Role of Neuronal VEGF Signaling in the Prefrontal Cortex in the Rapid Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine produces rapid and sustained antidepressant actions even in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in the effects of conventional monoamine-based antidepressants, but the role of VEGF in the rapid antidepressant actions of ketamine remains unclear. The authors examined whether neuronal VEGF signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) mediates the rapid antidepressant actions of ketamine.

Methods

The authors used a combination of approaches, including conditional, neuron-specific knockout of VEGF or its receptor, Flk-1; antibody neutralization; viral-mediated knockdown of Flk-1; and pharmacological inhibitors. Further in vitro and in

SUBMITTER: Deyama S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6494682 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature