Mu opioid receptors on hippocampal GABAergic interneurons are critical for the antidepressant effects of tianeptine.

ABSTRACT: Tianeptine is an atypical antidepressant used in Europe to treat patients who respond poorly to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The recent discovery that tianeptine is a mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonist has provided a potential avenue for expanding our understanding of antidepressant treatment beyond the monoamine hypothesis. Thus, our studies aim to understand the neural circuits underlying tianeptine's antidepressant effects. We show that tianeptine induces rapid antidepressant-like effects in mice after as little as one week of treatment. Critically, we also demonstrate that tianeptine's mechanism of action is distinct from fluoxetine in two important aspects: (1) tianeptine requires MORs for its chronic antidepressant-like effect, while fluoxetine does not, and (2) unl

SUBMITTER: Han J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9117297 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature