Recent insights into antidepressant therapy: Distinct pathways and potential common mechanisms in the treatment of depressive syndromes

Dietrich van Calker; Tsvetan Serchov; Claus Normann; Knut Biber

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.014

Recent insights into antidepressant therapy: Distinct pathways and potential common mechanisms in the treatment of depressive syndromes

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 May:88:63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.014. Epub 2018 Mar 14.

Authors

Dietrich van Calker¹, Tsvetan Serchov², Claus Normann², Knut Biber³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Falkenplatz 18, 3012 Bern Switzerland. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Department of Neuroscience, Section Medical Physiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 29550211
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.014

Abstract

There is an urgent, unmet clinical need for faster and more efficient antidepressant drugs with higher response rates. In animal models of depression it was shown in the last few years that inhibition of three signaling molecules (BDNF, p11 and Homer1a) prevents efficacy of antidepressant therapy. These data not only show the crucial role of these factors for the treatment of depression, but may also point towards a better understanding of the molecular changes responsible for successful antidepressant therapy. Reviewing the literature concerning BNDF, p11 and Homer1a we here describe a molecular network in which these molecules interact with each other finally leading to facilitation of AMPA receptor signaling and plasticity, corroborating the current idea of AMPA receptors being a promising drug target in depression.

Keywords: AMPA receptors; Antidepressant therapy; BDNF; Homer1a; p11.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use*
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / metabolism
Depression / drug therapy*
Depressive Disorder / drug therapy*
Humans
Signal Transduction / drug effects*
Signal Transduction / physiology
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Antidepressive Agents
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor