ELA effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh J Whitney
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Zander Lindeque
- Human Metabolomics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Ruan Kruger
- Hypertension in African Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
- MRC Research Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Stephan F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Madjid N, Lidell V, Nordvall G, Lindskog M, Ögren SO, Forsell P, Sandin J. Antidepressant effects of novel positive allosteric modulators of Trk-receptor mediated signaling - a potential therapeutic concept? Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:1789-1804. [PMID: 37394539 PMCID: PMC10349764 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06410-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is defined as a complex mental disorder which is characterized by a pervasive low mood and aversion to activity. Several types of neurotransmitter systems e.g. serotonergic, glutamatergic and noradrenergic systems have been suggested to play an important role in the origination of depression, but neurotrophins such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have also been implicated in the disease process. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a newly developed class of molecules, characterized as positive allosteric modulators of neurotrophin/Trk receptor mediated signaling (Trk-PAM), on neurotransmitter release and depression-like behavior in vivo. METHODS The effect of and possible interaction of neurotrophin/Trk signaling pathways with serotonergic and glutamatergic systems in the modulation of depression-related responses was studied using newly developed Trk-PAM compounds (ACD855, ACD856 and AC26845), as well as ketamine and fluoxetine in the forced swim test (FST) in rodents. Moreover, in vivo microdialysis in freely moving rats was used to assess changes in neurotransmitter levels in the rat. RESULTS The results from the study show that several different compounds, which all potentiate Trk-receptor mediated signaling, display antidepressant-like activity in the FST. Moreover, the data also indicate that the effects of both fluoxetine and ketamine in the FST, both used in clinical practice, are mediated via BDNF/TrkB signaling, which could have implications for novel therapies in MDD. CONCLUSIONS Trk-PAMs could provide an interesting avenue for the development of novel therapeutics in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nather Madjid
- AlzeCure Pharma AB, Hälsovägen 7, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
| | | | - Gunnar Nordvall
- AlzeCure Pharma AB, Hälsovägen 7, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
- Division of Neuroscience, Care and Society, Department of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maria Lindskog
- Division of Neuroscience, Care and Society, Department of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sven-Ove Ögren
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pontus Forsell
- AlzeCure Pharma AB, Hälsovägen 7, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden
- Division of Neuroscience, Care and Society, Department of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Sandin
- AlzeCure Pharma AB, Hälsovägen 7, 141 57, Huddinge, Sweden.
- Division of Neuroscience, Care and Society, Department of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Ten-Blanco M, Flores Á, Cristino L, Pereda-Pérez I, Berrendero F. Targeting the orexin/hypocretin system for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases: from animal to clinical studies. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 69:101066. [PMID: 37015302 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Orexins (also known as hypocretins) are neuropeptides located exclusively in hypothalamic neurons that have extensive projections throughout the central nervous system and bind two different G protein-coupled receptors (OX1R and OX2R). Since its discovery in 1998, the orexin system has gained the interest of the scientific community as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of different pathological conditions. Considering previous basic science research, a dual orexin receptor antagonist, suvorexant, was the first orexin agent to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat insomnia. In this review, we discuss and update the main preclinical and human studies involving the orexin system with several psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. This system constitutes a nice example of how basic scientific research driven by curiosity can be the best route to the generation of new and powerful pharmacological treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Ten-Blanco
- Faculty of Experimental Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - África Flores
- Pharmacology Unit, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Neurosciences Institute, University of Barcelona and Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, 08908 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luigia Cristino
- Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (ICB), National Research Council (CNR), Pozzuoli, Italy
| | - Inmaculada Pereda-Pérez
- Faculty of Experimental Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Berrendero
- Faculty of Experimental Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
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Roets M, Brand L, Steyn SF. Increased depressive-like behaviour of postpartum Flinders sensitive and resistant line rats is reversed by a predictable postpartum stressor. Behav Brain Res 2023; 442:114321. [PMID: 36720349 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
During the peripartum period, women are at an increased risk to develop perinatal distress, presenting as symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Yet, due to practical and ethical restrictions, our understanding of this condition remains limited. Animal studies that focus on the neuropsychiatric mechanisms associated with the postpartum period, often ignore the genetical predisposition factor. We therefore investigated whether pregnancy could alter the bio-behavioural profile of the Flinders sensitive and resistant line rats, and whether these effects are exacerbated by a postpartum stressor. Postpartum dams were compared to nulliparous controls in behavioural tests, analysing depressive- and anxiety-like behaviours. Next, postpartum dams were subjected to a maternal separation and early weaning (MSEW) regimen, with their behaviour and serotonergic and noradrenergic concentrations compared to rats not separated from their pups. Regardless of strain, pregnancy decreased time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze and hippocampal serotonin concentrations. Time spent immobile in the forced swim test was also increased, with a significant effect in the FRL and a strong trend in the FSL rats. MSEW reversed these behaviours in both strains and increased social interaction with a male counterpart in the FSL rats, without influencing hippocampal or cortical serotonin or norepinephrine. Taken together, these results suggest that pregnancy influences postpartum behaviour, in a strain-dependent manner. Contrary to what we expected, MSEW overall decreased depressive- and anxiety-like behaviours, with strain specific differences, indicating that a chronic, predictable stressor may not necessarily adversely affect postpartum behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareli Roets
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Linda Brand
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Stephan F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
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Decreased sensitivity to antidepressant drugs in Wistar Hannover rats submitted to two animal models of depression. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2023; 35:35-49. [PMID: 36101010 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2022.24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The Wistar Hannover rat (WHR) is a strain commonly used for toxicity studies but rarely used in studies investigating depression neurobiology. In this study, we aimed to characterise the behavioural responses of WHR to acute and repeated antidepressant treatments upon exposure to the forced swim test (FST) or learned helplessness (LH) test. WHR were subjected to forced swimming pre-test and test with antidepressant administration (imipramine, fluoxetine, or escitalopram) at 0, 5 h and 23 h after pre-test. WHR displayed high immobility in the test compared to unstressed controls (no pre-swim) and failed to respond to the antidepressants tested. The effect of acute and repeated treatment (imipramine, fluoxetine, escitalopram or s-ketamine) was then tested in animals not previously exposed to pre-test. Only imipramine (20 mg/kg, 7 days) and s-ketamine (acute) reduced the immobility time in the test. To further investigate the possibility that the WHR were less responsive to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the effect of repeated treatment with fluoxetine (20 mg/kg, 7 days) was investigated in the LH model. The results demonstrated that fluoxetine failed to reduce the number of escape failures in two different protocols. These data suggest that the WHR do not respond to the conventional antidepressant treatment in the FST or the LH. Only s-ketamine and repeated imipramine were effective in WHR in a modified FST protocol. Altogether, these results indicate that WHR may be an interesting tool to investigate the mechanisms associated with the resistance to antidepressant drugs and identify more effective treatments.
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Rincón-Cortés M, Grace AA. Dopamine downregulation in novel rodent models useful for the study of postpartum depression. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1065558. [PMID: 36620861 PMCID: PMC9812956 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1065558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychiatric disorder following childbirth and is characterized by maternal mood disturbances, impaired maternal responses, and disrupted caregiving- all of which negatively impact offspring development. Since PPD has detrimental consequences for both mother and child, clinical and preclinical research has focused on identifying brain changes associated with this disorder. In humans, PPD is linked to dysregulated mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system function and altered neural responses (i.e., decreased reward-related activity) to infant-related cues, which are considered hallmark features of PPD. In accordance, rodent models employing translational risk factors useful for the study of PPD have demonstrated alterations in mesolimbic DA system structure and function, and these changes are reviewed here. We also present two novel rodent models based on postpartum adversity exposure (i.e., pup removal, scarcity-adversity) which result in PPD-relevant behavioral changes (e.g., disrupted mother-infant interactions, deficits in maternal behavior, depressive-like phenotypes) and attenuated ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neuron activity consistent with a hypodopaminergic state. Furthermore, we highlight open questions and future directions for these rodent models. In sum, human and rodent studies converge in showing blunted mesolimbic DA function (i.e., DA downregulation) in PPD. We propose that reduced activity of VTA DA neurons, resulting in downregulation of the mesolimbic DA system, interferes with reward-related processes necessary for maternal motivation and responsiveness. Thus, the mesolimbic DA system may constitute a therapeutic target for ameliorating reward-related deficits in PPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Millie Rincón-Cortés
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States,*Correspondence: Millie Rincón-Cortés
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Yu S, Wang G, Yao B, Xiao L, Tuo H. Arc and Homer1 are involved in comorbid epilepsy and depression: A microarray data analysis. Epilepsy Behav 2022; 132:108738. [PMID: 35665606 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.108738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is one of the most common comorbid psychiatric condition associated with epilepsy. It has a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms leading to depression are currently unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the hub genes associated with epilepsy and depression. METHODS Gene expression profiles (GSE47752 and GSE20388) were downloaded from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for epilepsy and depression groups were separately searched. Subsequently, network analyses methods were employed to establish protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and to perform Gene Ontology (GO) terms and pathway enrichment analyses for co-expressed DEGs. RESULTS A total of 772 genes were upregulated in patients with epilepsy whereas 91 genes were up-regulated in patients with depression. In addition, 1304 genes were down-regulated in epilepsy whereas 141 genes were down-regulated in patients with depression. Among co-expressed DEGs, 5 DEGs were up-regulated and 19 were down-regulated. Further analysis revealed that the co-expressed DEGs were involved in regulation of vasculature development, regulation of angiogenesis, glutamate receptor signaling pathway, cellular response to interleukin-1 and positive regulation of protein kinase B signaling. The Arc and Homer1 genes were identified as the common candidate genes involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy and depression. CONCLUSIONS Arc and Homer1 may contribute to the comorbidity of epilepsy and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiqian Yu
- Department of Pediatrics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Gaohua Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Baozhen Yao
- Department of Pediatrics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ling Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hu Tuo
- Department of Pediatrics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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Touchant M, Labonté B. Sex-Specific Brain Transcriptional Signatures in Human MDD and Their Correlates in Mouse Models of Depression. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:845491. [PMID: 35592639 PMCID: PMC9110970 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.845491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is amongst the most devastating psychiatric conditions affecting several millions of people worldwide every year. Despite the importance of this disease and its impact on modern societies, still very little is known about the etiological mechanisms. Treatment strategies have stagnated over the last decades and very little progress has been made to improve the efficiency of current therapeutic approaches. In order to better understand the disease, it is necessary for researchers to use appropriate animal models that reproduce specific aspects of the complex clinical manifestations at the behavioral and molecular levels. Here, we review the current literature describing the use of mouse models to reproduce specific aspects of MDD and anxiety in males and females. We first describe some of the most commonly used mouse models and their capacity to display unique but also shared features relevant to MDD. We then transition toward an integral description, combined with genome-wide transcriptional strategies. The use of these models reveals crucial insights into the molecular programs underlying the expression of stress susceptibility and resilience in a sex-specific fashion. These studies performed on human and mouse tissues establish correlates into the mechanisms mediating the impact of stress and the extent to which different mouse models of chronic stress recapitulate the molecular changes observed in depressed humans. The focus of this review is specifically to highlight the sex differences revealed from different stress paradigms and transcriptional analyses both in human and animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen Touchant
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Benoit Labonté
- CERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Benoit Labonté
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Bühning F, Miguel Telega L, Tong Y, Pereira J, Coenen V, Döbrössy M. Electrophysiological and molecular effects of bilateral deep brain stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in a rodent model of depression. Exp Neurol 2022; 355:114122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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15
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Sirtuins and neuropeptide y downregulation in Flinders Sensitive Line rat model of depression. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022; 34:86-92. [PMID: 34666848 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2021.36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Since the NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and sirtuin-2 (SIRT2) are critically involved in epigenetics, endocrinology and immunology and affect the longevity in model organisms, we investigated their expression in brains of 3-month-old and 14-15 months old rat model of depression Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) and control Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats. In view of the dysregulated NPY system in depression, we also studied NPY in young and old FSL to explore the temporal trajectory of depressive-like-ageing interaction. Sirt1, Sirt2 and Npy mRNA were determined using qRT-PCR in prefrontal cortex (PFC) from young and old FSL and FRL, and in hippocampi from young FSL and FRL. PFC: Sirt1 expression was decreased in FSL (p = 0.001). An interaction between age and genotype was found (p = 0.032); young FSL had lower Sirt1 with respect to both age (p = 0.026) and genotype (p = 0.001). Sirt2 was lower in FSL (p = 0.003). Npy mRNA was downregulated in FSL (p = 0.001) but did not differ between the young and old rat groups. Hippocampus: Sirt1 was reduced in young FSL compared to young FRL (p = 0.005). There was no difference in Sirt2 between FSL and FRL. Npy levels were decreased in hippocampus of young FSL compared to young FRL (p = 0.003). Effects of ageing could not be investigated due to loss of samples. To conclude, i this is the first demonstration that SIRT1 and SIRT2 are changed in brain of FSL, a rat model of depression; ii the changes are age-dependent; iii sirtuins are potential targets for treatment of age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
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16
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Gericke J, Lekhooa M, Steyn SF, Viljoen AM, Harvey BH. An acute dose-ranging evaluation of the antidepressant properties of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin®) versus escitalopram in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2022; 284:114550. [PMID: 34454055 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N.E.Br. (ST) has been used by the Khoisan people of South Africa as a mood elevator. Its various pharmacological mechanisms of action suggest distinct potential as an antidepressant. Clinical studies in healthy individuals suggest beneficial effects on mood, cognition, and anxiety. AIM OF THE STUDY To obtain a chromatographic fingerprint of a standardized extract of S. tortuosum (Zembrin®), and to evaluate the acute antidepressant-like properties of Zembrin® versus the reference antidepressant, escitalopram, in the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rat, a genetic rodent model of depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS The chemical profile of Zembrin® was determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) chromatogram method using alkaloid standards. Twelve saline treated FSL and six Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) control rats were used to confirm face validity of the FSL model using the forced swim test (FST). Thereafter, FSL rats (n = 10) received either 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg of Zembrin®, or 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg escitalopram oxalate (ESC), both via oral gavage, and subjected to the open field test (OFT) and FST. RESULTS Four main ST alkaloids were identified and quantified in Zembrin® viz. mesembrenone, mesembrenol, mesembrine, and mesembranol (47.9%, 32%, 13.2%, and 6.8% of the total alkaloids, respectively). FSL rats showed significantly decreased swimming and climbing (coping) behaviours, and significantly increased immobility (despair), versus FRL controls. ESC 5 mg/kg and Zembrin® 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg showed significant dose-dependent reversal of immobility in FSL rats and variable effects on coping behaviours. Zembrin® 50 mg/kg was the most effective antidepressant dose, showing equivalence to ESC 5. CONCLUSIONS Zembrin® (25 and 50 mg/kg) and ESC (5 mg/kg) are effective antidepressants after acute treatment in the FST, as assessed in FSL rats. Moreover, Zembrin® 50 mg/kg proved equivalent to ESC 5. Further long-term bio-behavioural studies on the antidepressant properties of Zembrin® are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johané Gericke
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), North West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
| | - Makhotso Lekhooa
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), North West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
| | - Stephan F Steyn
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), North West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
| | - Alvaro M Viljoen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa; SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), North West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa; SAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
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17
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Happ DF, Wegener G, Tasker RA. Behavioral and histopathological consequences of transient ischemic stroke in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat, a genetic animal model of depression. Brain Res 2021; 1771:147648. [PMID: 34492264 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Patients with depression have an increased risk for stroke, higher mortality rates following stroke and worse functional outcomes among survivors. Preclinical studies may help to better understand the underlying mechanisms linking these two diseases, but only a few animal studies have investigated the effects of prestroke depression. The present study investigates whether Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats, a genetic depression model, respond differently to focal ischemic stroke compared to control strains (Flinders Resistant Line [FRL] and Sprague-Dawley [SD]). Male adult FSL, FRL and SD rats received a unilateral injection of either vehicle or Endothelin-1 (ET-1) adjacent to the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Motor function was assessed at 48 h followed by euthanasia and infarct volume measurement using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and image analysis. In a separate cohort behavior was assessed using standard tests for motor function, locomotor activity, cognition, anxiety- and depression-like behavior beginning at 10 days post-injection followed by infarct quantification. We found that ET-1-induced MCA occlusion produced significant infarcts in all three strains. Stroke animals had slightly impaired motor function, but there was no clear interaction effects between strain and stroke surgery on behavioral outcomes. We conclude that FSL rats show no increased susceptibility to brain damage or behavioral deficits following ET-1-induced focal ischemic stroke compared to controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise F Happ
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Gregers Wegener
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Pharmaceutical Research Center of Excellence, School of Pharmacy (Pharmacology), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - R Andrew Tasker
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada.
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Knudsen JK, Michaelsen TY, Bundgaard-Nielsen C, Nielsen RE, Hjerrild S, Leutscher P, Wegener G, Sørensen S. Faecal microbiota transplantation from patients with depression or healthy individuals into rats modulates mood-related behaviour. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21869. [PMID: 34750433 PMCID: PMC8575883 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01248-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Differences in gut microbiota composition have been observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to healthy individuals. Here, we investigated if faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from patients with MDD into rats could induce a depressive-like phenotype. We performed FMT from patients with MDD (FMT-MDD) and healthy individuals (FMT-Healthy) into male Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) and Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats and assessed depressive-like behaviour. No behavioural differences were observed in the FSL rats. In FRL rats, the FMT-Healthy group displayed significantly less depressive-like behaviour than the FMT-MDD group. However, there was no difference in behaviour between FMT-MDD FRL rats and negative controls, indicating that FMT-Healthy FRL rats received beneficial bacteria. We additionally found different taxa between the FMT-MDD and the FMT-Healthy FRL rats, which could be traced to the donors. Four taxa, three belonging to the family Ruminococcaceae and the genus Lachnospira, were significantly elevated in relative abundance in FMT-MDD rats, while the genus Coprococcus was depleted. In this study, the FMT-MDD group was different from the FMT-Healthy group based on behaviour and intestinal taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Kristine Knudsen
- Centre for Clinical Research, North Denmark Regional Hospital, Bispensgade 37, 9800, Hjørring, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.,Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Caspar Bundgaard-Nielsen
- Centre for Clinical Research, North Denmark Regional Hospital, Bispensgade 37, 9800, Hjørring, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - René Ernst Nielsen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.,Department of Psychiatry, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Simon Hjerrild
- Psychosis Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.,Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Peter Leutscher
- Centre for Clinical Research, North Denmark Regional Hospital, Bispensgade 37, 9800, Hjørring, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Gregers Wegener
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Suzette Sørensen
- Centre for Clinical Research, North Denmark Regional Hospital, Bispensgade 37, 9800, Hjørring, Denmark. .,Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
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The long-term bio-behavioural effects of juvenile sildenafil treatment in Sprague-Dawley versus flinders sensitive line rats. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2021; 33:200-205. [PMID: 33593460 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2021.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term effects of juvenile sub-chronic sildenafil (SIL) treatment on the depressive-like behaviour and hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels of adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) versus Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats. METHODS SD and FSL rats were divided into pre-pubertal and pubertal groups, whereafter 14-day saline or SIL treatment was initiated. Pre-pubertal and pubertal rats were treated from postnatal day 21 (PND21) and PND35, respectively. The open field and forced swim tests (FST) were performed on PND60, followed by hippocampal BDNF level analysis 1 day later. RESULTS FSL rats displayed greater immobility in the FST compared to SD rats (p < 0.0001), which was reduced by SIL (p < 0.0001), regardless of treatment period. Hippocampal BDNF levels were unaltered by SIL in all treatment groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION Juvenile sub-chronic SIL treatment reduces the risk of depressive-like behaviour manifesting during young adulthood in genetically susceptible rats.
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20
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The monoamine stabilizer OSU6162 has anxiolytic-like properties and reduces voluntary alcohol intake in a genetic rat model of depression. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11856. [PMID: 34088937 PMCID: PMC8178366 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91215-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorders (AUD) often co-occur with anxiety and depressive disorders, and anxiety often drives relapse during alcohol abstinence. Optimal AUD pharmacotherapies may thus need to target both excessive alcohol intake and elevated anxiety. (−)-OSU6162 (OSU) is a monoamine stabilizer that attenuates alcohol-mediated behaviors in both preclinical and clinical settings. However, OSU’s effect on anxiety-like behavior following long-term drinking remains unknown. To this end, we utilized a genetic rat model that exhibits increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors (Flinders Sensitive Line; FSL) and their controls (Flinders Resistant Line; FRL). Using the novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) test, we evaluated anxiety-like behaviors (1) at baseline, (2) following long-term voluntary drinking and after 24 h of alcohol deprivation, and (3) following OSU administration in the same animals. At baseline, FSL animals displayed significantly elevated anxiety-like characteristics compared to FRL. Compared to alcohol-naïve animals, long-term drinking significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviors in FSL, without any significant effects in FRL animals. Compared to vehicle, OSU administration significantly reduced anxiety-like behaviors in alcohol-naïve FSL and long-term drinking FRL animals. While there was no significant difference in alcohol intake between FSL and FRL, OSU attenuated alcohol intake in both strains. Conclusively, in addition to the compound’s previously identified ability to suppress alcohol-mediated behaviors, OSU may also possess anxiolytic properties, warranting further clinical evaluation in both AUD and anxiety disorder settings.
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21
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Song J, Kim YK. Animal models for the study of depressive disorder. CNS Neurosci Ther 2021; 27:633-642. [PMID: 33650178 PMCID: PMC8111503 DOI: 10.1111/cns.13622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Depressive disorder is one of the most widespread forms of psychiatric pathology, worldwide. According to a report by the World Health Organization, the number of people with depression, globally, is increasing dramatically with each year. Previous studies have demonstrated that various factors, including genetics and environmental stress, contribute to the risk of depression. As such, it is crucial to develop a detailed understanding of the pathogenesis of depressive disorder and animal studies are essential for identifying the mechanisms and genetic disorders underlying depression. Recently, many researchers have reported on the pathology of depression via various models of depressive disorder. Given that different animal models of depression show differences in terms of patterns of depressive behavior and pathology, the comparison between depressive animal models is necessary for progress in the field of the depression study. However, the various animal models of depression have not been fully compared or evaluated until now. In this paper, we reviewed the pathophysiology of the depressive disorder and its current animal models with the analysis of their transcriptomic profiles. We provide insights for selecting different animal models for the study of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juhyun Song
- Department of Anatomy, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
| | - Young-Kook Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
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22
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Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders are major causes of the global burden of diseases, frequently co-occurring with multiple co-morbidities, especially obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its various risk factors in the metabolic syndrome. While the determining factors of neuropsychiatric disorders are complex, recent studies have shown that there is a strong link between diet, metabolic state and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. There is no doubt that rodent models are of great value for preclinical research. Therefore, this article focuses on a rodent model of chronic consumption of high-fat diet (HFD), and/or the addition of a certain amount of cholesterol or sugar, meanwhile, summarising the pattern of diet that induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour and the underlying mechanism. We highlight how dietary and metabolic risk influence neuropsychiatric behaviour in animals. Changes in dietary patterns, especially HFD, can induce anxiety- or depression-like behaviours, which may vary by diet exposure period, sex, age, species and genetic background of the animals used. Furthermore, dietary patterns significantly aggravate anxiety/depression-like behaviour in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The mechanisms by which diet induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour may involve neuroinflammation, neurotransmitters/neuromodulators, neurotrophins and the gut-brain axis. Future research should be focused on elucidating the mechanism and identifying the contribution of diet and diet-induced metabolic risk to neuropsychiatric disorders, which can form the basis for future clinical dietary intervention strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Mncube K, Möller M, Harvey BH. Post-weaning Social Isolated Flinders Sensitive Line Rats Display Bio-Behavioural Manifestations Resistant to Fluoxetine: A Model of Treatment-Resistant Depression. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:688150. [PMID: 34867504 PMCID: PMC8635751 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.688150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) complicates the management of major depression (MD). The underlying biology of TRD involves interplay between genetic propensity and chronic and/or early life adversity. By combining a genetic animal model of MD and post-weaning social isolation rearing (SIR), we sought to produce an animal that displays more severe depressive- and social anxiety-like manifestations resistant to standard antidepressant treatment. Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) pups were social or isolation reared from weaning [postnatal day (PND) 21], receiving fluoxetine (FLX) from PND 63 (10 mg/kg × 14 days), and compared to Sprague Dawley (SD) controls. Depressive-, anxiety-like, and social behaviour were assessed from PND 72 in the forced swim test (FST) and social interaction test (SIT). Post-mortem cortico-hippocampal norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-HT), and dopamine (DA), as well as plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), corticosterone (CORT), and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) levels were assayed. FSL rats displayed significant cortico-hippocampal monoamine disturbances, and depressive- and social anxiety-like behaviour, the latter two reversed by FLX. SIR-exposed FSL rats exhibited significant immobility in the FST and social impairment which were, respectively, worsened by or resistant to FLX. In SIR-exposed FSL rats, FLX significantly raised depleted NE and 5-HT, significantly decreased DBH and caused a large effect size increase in DA and decrease in CORT and TNF-α. Concluding, SIR-exposed FSL rats display depressive- and social anxiety-like symptoms that are resistant to, or worsened by, FLX, with reduced plasma DBH and suppressed cortico-hippocampal 5-HT, NE and DA, all variably altered by FLX. Exposure of a genetic animal model of MD to post-weaning SIR results in a more intractable depressive-like phenotype as well as changes in TRD-related biomarkers, that are resistant to traditional antidepressant treatment. Given the relative absence of validated animal models of TRD, these findings are especially promising and warrant study, especially further predictive validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khulekani Mncube
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (PharmaCen), Division of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Marisa Möller
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (PharmaCen), Division of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (PharmaCen), Division of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.,South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Recovering from depression with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS): a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:393. [PMID: 33173042 PMCID: PMC7655822 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01055-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has gained growing interest for the treatment of major depression (MDD) and treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Most knowledge on rTMS comes from human studies as preclinical application has been problematic. However, recent optimization of rTMS in animal models has laid the foundations for improved translational studies. Preclinical studies have the potential to help identify optimal stimulation protocols and shed light on new neurobiological-based rationales for rTMS use. To assess existing evidence regarding rTMS effects on depressive-like symptoms in rodent models, we conducted a comprehensive literature search in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019157549). In addition, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine rTMS efficacy, performing subgroup analyses to examine the impact of different experimental models and neuromodulation parameters. Assessment of the depressive-like phenotype was quite homogeneous whilst rTMS parameters among the 23 included studies varied considerably. Most studies used a stress-induced model. Overall, results show a largely beneficial effect of active rTMS compared to sham stimulation, as reflected in the statistically significant recovery of both helplessness (SDM 1.34 [1.02;1.66]) and anhedonic (SDM 1.87 [1.02;2.72]) profiles. Improvement of the depressive-like phenotype was obtained in all included models and independently of rTMS frequency. Nonetheless, these results have limited predictive value for TRD patients as only antidepressant-sensitive models were used. Extending rTMS studies to other MDD models, corresponding to distinct endophenotypes, and to TRD models is therefore crucial to test rTMS efficacy and to develop cost-effective protocols, with the potential of yielding faster clinical responses in MDD and TRD.
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Brockway DF, Crowley NA. Turning the 'Tides on Neuropsychiatric Diseases: The Role of Peptides in the Prefrontal Cortex. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:588400. [PMID: 33192369 PMCID: PMC7606924 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.588400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advancements in technology have enabled researchers to probe the brain with the greater region, cell, and receptor specificity. These developments have allowed for a more thorough understanding of how regulation of the neurophysiology within a region is essential for maintaining healthy brain function. Stress has been shown to alter the prefrontal cortex (PFC) functioning, and evidence links functional impairments in PFC brain activity with neuropsychiatric disorders. Moreover, a growing body of literature highlights the importance of neuropeptides in the PFC to modulate neural signaling and to influence behavior. The converging evidence outlined in this review indicates that neuropeptides in the PFC are specifically impacted by stress, and are found to be dysregulated in numerous stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders including substance use disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), posttraumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia. This review explores how neuropeptides in the PFC function to regulate the neural activity, and how genetic and environmental factors, such as stress, lead to dysregulation in neuropeptide systems, which may ultimately contribute to the pathology of neuropsychiatric diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dakota F Brockway
- Neuroscience Curriculum, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Nicole A Crowley
- Neuroscience Curriculum, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.,The Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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A missing link between depression models: Forced swimming test, helplessness and passive coping in genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rats. Behav Processes 2020; 177:104142. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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Depression-Associated Gene Negr1-Fgfr2 Pathway Is Altered by Antidepressant Treatment. Cells 2020; 9:cells9081818. [PMID: 32751911 PMCID: PMC7464991 DOI: 10.3390/cells9081818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The Negr1 gene has been significantly associated with major depression in genetic studies. Negr1 encodes for a cell adhesion molecule cleaved by the protease Adam10, thus activating Fgfr2 and promoting neuronal spine plasticity. We investigated whether antidepressants modulate the expression of genes belonging to Negr1-Fgfr2 pathway in Flinders sensitive line (FSL) rats, in a corticosterone-treated mouse model of depression, and in mouse primary neurons. Negr1 and Adam10 were the genes mostly affected by antidepressant treatment, and in opposite directions. Negr1 was down-regulated by escitalopram in the hypothalamus of FSL rats, by fluoxetine in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of corticosterone-treated mice, and by nortriptyline in hippocampal primary neurons. Adam10 mRNA was increased by nortriptyline administration in the hypothalamus, by escitalopram in the hippocampus of FSL rats, and by fluoxetine in mouse dorsal dentate gyrus. Similarly, nortriptyline increased Adam10 expression in hippocampal cultures. Fgfr2 expression was increased by nortriptyline in the hypothalamus of FSL rats and in hippocampal neurons. Lsamp, another IgLON family protein, increased in mouse dentate gyrus after fluoxetine treatment. These findings suggest that Negr1-Fgfr2 pathway plays a role in the modulation of synaptic plasticity induced by antidepressant treatment to promote therapeutic efficacy by rearranging connectivity in corticolimbic circuits impaired in depression.
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Millard SJ, Weston-Green K, Newell KA. The Wistar-Kyoto rat model of endogenous depression: A tool for exploring treatment resistance with an urgent need to focus on sex differences. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 101:109908. [PMID: 32145362 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability and contributor to the burden of disease worldwide. The incidence of MDD has increased by ~20% in the last decade. Currently antidepressant drugs such as the popular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the leading form of pharmaceutical intervention for the treatment of MDD. SSRIs however, are inefficient in ameliorating depressive symptoms in ~50% of patients and exhibit a prolonged latency of efficacy. Due to the burden of disease, there is an increasing need to understand the neurobiology underpinning MDD and to discover effective treatment strategies. Endogenous models of MDD, such as the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat provide a valuable tool for investigating the pathophysiology of MDD. The WKY rat displays behavioural and neurobiological phenotypes similar to that observed in clinical cases of MDD, as well as resistance to common antidepressants. Specifically, the WKY strain exhibits increased anxiety- and depressive-like behaviours, as well as alterations in Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis, serotonergic, dopaminergic and neurotrophic systems with emerging studies suggesting an involvement of neuroinflammation. More recent investigations have shown evidence for reduced cortical and hippocampal volumes and altered glutamatergic signalling in the WKY strain. Given the growing interest in therapeutics targeting the glutamatergic system, the WKY strain presents itself as a potentially useful tool for screening novel antidepressant drugs and their efficacy against treatment resistant depression. However, despite the sexual dimorphism present in the pathophysiology and aetiology of MDD, sex differences in the WKY model are rarely investigated, with most studies focusing on males. Accordingly, this review highlights what is known regarding sex differences and where further research is needed. Whilst acknowledging that investigation into a range of depression models is required to fully elucidate the underlying mechanisms of MDD, here we review the WKY strain, and its relevance to the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J Millard
- School of Medicine and Molecular Horizons, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
| | - Katrina Weston-Green
- School of Medicine and Molecular Horizons, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
| | - Kelly A Newell
- School of Medicine and Molecular Horizons, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
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Bay V, Happ DF, Ardalan M, Quist A, Oggiano F, Chumak T, Hansen K, Ding M, Mallard C, Tasker RA, Wegener G. Flinders sensitive line rats are resistant to infarction following transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Brain Res 2020; 1737:146797. [PMID: 32194078 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is a common complication of stroke and increases the risk of mortality and disability. Pre-stroke depression is a possible risk factor for stroke and has also been linked to adverse outcomes. The underlying mechanisms linking depression and stroke remain unclear. Preclinical models may provide novel insights, but models reflecting both conditions are lacking. METHODS In this study, we investigated the effects of a 45-min transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) on infarct size in male adult Flinders Sensitive Line rats, a genetic animal model of depression, and their control strains Flinders Resistant Line and Sprague-Dawley rats. Infarct size was assessed by tetrazolium chloride (TTC) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) staining after 48 h of reperfusion. Angiograms of the vascular structure of naïve animals were produced with a µ-CT scanner. RESULTS Both Flinders strains had significantly smaller infarcts following MCAo compared to Sprague-Dawley rats. This effect does not appear to be due to changes in cerebrovascular architecture, as indicated by an initial exploration of vascular organization using angiograms, or body temperature regulation. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the rat strain does not influence infarct volumes following MCAo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibeke Bay
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Denise F Happ
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark.
| | - Maryam Ardalan
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Physiology at Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Alexandra Quist
- Department of Physiology at Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Florian Oggiano
- Department of Physiology at Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Tetyana Chumak
- Department of Physiology at Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Kasper Hansen
- Comparative Medicine Lab, Department of Clinical Medicine, Health, Aarhus University, Denmark; Section for Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Forensic Medicine, Health, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Ming Ding
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark
| | - Carina Mallard
- Department of Physiology at Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - R Andrew Tasker
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown PEI, Canada
| | - Gregers Wegener
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Pharmaceutical Research Center of Excellence, School of Pharmacy (Pharmacology), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Steyn SF, Harvey BH, Brink CB. Pre-pubertal, low-intensity exercise does not require concomitant venlafaxine to induce robust, late-life antidepressant effects in Flinders sensitive line rats. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:3979-3994. [PMID: 32320518 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A significant number of adolescents are considered insufficiently active. This is of concern considering the negative association between physical activity and major depressive disorder (MDD). There is a lack of approved pharmacological treatment options in this population partly due to limited information on the risks associated with lasting effects during early life. Therefore, interest in non-pharmacological strategies is gaining popularity with low- to moderate-intensity exercise being especially attractive for its antidepressant-like effects and augmentation properties in combination with antidepressants. Early-life development might present a unique "window of opportunity" to induce long-term beneficial effects in individuals treated with central acting drugs, such as antidepressants. Therefore, we investigated the bio-behavioural effects of pre-pubertal, low-intensity exercise (EXE) and/or venlafaxine (VEN) on depressive-like behaviour in juvenile (postnatal day 35 (PND35)) and young adult (PND60) stress-sensitive Flinders sensitive line (FSL) rats. Interventions were introduced during pre-pubertal development, that is PND21-34, followed by a 26-day washout/sedentary period, when bio-behavioural analyses were performed in the early adulthood group. VEN, alone or in combination with EXE, proved ineffective in inducing any bio-behavioural changes in either age group. EXE did not induce early-life antidepressant-like effects, despite increasing frontal serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) levels. Later in life (PND60), pre-pubertal exercise reduced immobility and increased coping behaviours, together with increased cortical 5-HT levels, despite a significant reduction in locomotor activity. These findings emphasize a strong serotonergic basis to the observed delayed antidepressant effects of EXE later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Christiaan B Brink
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Dorantes-Nieto Á, Cortes C, Ugarte A, Trujillo Hernández A, Carrasco Á, Cepeda-Freyre HA, Eguibar JR. Yawning and Penile Erection Frequencies Are Resilient to Maternal Care Manipulation in the High-Yawning Subline of Sprague-Dawley Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:20. [PMID: 32226363 PMCID: PMC7080979 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Yawning is a stereotyped behavioral pattern characterized by wide opening of the mouth associated with deep inspiration followed by short expiration. All vertebrate species yawn, but with low frequencies. We obtained two sublines of Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats by a strict inbreeding process: one with a high-yawning frequency (HY) of 20 yawns/h, which is one order of magnitude higher with respect to the low-yawning frequency (LY) subline, with 2 yawns/h. Outbred SD rats had a yawning frequency of 1 yawn/h. HY dams had a different organization of maternal care with respect to that displayed by LY and SD dams because HY dams constructed lower quality nests and had more re-retrieving and atypical retrieving. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in maternal care using in- and cross-fostering between the sublines and SD dams and to measure spontaneous and dopaminergic-induced yawning, penile erections, grooming and scratching bouts. We also measured the expression of dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum using Western blot analysis. Our results showed that HY male rats reared by SD or LY dams did not significantly differ in yawning frequencies with respect to HY male rats reared by mothers of their own phenotype. Maternal care did not differ between sublines and SD dams independent of the litter they reared. However, LY rats reared by HY dams showed a significant increase in the number of spontaneous penile erections. Importantly, in-fostered HY male rats had the highest number of yawns induced by systemic administration of (−)-quinpirole supporting that higher maternal care display can influence the frequency of dopaminergic-induced yawning. In fact HY male rats in all conditions yawned more than did LY and SD male rats independent of the dam that raised them supporting a strong influence of genetic background. However SD male rats raised by LY dams showed significantly increased the dopamine D2 receptor expression. In conclusion, maternal care and the environmental nest conditions during the lactation period did not change the phenotypic characteristics of the yawning sublines supporting that their genetic background is fundamental for the expression of spontaneous or dopaminergic-induced yawning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carmen Cortes
- Institute of Physiology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Araceli Ugarte
- Institute of Physiology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | | | - Ángeles Carrasco
- Institute of Physiology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | | | - Jose R Eguibar
- Institute of Physiology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.,Research Office, Vice-rectory of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
