Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
January 10, 2025
Dan Xu, Akifumi Eguchi, Rumi Murayama et al.
4 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; Ecstasy) is a widely abused recreational drug that has also gained interest for potential clinical applications in mental health. With the growing recognition of gut microbiota's role in mental health, this study examined whether repeated oral MDMA administration could affect gut microbiota in the small intestine, cecum, and colon of male rats. Repeated...
Translational Psychiatry
September 28, 2022
Li Ma, Long Wang, Lijia Chang et al.
( R,S )-ketamine is known to elicit persistent prophylactic effects in rodent models of depression. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying its action remain elusive. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we searched for novel molecular target(s) that contribute to the prophylactic effects of ( R )-ketamine, a more potent enantiomer of ( R,S )-ketamine in chronic restraint stress (CRS)...
Translational Psychiatry
January 27, 2020
Kai Zhang, Chun Yang, Lijia Chang et al.
120 citations
In rodent models of depression, (R)-ketamine has greater potency and longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine; however, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine remain unknown. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we identified novel molecular targets that contribute to the different antidepressant effects of the two enantiomers. Either...
Behavioural Brain Research
August 1, 2019
Zhongwei Xiong, Yuko Fujita, Kai Zhang et al.
Inflammatory bone markers may play a role in the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine in susceptible mice after chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). In this study, we compared the effects of (R)-ketamine and its final metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) in depression-like phenotypes, inflammatory bone markers and bone mineral density (BMD) in CSDS susceptible mice. We measured plasma...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
June 1, 2019
Lijia Chang, Kai Zhang, Yaoyu Pu et al.
174 citations
The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine produces rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant patients with depression although intranasal use of (R,S)-ketamine in ketamine abusers is popular. In March 5, 2019, nasal spray of (S)-ketamine for treatment-resistant depression was approved as a new antidepressant by the US Food Drug Administration....
Psychopharmacology
November 2018
Kai Zhang, Hidetoh Toki, Yuko Fujita et al.
(R,S)-ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, exhibits rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects and anti-suicidal ideation in treatment-resistant patients with depression. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the antidepressant actions of (R,S)-ketamine are unknown. Although the previous report demonstrated the deuterium isotope effects in the antidepressant...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
September 2018
Zheng Tian, Chao Dong, Atsuhiro Fujita et al.
The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine has robust antidepressant effects in depressed patients although it has detrimental side effects such as psychotomimetic and dissociative symptoms. (R,S)-Ketamine is known to cause the expression of heat shock protein HSP-70 (a marker for neuronal injury) in the retrosplenial cortex of rat brain, suggesting that the...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
June 6, 2018
Lijia Chang, Hidetoh Toki, Youge Qu et al.
26 citations
Background: Although previous reports suggest sex-specific differences in the antidepressant actions of (R,S)-ketamine, these differences in the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine, which is more potent than (S)-ketamine, are unknown. Methods: Saline or (R)-ketamine was administered 23 hours post lipopolysaccharide administration to adult male or female mice. Subsequently, antidepressant...
Scientific Reports
March 5, 2018
Kai Zhang, Yuko Fujita, Kenji Hashimoto
Since the metabolism of (R,S)-ketamine to (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) is reported to be essential for ketamine's antidepressant effects, there is an increasing debate about antidepressant effects of (2R,6R)-HNK. Using pharmacokinetic and behavioral techniques, we investigated whether intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of (R)-ketamine or (2R,6R)-HNK show antidepressant effects in a...
Translational Psychiatry
December 15, 2017
Chun Yang, Youge Qu, Yuko Fujita et al.
231 citations
Accumulating evidence suggests that the gut microbiota-brain axis plays a role in the pathogenesis of depression, thereby contributing to the antidepressant actions of certain compounds. (R)-ketamine has a greater potency and longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine. Here, we investigated whether the gut microbiota plays a role in the antidepressant effects of these two ketamine...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
November 15, 2017
Kai Zhang, Chao Dong, Yuko Fujita et al.
48 citations
Background: Previous reports suggest that 5-hydroxytryptamine might play a role in the antidepressant actions of (R,S)-ketamine. However, its role in the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine, which is more potent than (S)-ketamine, is unknown. This study was conducted to examine whether 5-hydroxytryptamine depletion affects the antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine in a chronic social defeat...