Ginsenoside Rg1-induced antidepressant effects involve the protection of astrocyte gap junctions within the prefrontal cortex
| Autor: | Tohru Yamakuni, Ichiro Kawahata, Heng Zhou, Yi Zhang, Yu Xia Lou, Man Tong Tian, Zhen-Zhen Wang, Can Jin, Dan Shen Zhang, Zhi Qi Wang, Nai Hong Chen, Jiao Chen, Wei Zuo, Guo Hua Du |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Male medicine.medical_specialty Sucrose Dendritic spine Ginsenosides Connexin Prefrontal Cortex Rats Sprague-Dawley 03 medical and health sciences Food Preferences 0302 clinical medicine Downregulation and upregulation Microscopy Electron Transmission Internal medicine medicine Animals Prefrontal cortex Biological Psychiatry Swimming Pharmacology Analysis of Variance Chemistry Depression Neurogenesis Gap junction Gap Junctions Isoquinolines Actins Antidepressive Agents Rats Disease Models Animal 030104 developmental biology medicine.anatomical_structure Endocrinology Astrocytes Connexin 43 Exploratory Behavior Antidepressant 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Astrocyte |
| Zdroj: | Progress in neuro-psychopharmacologybiological psychiatry. 75 |
| ISSN: | 1878-4216 |
| Popis: | Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) exhibits antidepressant-like activity by increasing neurogenesis and dendritic spine density without discernible side effects. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying Rg1 antidepressant activity remain poorly understood. As the dysfunction of gap junctions between astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is implicated in major depression disorder, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Rg1 on astrocyte gap junctions in the PFC. Rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) were administered Rg1 (5, 10, and 20mg/kg) for 28days and analyzed for depressive symptoms using the sucrose preference and forced swimming tests. Functional and morphological changes of gap junction channels in the PFC were evaluated using dye transfer and electron microscopy, respectively. The expression of connexin 43 (Cx43) was analyzed by western blotting. Rg1 markedly alleviated depression-like behavior in rats. Long-term Rg1 treatment of CUS-exposed rats also significantly prevented the decrease in dye diffusion and improved the ultrastructure of astrocyte gap junctions in the PFC, indicating beneficial effects on the functional activity of gap junction channels in the brain. In addition, Rg1 upregulated Cx43 expression in the PFC reduced by CUS exposure, which significantly correlated with its antidepressant-like effects. The results demonstrate that Rg1-induced antidepressant effects are might be mediated, in part, by protecting astrocyte gap junctions within the prefrontal cortex. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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