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Chen F, Danladi J, Wegener G, Madsen TM, Nyengaard JR. Sustained Ultrastructural Changes in Rat Hippocampal Formation After Repeated Electroconvulsive Seizures. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2020; 23:446-458. [PMID: 32215561 PMCID: PMC7387769 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyaa021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and fast-acting treatment for depression used in the clinic. Its mechanism of therapeutic action remains uncertain. Previous studies have focused on documenting neuroplasticity in the early phase following electroconvulsive seizures (ECS), an animal model of ECT. Here, we investigate whether changes in synaptic plasticity and nonneuronal plasticity (vascular and mitochondria) are sustained 3 months after repeated ECS trials. METHODS ECS or sham treatment was given daily for 1 day or 10 days to a genetic animal model of depression: the Flinders Sensitive and Resistant Line rats. Stereological principles were employed to quantify numbers of synapses and mitochondria as well as length of microvessels in the hippocampus 24 hours after a single ECS. Three months after 10 ECS treatments (1 per day for 10 days) and sham-treatment, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels were quantified with immunohistochemistry. RESULTS A single ECS treatment significantly increased the volume of hippocampal CA1-stratum radiatum, the total length of microvessels, mitochondria number, and synapse number. Observed changes were sustained as shown in the multiple ECS treatment group analyzed 3 months after the last of 10 ECS treatments. CONCLUSION A single ECS caused rapid effects of synaptic plasticity and nonneuronal plasticity, while repeated ECS induced long-lasting changes in the efficacy of synaptic plasticity and nonneuronal plasticity at least up to 3 months after ECS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fenghua Chen
- Core Center for Molecular Morphology, Section for Stereology and Microscopy, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark,Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark,Correspondence: Fenghua Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Clinical Medicine - Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 2B, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ()
| | - Jibrin Danladi
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Gregers Wegener
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark,Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa,AUGUST Centre, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Torsten M Madsen
- Core Center for Molecular Morphology, Section for Stereology and Microscopy, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jens R Nyengaard
- Core Center for Molecular Morphology, Section for Stereology and Microscopy, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark,Centre for Stochastic Geometry and Advanced Bioimaging, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Schintu N, Zhang X, Stroth N, Mathé AA, Andrén PE, Svenningsson P. Non-dopaminergic Alterations in Depression-Like FSL Rats in Experimental Parkinsonism and L-DOPA Responses. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:304. [PMID: 32265703 PMCID: PMC7099513 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression is a common comorbid condition in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Patients with depression have a two-fold increased risk to develop PD. Further, depression symptoms often precede motor symptoms in PD and are frequent at all stages of the disease. However, the influence of a depressive state on the responses to antiparkinson treatments is largely unknown. In this study, the genetically inbred depression-like flinders sensitive line (FSL) rats and control flinders resistant line (FRL) rats were studied in models of experimental parkinsonism. FSL rats showed a potentiated tremorgenic response to tacrine, a cholinesterase inhibitor used experimentally to induce 6 Hz resting tremor reminiscent of parkinsonian tremor. We also studied rats lesioned with 6-OHDA to induce hemiparkinsonism. No baseline differences in dopaminergic response to acute apomorphine or L-DOPA was found. However, following chronic treatment with L-DOPA, FRL rats developed sensitization of turning and abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs); these effects were counteracted by the anti-dyskinetic 5-HT1A agonist/D2 partial agonist sarizotan. In contrast, FSL rats did not develop sensitization of turning and only minor AIMs in response to L-DOPA treatment. The roles of several non-dopamine systems underlying this discrepancy were studied. Unexpectedly, no differences of opioid neuropeptides or serotonin markers were found between FRL and FSL rats. The marked behavioral difference between the FRL and FSL rats was paralleled with the striatal expression of the established marker, c-fos, but also the GABAergic transporter (vGAT), and a hitherto unknown marker, tamalin, that is known to regulate mGluR5 receptor function and postsynaptic organization. This study demonstrates that behavioral and transcriptional responses of non-dopaminergic systems to experimental parkinsonism and L-DOPA are modified in a genetic rat model of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Schintu
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiaoqun Zhang
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nikolas Stroth
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Aleksander A Mathé
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Per E Andrén
- Medical Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per Svenningsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Gene expression signature of antidepressant treatment response/non-response in Flinders Sensitive Line rats subjected to maternal separation. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2020; 31:69-85. [PMID: 31813757 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Neurobiological underpinnings of treatment-resistant depression, a debilitating condition associated with significant functional impairment, have not been elucidated. Consequently, the aim of this study was to use animal models of response and resistance to antidepressant treatment, in an attempt to identify differences in associated transcriptional responses. Flinders Sensitive Line rats were subjected to maternal separation (MS) and chronically treated with Escitalopram or Nortriptyline. Antidepressants reduced immobility time in the forced swim test in non-MS rats, while lack of antidepressant behavioural response was observed in MS animals. We developed a novel bioinformatic algorithm that enabled identification of transcriptional signatures in hippocampus and pre-frontal cortex that discriminate vehicle- and antidepressant-treated subjects in both MS and non-MS rats. Functional annotation analysis showed that in antidepressant-responder rats the most enriched pathways included IQGAPs activation, toll-like receptor trafficking, energy metabolism, and regulation of endopeptidase activity. The analysis of interacting proteins implicated synaptic vesicles and neurotransmitter release, ubiquitin regulation, cytoskeleton organisation and carbohydrate metabolism. In contrast, in treatment-resistant MS rats, main expression changes were revealed in ribosomal proteins, inflammatory responses, transcriptional/epigenetic regulation, and small GTPases. Susceptibility signature shared Rtn1, Zdhhc5, Igsf6, and Sim1 genes with the latest depression GWAS meta-analysis, while antidepressant resistance signature shared Ctnnd1, Rbms3, Atp1a3, and Pla2r1 genes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that distinct transcriptional signatures are associated with behavioural response or non-response to antidepressant treatment. The identification of genes involved in antidepressant response will increase the comprehension of the neurobiological underpinnings of treatment-resistant depression, thus contributing to identification of novel therapeutic targets.
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Abstract
Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders affecting public health. Studies over the past years suggest that the methylations of some specific genes such as BDNF, SLC6A4, and NR3C1 play an important role in the development of depression. Recently, epigenetic evidences suggest that the expression levels of DNA methyltransferases differ in several brain areas including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens in depression patients and animal models, but the potential link between the expression levels of DNA methylatransferases and the methylations of specific genes needs further investigation to clarify the pathogenesis of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenghao Duan
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Neurology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
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Aygun H, Ayyildiz M, Agar E. Effects of vitamin D and paricalcitol on epileptogenesis and behavioral properties of WAG/Rij rats with absence epilepsy. Epilepsy Res 2019; 157:106208. [PMID: 31581040 DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2019.106208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
AIM Vitamin D (Vit D) has been considered as a neurosteroid and has a pivotal role in neuroprotection including epilepsy. Vit D regulator acts via a Vit D receptor (VDR). WAG/Rij rats have a genetically epileptic model of absence epilepsy with comorbidity of depression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Vit D and paricalcitol (PRC) on WAG/Rij rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixty-three male WAG/Rij rats and seven male Wistar rats were used. The effects of acute and chronic treatment with Vit D (5.000 and 60.000 IU/kg, i.p) and PRC (0.5, 5 and 10 μg/kg, i.p) on absence seizures, and related psychiatric comorbidity were investigated in WAG/Rij rats. Depression-like behavior was assayed by using the forced swimming test (FST) and; anxiety-like behavior by using the open field test (OFT). RESULTS Acute Vit D treatments (5.000 and 60.000 IU/kg) similarly reduced the number and duration of spike-wave discharges (SWDs) and showed anxiolytic-antidepressive effect whereas there were no significant changes in other measured parameters between the daily and the bolus dose of Vit D. Acute administration of PRC (0.5, 5 and 10 μg/kg) showed anti-convulsive and anxiolytic-antidepressive effect. The dose (0.5 μg/kg) of PRC was the most effective dose. Chronic treatment was more effective than acute therapy in all parameters. CONCLUSION The results of the present study demonstrate that Vit D and PRC have antiepileptic and anxiolytic-antidepressive effects on the absence epilepsy in WAG/Rij rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hatice Aygun
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokat Gaziosmanpasa, Tokat, Turkey.
| | - Mustafa Ayyildiz
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun, Turkey
| | - Erdal Agar
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun, Turkey
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P2X7 Receptor Signaling in Stress and Depression. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20112778. [PMID: 31174279 PMCID: PMC6600521 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20112778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress exposure is considered to be the main environmental cause associated with the development of depression. Due to the limitations of currently available antidepressants, a search for new pharmacological targets for treatment of depression is required. Recent studies suggest that adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-mediated signaling through the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) might play a prominent role in regulating depression-related pathology, such as synaptic plasticity, neuronal degeneration, as well as changes in cognitive and behavioral functions. P2X7R is an ATP-gated cation channel localized in different cell types in the central nervous system (CNS), playing a crucial role in neuron-glia signaling. P2X7R may modulate the release of several neurotransmitters, including monoamines, nitric oxide (NO) and glutamate. Moreover, P2X7R stimulation in microglia modulates the innate immune response by activating the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, consistent with the neuroimmune hypothesis of MDD. Importantly, blockade of P2X7R leads to antidepressant-like effects in different animal models, which corroborates the findings that the gene encoding for the P2X7R is located in a susceptibility locus of relevance to depression in humans. This review will discuss recent findings linked to the P2X7R involvement in stress and MDD neuropathophysiology, with special emphasis on neurochemical, neuroimmune, and neuroplastic mechanisms.
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Tillmann S, Happ DF, Mikkelsen PF, Geisel J, Wegener G, Obeid R. Behavioral and metabolic effects of S-adenosylmethionine and imipramine in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat model of depression. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:274-280. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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Hvilsom AST, Lillethorup TP, Iversen P, Doudet DJ, Wegener G, Landau AM. Cortical and striatal serotonin transporter binding in a genetic rat model of depression and in response to electroconvulsive stimuli. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2019; 29:493-500. [PMID: 30826156 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Depression is a debilitating mental illness and two thirds of patients respond insufficiently to conventional antidepressants. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the most effective treatment to alleviate drug-refractory depression, however the neurobiological mechanisms are mostly unknown. The serotonergic system plays an important role in depression and alterations in the serotonin transporter (SERT) are seen both in depression and response to antidepressant pharmacotherapies. The first aim of this study was to investigate SERT density in a genetic rat model of depression, Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), compared to control Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The second aim was to investigate SERT density in response to electroconvulsive stimuli (ECS), an animal model of ECT. Female rats of each strain were treated with ECS or sham (ear-clip placement with no current) for 10 days before brains were removed, frozen and cut into 20 µm thick sections. SERT density was measured in striatal and cortical regions by quantitative in vitro autoradiography using the SERT-radioligand, [3H]-DASB. Higher SERT density was observed in FSL rats compared to SD rats by 36-48% in motor cortex and striatum under sham conditions. In response to ECS, SD rats displayed a significant effect of treatment, whereas no changes were observed in FRL and FSL rats. Increased SERT binding in FSL rats compared to SD supports a dysfunction of the serotonergic system in depression. The increased SERT density after ECS, seen in SD rats but not FSL rats, suggests a different mechanism of action between depressive-like rats and controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Sophie Thue Hvilsom
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 10G, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Thea P Lillethorup
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 10G, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Peter Iversen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 10G, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Doris J Doudet
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 10G, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Medicine/Neurology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gregers Wegener
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University, Denmark; Centre for Pharmaceutical Excellence, School of Pharmacy (Pharmacology), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Anne M Landau
- Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 44, Building 10G, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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40
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Ma L, Xu Y, Wang G, Li R. What do we know about sex differences in depression: A review of animal models and potential mechanisms. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 89:48-56. [PMID: 30165122 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Clinical studies have shown that women are more susceptible to depression than men. Sex differences in depression have been associated with social, cultural, as well as biological factors. In spite of extensive preclinical studies in animal models for depression that have been used for understanding the mechanisms of the disease as well as for new drug development, a substantive lack of attention on sex-specific phenotypes in depression might mask the effect of sex on the outcome. In this review article, we summarize findings on the influence of sex on behavior in the most commonly used animal models for depression. We also discuss the potential underlying mechanisms of such sex-dependent variation in the phenotype, particularly in the neuroendocrine system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Ma
- The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100088, China
| | - Yong Xu
- The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100088, China
| | - Gang Wang
- The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100088, China.
| | - Rena Li
- The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100088, China; Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100012, China; Center for Hormone Advanced Science and Education, Roskamp Institute, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA.
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41
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Nandam LS, Brazel M, Zhou M, Jhaveri DJ. Cortisol and Major Depressive Disorder-Translating Findings From Humans to Animal Models and Back. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:974. [PMID: 32038323 PMCID: PMC6987444 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a global problem for which current pharmacotherapies are not completely effective. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction has long been associated with MDD; however, the value of assessing cortisol as a biological benchmark of the pathophysiology or treatment of MDD is still debated. In this review, we critically evaluate the relationship between HPA axis dysfunction and cortisol level in relation to MDD subtype, stress, gender and treatment regime, as well as in rodent models. We find that an elevated cortisol response to stress is associated with acute and severe, but not mild or atypical, forms of MDD. Furthermore, the increased incidence of MDD in females is associated with greater cortisol response variability rather than higher baseline levels of cortisol. Despite almost all current MDD treatments influencing cortisol levels, we could find no convincing relationship between cortisol level and therapeutic response in either a clinical or preclinical setting. Thus, we argue that the absolute level of cortisol is unreliable for predicting the efficacy of antidepressant treatment. We propose that future preclinical models should reliably produce exaggerated HPA axis responses to acute or chronic stress a priori, which may, or may not, alter baseline cortisol levels, while also modelling the core symptoms of MDD that can be targeted for reversal. Combining genetic and environmental risk factors in such a model, together with the interrogation of the resultant molecular, cellular, and behavioral changes, promises a new mechanistic understanding of MDD and focused therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Sanjay Nandam
- Mental Health Unit, Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: L. Sanjay Nandam, ; Dhanisha J. Jhaveri,
| | - Matthew Brazel
- Mental Health Unit, Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Mei Zhou
- Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Dhanisha J. Jhaveri
- Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: L. Sanjay Nandam, ; Dhanisha J. Jhaveri,
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Nyarko JNK, Quartey MO, Baker GB, Mousseau DD. Can Animal Models Inform on the Relationship between Depression and Alzheimer Disease? CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2019; 64:18-29. [PMID: 29685068 PMCID: PMC6364140 DOI: 10.1177/0706743718772514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The focus on the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide in clinical Alzheimer disease (AD) as well as in animal models of AD has perhaps biased our understanding of what contributes to the heterogeneity in disease onset and progression. Part of this heterogeneity could reflect the various neuropsychiatric risk factors that present with common symptomatology and can predispose the brain to AD-like changes. One such risk factor is depression. Animal models, particularly mouse models carrying variants of AD-related gene(s), many of which lead to an accumulation of Aβ, suggest that a fundamental shift in depression-related monoaminergic systems (including serotonin and noradrenaline) is a strong indicator of the altered cellular function associated with the earlier(est) stages of AD-related pathology. These changes in monoaminergic neurochemistry could provide for relevant targets for intervention in clinical AD and/or could support a polypharmacy strategy, which might include the targeting of Aβ, in vulnerable populations. Future studies must also include female mice as well as male mice in animal model studies on the relationship between depression and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer N K Nyarko
- 1 Cell Signalling Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Maa O Quartey
- 1 Cell Signalling Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Glen B Baker
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Neurochemical Research Unit, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Darrell D Mousseau
- 1 Cell Signalling Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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LeGates TA, Kvarta MD, Thompson SM. Sex differences in antidepressant efficacy. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:140-154. [PMID: 30082889 PMCID: PMC6235879 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0156-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Sex differences have been observed across many psychiatric diseases, especially mood disorders. For major depression, the most prevalent psychiatric disorder, females show a roughly two-fold greater risk as compared to males. Depression is sexually dimorphic with males and females exhibiting differences in clinical presentation, course, and response to antidepressant treatment. In this review, we first discuss sex differences observed in depressed patients, as well as animal models that reveal potential underlying mechanisms. We then discuss antidepressant treatments including their proposed mechanism of action and sex differences observed in treatment response. We include possible mechanisms underlying these sex differences with particular focus on synaptic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara A. LeGates
- 0000 0001 2175 4264grid.411024.2Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201 USA
| | - Mark D. Kvarta
- 0000 0001 2175 4264grid.411024.2Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201 USA
| | - Scott M. Thompson
- 0000 0001 2175 4264grid.411024.2Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201 USA ,0000 0001 2175 4264grid.411024.2Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201 USA
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44
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Effects of cannabidiol in males and females in two different rat models of depression. Physiol Behav 2018; 201:59-63. [PMID: 30571957 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The current study explores the therapeutic potential of Cannabidiol (CBD), a compound in the Cannabis plant, using both sexes of 2 "depressive-like" genetic models, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats. Rats ingested CBD (30 mg/kg) orally. In the saccharin preference test, following a previous report of a pro-hedonic effect of CBD in male WKY, we now found similar results in female WKY. CBD also decreased immobility in the forced swim test in males (both strains) and in female WKY. These findings suggest a role for CBD in treating mental disorders with prominent symptoms of helplessness and anhedonia.
