Mesenchymal stromal cells alleviate depressive and anxiety-like behaviors via a lung vagal-to-brain axis in male mice.

ABSTRACT: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common and disabling mental disorders, and current strategies remain inadequate. Although mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have shown beneficial effects in experimental models of depression, underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, using murine depression models, we demonstrated that MSCs could alleviate depressive and anxiety-like behaviors not due to a reduction in proinflammatory cytokines, but rather activation of dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neurons. Mechanistically, peripheral delivery of MSCs activated pulmonary innervating vagal sensory neurons, which projected to the nucleus tractus solitarius, inducing the release of 5-HT in DRN. Furthermore, MSC-secreted brain-derived neurotrophic factor activated lun

SUBMITTER: Huang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10654509 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature