Luo Qiang, Zhao Yulong, Ren Peng, Liu Xu, Chen Yingjian, Ying Qianru, Zhou Junjie
School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China.
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases of Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China.
Cells. 2025 May 28;14(11):795. doi: 10.3390/cells14110795.
Depression is a widespread mental disorder whose impact on an individual's health extends far beyond the psychological dimension. As a disease with a significant burden, the effective treatment of depression has become a major challenge for global public health. Although several hypotheses have been proposed for the pathogenesis of depression, its pathophysiological mechanisms remain complex and not yet fully understood. Recent studies suggest that dysfunctional autophagy may play an important role in the development of depression. Autophagy, as an important intracellular degradation mechanism, maintains neuronal function and health by removing excess proteins and damaged organelles. Current evidence suggests that the regulation of autophagic processes may provide new potential targets for the treatment of depression. In this paper, we review the pharmacological mechanisms of autophagy by different antidepressant drugs and the abnormal changes in autophagy in patients with depression and in multiple models. Importantly, we focus on the role of autophagy in different pathological mechanisms of depression and discuss current limitations as well as potential directions for future research.
抑郁症是一种广泛存在的精神障碍，其对个体健康的影响远远超出心理层面。作为一种负担沉重的疾病，抑郁症的有效治疗已成为全球公共卫生面临的一项重大挑战。尽管针对抑郁症的发病机制已提出了几种假说，但其病理生理机制仍很复杂，尚未完全明确。最近的研究表明，自噬功能障碍可能在抑郁症的发生发展中起重要作用。自噬作为一种重要的细胞内降解机制，通过清除多余蛋白质和受损细胞器来维持神经元功能和健康。目前的证据表明，自噬过程的调节可能为抑郁症的治疗提供新的潜在靶点。在本文中，我们综述了不同抗抑郁药物作用于自噬的药理机制以及抑郁症患者和多种模型中自噬的异常变化。重要的是，我们重点关注自噬在抑郁症不同病理机制中的作用，并讨论当前的局限性以及未来研究的潜在方向。
