Glycosides, Depression and Suicidal Behaviour: The Role of Glycoside-Linked Proteins

Molecules

Gianluca Serafini¹  Maurizio Pompili¹  Marco Innamorati¹  Gloria Giordano¹  Roberto Tatarelli¹  David Lester¹  Paolo Girardi¹ 

[1]¹Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Via Grottarossa 1035-1039, 00189 Rome, Italy

关键词: glycosides;    depression;    suicidal behaviour;    synaptic plasticity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules16032688

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Nowadays depression and suicide are two of the most important worldwide public health problems. Although their specific molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown, glycosides can play a fundamental role in their pathogenesis. These molecules act presumably through the up-regulation of plasticity-related proteins: probably they can have a presynaptic facilitatory effect, through the activation of several intracellular signaling pathways that include molecules like protein kinase A, Rap-1, cAMP, cADPR and G proteins. These proteins take part in a myriad of brain functions such as cell survival and synaptic plasticity. In depressed suicide victims, it has been found that their activity is strongly decreased, primarily in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These studies suggest that glycosides can regulate neuroprotection through Rap-1 and other molecules, and may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of depression and suicide.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.