OPEN Foundation

Z. Wang

Salvinorin A preserves cerebral pial artery autoregulation after forebrain ischemia via the PI3K/AKT/cGMP pathway

March 15, 2018 / Neuroscience, Other subjects, Papers, Psychopharmacology, Publications, Salvia / Salvinorin A / By / , , , ,

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of salvinorin A on the cerebral pial artery after forebrain ischemia and explore related mechanisms. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats received forebrain ischemia for 10 min. The dilation responses of the cerebral pial artery to hypercapnia and hypotension were assessed in rats before and 1 h after ischemia. The ischemia reperfusion (IR) control group received DMSO (1 µL/kg) immediately after ischemia. Two different doses of salvinorin A (10 and 20 µg/kg) were administered following the onset of reperfusion. The 5th, 6th, and 7th groups received salvinorin A (20 µg/kg) and LY294002 (10 µM), L-NAME (10 μM), or norbinaltorphimine (norBIN, 1 μM) after ischemia. The levels of cGMP in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were also measured. The phosphorylation of AKT (p-AKT) was measured in the cerebral cortex by western blot at 24 h post-ischemia. Cell necrosis and apoptosis were examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and TUNEL staining, respectively. The motor function of the rats was evaluated at 1, 2, and 5 days post-ischemia. The dilation responses of the cerebral pial artery were significantly impaired after ischemia and were preserved by salvinorin A treatment. In addition, salvinorin A significantly increased the levels of cGMP and p-AKT, suppressed cell necrosis and apoptosis of the cerebral cortex and improved the motor function of the rats. These effects were abolished by LY294002, L-NAME, and norBIN. Salvinorin A preserved cerebral pial artery autoregulation in response to hypercapnia and hypotension via the PI3K/AKT/cGMP pathway.
Dong, H. P., Zhou, W., Ma, X. X., He, Z. Z., & Wang, Z. H. (2018). Salvinorin A preserves cerebral pial artery autoregulation after forebrain ischemia via the PI3K/AKT/cGMP pathway. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 51(5). 10.1590/1414-431X20176714
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TrkB dependent adult hippocampal progenitor differentiation mediates sustained ketamine antidepressant response

November 21, 2017 / Depression, Ketamine, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Adult neurogenesis persists in the rodent dentate gyrus and is stimulated by chronic treatment with conventional antidepressants through BDNF/TrkB signaling. Ketamine in low doses produces both rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in patients. Previous studies have shed light on post-transcriptional synaptic NMDAR mediated mechanisms underlying the acute effect, but how ketamine acts at the cellular level to sustain this anti-depressive function for prolonged periods remains unclear. Here we report that ketamine accelerates differentiation of doublecortin-positive adult hippocampal neural progenitors into functionally mature neurons. This process requires TrkB-dependent ERK pathway activation. Genetic ablation of TrkB in neural stem/progenitor cells, or pharmacologic disruption of ERK signaling, or inhibition of adult neurogenesis, each blocks the ketamine-induced behavioral responses. Conversely, enhanced ERK activity via Nf1 gene deletion extends the response and rescues both neurogenic and behavioral deficits in mice lacking TrkB. Thus, TrkB-dependent neuronal differentiation is involved in the sustained antidepressant effects of ketamine.
Ma, Z., Zang, T., Birnbaum, S. G., Wang, Z., Johnson, J. E., Zhang, C. L., & Parada, L. F. (2017). TrkB dependent adult hippocampal progenitor differentiation mediates sustained ketamine antidepressant response. Nature communications, 8(1), 1668. 10.1038/s41467-017-01709-8
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Sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine exert antidepressant-like effects and upregulate the expression of glutamate transporters in the hippocampus of rats

February 3, 2017 / Depression, Ketamine, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , ,

Abstract

Clinical studies on the role of the glutamatergic system in the pathogenesis of depression found that ketamine induces an antidepressant response, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The present study investigated the effects of sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine on the glutamate reuptake function in the rat hippocampus. Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was applied to construct animal models of depression. Sixty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups and received a different regimen of CUMS and ketamine (10, 25, and 50 mg/kg) treatment. The sucrose preference test and open-field test were used to assess behavioral changes. The expression levels of excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) were measured by western blot. Microdialysis and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to detect hippocampal glutamate concentrations. We found that the expression of EAAT2 and EAAT3 were obviously downregulated, and extracellular concentrations of glutamate were significantly increased in the hippocampi of depressive-like rats. Ketamine (10, 25, and 50 mg/kg) upregulated the expression of EAAT2 and EAAT3, decreased the hippocampal concentration of extracellular glutamate, and alleviated the rats’ depressive-like behavior. The antidepressant effect of ketamine may be linked to the regulation of EAAT expression and the enhancement of glutamate uptake in the hippocampus of depressive-like rats.

Zhu, X., Ye, G., Wang, Z., Luo, J., & Hao, X. (2017). Sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine exert antidepressant-like effects and upregulate the expression of glutamate transporters in the hippocampus of rats. Neuroscience Letters, 639, 132-137. 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.12.070
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Mood and neuropsychological effects of different doses of ketamine in electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant depression

May 12, 2016 / Depression, Ketamine, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a growing clinical challenge. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective tool for TRD treatment. However, there remains a subset of patients who do not respond to this treatment with common anesthetic agent. Ketamine, a noteworthy anesthetic agent, has emerged as an augmentation to enhance the antidepressant efficacy of ECT. Trials of i.v. ketamine in TRD indicated dose-related mood enhancing efficacy. We aimed to explore anesthetic and subanesthetic concentrations of ketamine in ECT for TRD with respect to their impact on mood and neuropsychological effects.
METHODS: Ninety TRD patients (36 males, 54 females; average age, 30.6 years old) were randomly assigned to receive either ketamine (0.8mg/kg) (n=30), subanesthetic ketamine (0.5mg/kg) plus propofol (0.5mg/kg) (n=30) or propofol (0.8mg/kg) (n=30) as an anesthetic and underwent 8 ECT sessions. The primary outcome measures were the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17), cognitive assessments and seizure parameters.
RESULTS: The ketamine group had an earlier improvement in HDRS-17, longer seizure duration, lower electric quantity, a higher remission rate, and a lower degree of executive cognitive impairment compared to the ketamine+propofol and propofol groups. The ketamine+propofol group showed earlier improvement in the HDRS-17, a longer seizure duration and a different seizure energy index when compared to the propofol group.
LIMITATIONS: The postoperative dissociative side effect was not assessed.
CONCLUSIONS: Both anesthetic and subanesthetic concentrations of ketamine have rapid mood enhancing actions in ECT for TRD, while anesthetic concentrations results in larger magnitudes of antidepression and cognitive protection. ECT with ketamine anesthesia might be an optimized therapy for patients with TRD.
Zhong, X., He, H., Zhang, C., Wang, Z., Jiang, M., Li, Q., … & Huang, X. (2016). Mood and neuropsychological effects of different doses of ketamine in electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 201, 124-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.05.011
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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