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45
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Individual responses of rodents in modelling of affective disorders and in their treatment: prospective review. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2018; 30:323-333. [PMID: 29909818 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2018.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
IntroductionLack of good animal models for affective disorders, including major depression and bipolar disorder, is noted as a major bottleneck in attempts to study these disorders and develop better treatments. We suggest that an important approach that can help in the development and use of better models is attention to variability between model animals. RESULTS: Differences between mice strains were studied for some decades now, and sex differences get more attention than in the past. It is suggested that one factor that is mostly neglected, individual variability within groups, should get much more attention. The importance of individual differences in behavioral biology and ecology was repeatedly mentioned but its application to models of affective illness or to the study of drug response was not heavily studied. The standard approach is to overcome variability by standardization and by increasing the number of animals per group. CONCLUSIONS: Possibly, the individuality of specific animals and their unique responses to a variety of stimuli and drugs, can be helpful in deciphering the underlying biology of affective behaviors as well as offer better prediction of drug responses in patients.
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Carboni L, Marchetti L, Lauria M, Gass P, Vollmayr B, Redfern A, Jones L, Razzoli M, Malki K, Begni V, Riva MA, Domenici E, Caberlotto L, Mathé AA. Cross-species evidence from human and rat brain transcriptome for growth factor signaling pathway dysregulation in major depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2134-2145. [PMID: 29950584 PMCID: PMC6098161 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0117-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 05/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
An enhanced understanding of the pathophysiology of depression would facilitate the discovery of new efficacious medications. To this end, we examined hippocampal transcriptional changes in rat models of disease and in humans to identify common disease signatures by using a new algorithm for signature-based clustering of expression profiles. The tool identified a transcriptomic signature comprising 70 probesets able to discriminate depression models from controls in both Flinders Sensitive Line and Learned Helplessness animals. To identify disease-relevant pathways, we constructed an expanded protein network based on signature gene products and performed functional annotation analysis. We applied the same workflow to transcriptomic profiles of depressed patients. Remarkably, a 171-probesets transcriptional signature which discriminated depressed from healthy subjects was identified. Rat and human signatures shared the SCARA5 gene, while the respective networks derived from protein-based significant interactions with signature genes contained 25 overlapping genes. The comparison between the most enriched pathways in the rat and human signature networks identified a highly significant overlap (p-value: 3.85 × 10-6) of 67 terms including ErbB, neurotrophin, FGF, IGF, and VEGF signaling, immune responses and insulin and leptin signaling. In conclusion, this study allowed the identification of a hippocampal transcriptional signature of resilient or susceptible responses in rat MDD models which overlapped with gene expression alterations observed in depressed patients. These findings are consistent with a loss of hippocampal neural plasticity mediated by altered levels of growth factors and increased inflammatory responses causing metabolic impairments as crucial factors in the pathophysiology of MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Carboni
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Luca Marchetti
- The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Rovereto, Trento, Italy
| | - Mario Lauria
- The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Rovereto, Trento, Italy
- Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Povo, Trento, Italy
| | - Peter Gass
- RG Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Barbara Vollmayr
- RG Animal Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Amanda Redfern
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lesley Jones
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Maria Razzoli
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology University of Minnesota, 2231 6th Street SE, Minneapolis, USA
| | - Karim Malki
- King's College London, at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IOPPN), London, UK
| | - Veronica Begni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco A Riva
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Enrico Domenici
- The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Rovereto, Trento, Italy
- Laboratory of Neurogenomic Biomarkers, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Povo, Trento, Italy
| | - Laura Caberlotto
- The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Rovereto, Trento, Italy
- The Aptuit Center for Drug Discovery & Development, Via Fleming, 4, 37135, Verona, Italy
| | - Aleksander A Mathé
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Stockholm, Sweden
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Liu H, Zhang C, Ji Y, Yang L. Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Resilience: Is It Possible to Improve Stress Resistance? Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:326. [PMID: 30186127 PMCID: PMC6110926 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The term “resilience” refers to the ability to adapt successfully to stress, trauma and adversity, enabling individuals to avoid stress-induced mental disorders such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Here, we review evidence from both animal models and humans that is increasingly revealing the neurophysiological and neuropsychological mechanisms that underlie stress susceptibility, as well as active mechanisms underlying the resilience phenotype. Ultimately, this growing understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of resilience should result in the development of novel interventions that specifically target neural circuitry and brain areas that enhance resilience and lead to more effective treatments for stress-induced disorders. Stress resilience can be improved, but the outcomes and effects depend on the type of intervention and the species treated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoran Liu
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chenfeng Zhang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yannan Ji
- School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Yang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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Zabegalov KN, Kolesnikova TO, Khatsko SL, Volgin AD, Yakovlev OA, Amstislavskaya TG, Alekseeva PA, Meshalkina DA, Friend AJ, Bao W, Demin KA, Gainetdinov RR, Kalueff AV. Understanding antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS) through preclinical experimental models. Eur J Pharmacol 2018; 829:129-140. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2018.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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49
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Steyn SF, Harvey BH, Brink CB. Immediate and long-term antidepressive-like effects of pre-pubertal escitalopram and omega-3 supplementation combination in young adult stress-sensitive rats. Behav Brain Res 2018; 351:49-62. [PMID: 29807070 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects a significant number of children and adolescents, yet treatment options for this population remain very limited. Escitalopram (ESC) is one of only two antidepressants approved as treatment for juvenile depression. Still, delayed onset of action, and immediate plus the risk of lasting side effects contribute to low patient adherence, and places the medical prescriber in a difficult situation weighing the potential long-term effects of juvenile treatment against the known consequences of untreated MDD. Research into alternative or augmentation strategies and their long-term effects are needed to improve clinical outcome and better our understanding of the long-term consequences of early-life treatment. We investigated the early-life (postnatal day 35 (PND35)) and lasting (PND60) bio-behavioural effects of pre-pubertal (PND21 to PND34) escitalopram (ESC) administration and/or ω-3 supplementation (OM3) in stress sensitive Flinders Sensitive Line rats. Only ESC treatment showed a strong trend to decrease depressive-like behaviour via significantly increased climbing behaviour on PND35. However, OM3 treatment reduced locomotor activity and increased hippocampal neuroplasticity on PND35, suggesting improved coping behaviour and masking of possible antidepressant-like effects. Reduced locomotor activity lasted into early-adulthood on PND60, despite a treatment-free period from PND35 to PND60. Regardless, early-adulthood antidepressive-like behaviour was only observed in the combination treatment (ESC + OM3) group, despite a significant increase in serotonin turnover, suggesting strong neurodevelopmental process to be involved. Taken together, the combination of ESC and OM3 might induce lasting beneficial neurodevelopmental effects in a stress-sensitive population, suggesting a possible role in current treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanus F Steyn
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North West-University, South Africa
| | - Brian H Harvey
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North West-University, South Africa
| | - Christiaan B Brink
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, North West-University, South Africa.
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50
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Wang SM, Han C, Lee SJ, Patkar AA, Masand PS, Pae CU. Five potential therapeutic agents as antidepressants: a brief review and future directions. Expert Rev Neurother 2018; 15:1015-29. [PMID: 26312645 DOI: 10.1586/14737175.2015.1071192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite the availability of numerous antidepressants, many patients with depression do not show adequate response. The therapeutic lag between drug administration and onset of clinical improvement observed with conventional antidepressants has led to a need for antidepressants with a novel mechanism of action. Recently, five such agents, including acetyl-L-carnitine, scopolamine, ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, ketamine, and selective 5-HT7 serotonin receptor antagonists, have gained interest as potential antidepressants with enhanced symptom control, improved tolerability, and faster onset of action compared to conventional antidepressants. This review provides an update and critical examination of these five novel therapeutic agents as potential antidepressants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Min Wang
- a 1 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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