Beyond New Neurons in the Adult Hippocampus: Imipramine Acts as a Pro-Astrogliogenic Factor and Rescues Cognitive Impairments Induced by Stress Exposure

Cells

Bruna Araújo¹  Joana Sofia Correia¹  Luísa Pinto¹  Nuno Dinis Alves¹  Ana R. Machado-Santos¹  Eduardo Loureiro-Campos¹  Mónica Morais¹  Ana J. Rodrigues¹  João M. Bessa¹  Nuno Sousa¹  Patrícia Patrício¹  João Filipe Oliveira¹  António Mateus-Pinheiro¹ 

[1] Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;

关键词: astrocytes;    hippocampus;    dentate gyrus;    astrogliogenesis;    chronic stress;    antidepressants;   

DOI  :  10.3390/cells11030390

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Depression is a prevalent, socially burdensome disease. Different studies have demonstrated the important role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology of depression as modulators of neurotransmission and neurovascular coupling. This is evidenced by astrocyte impairments observed in brains of depressed patients and the appearance of depressive-like behaviors upon astrocytic dysfunctions in animal models. However, little is known about the importance of de novo generated astrocytes in the mammalian brain and in particular its possible involvement in the precipitation of depression and in the therapeutic actions of current antidepressants (ADs). Therefore, we studied the modulation of astrocytes and adult astrogliogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rats exposed to an unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) protocol, untreated and treated for two weeks with antidepressants—fluoxetine and imipramine. Our results show that adult astrogliogenesis in the DG is modulated by stress and imipramine. This study reveals that distinct classes of ADs impact differently in the astrogliogenic process, showing different cellular mechanisms relevant to the recovery from behavioral deficits induced by chronic stress exposure. As such, in addition to those resident, the newborn astrocytes in the hippocampal DG might also be promising therapeutic targets for future therapies in the neuropsychiatric field.

【 授权许可】

Unknown