Caruso Giuseppe, Grasso Margherita, Fidilio Annamaria, Torrisi Sebastiano Alfio, Musso Nicolò, Geraci Federica, Tropea Maria Rosaria, Privitera Anna, Tascedda Fabio, Puzzo Daniela, Salomone Salvatore, Drago Filippo, Leggio Gian Marco, Caraci Filippo
Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS, Troina, Italy.
Front Pharmacol. 2021 Dec 24;12:809541. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.809541. eCollection 2021.
Depression is a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A neurobiological and clinical continuum exists between AD and depression, with neuroinflammation and oxidative stress being involved in both diseases. Second-generation antidepressants, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are currently investigated as neuroprotective drugs in AD. By employing a non-transgenic AD model, obtained by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers in 2-month-old C57BL/6 mice, we recently demonstrated that the SSRI fluoxetine (FLX) and the multimodal antidepressant vortioxetine (VTX) reversed the depressive-like phenotype and memory deficits induced by Aβ oligomers rescuing the levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Aim of our study was to test FLX and VTX for their ability to prevent oxidative stress in the hippocampus of Aβ-injected mice, a brain area strongly affected in both depression and AD. The long-term intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of FLX (10 mg/kg) or VTX (5 and 10 mg/kg) for 24 days, starting 7 days before Aβ injection, was able to prevent the over-expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2) induced by Aβ oligomers. Antidepressant pre-treatment was also able to rescue the mRNA expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1) antioxidant enzyme. FLX and VTX also prevented Aβ-induced neurodegeneration in mixed neuronal cultures treated with Aβ oligomers. Our data represent the first evidence that the long-term treatment with the antidepressants FLX or VTX can prevent the oxidative stress phenomena related to the cognitive deficits and depressive-like phenotype observed in a non-transgenic animal model of AD.
抑郁症是阿尔茨海默病(AD)发病的一个风险因素。AD与抑郁症之间存在神经生物学和临床的连续性,神经炎症和氧化应激在这两种疾病中均有涉及。第二代抗抑郁药,尤其是选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂(SSRI),目前正作为AD的神经保护药物进行研究。通过向2月龄C57BL/6小鼠脑室内(i.c.v.)注射淀粉样β蛋白(Aβ)寡聚体获得非转基因AD模型,我们最近证明SSRI氟西汀(FLX)和多模式抗抑郁药伏硫西汀(VTX)可逆转Aβ寡聚体诱导的抑郁样表型和记忆缺陷,挽救转化生长因子-β1(TGF-β1)水平。我们研究的目的是测试FLX和VTX预防Aβ注射小鼠海马体氧化应激的能力,海马体是在抑郁症和AD中均受到严重影响的脑区。在Aβ注射前7天开始,长期腹腔内(i.p.)给予FLX(10mg/kg)或VTX(5mg/kg和10mg/kg)24天,能够预防Aβ寡聚体诱导的诱导型一氧化氮合酶(iNOS)和NADPH氧化酶2(Nox2)的过度表达。抗抑郁药预处理还能够挽救谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶1(Gpx1)抗氧化酶的mRNA表达。FLX和VTX还能预防Aβ寡聚体处理的混合神经元培养物中Aβ诱导的神经变性。我们的数据首次证明,长期使用抗抑郁药FLX或VTX治疗可预防与AD非转基因动物模型中观察到的认知缺陷和抑郁样表型相关的氧化应激现象。