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Ji-Chun Zhang

7 papers in the library · 786 citations · publishing 2016-2025

Papers

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Microglial BDNF modulates arketamine's antidepressant-like effects through cortico-accumbal pathways.

Science Advances July 11, 2025 Lujuan He, Xuenan Wang, Shilin Luo et al. 8 citations

Arketamine, the (R)-enantiomer of (R,S)-ketamine, shows even greater rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in rodent models compared to esketamine, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we used the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) model to investigate how arketamine exerts its antidepressant-like effects. We found that activating cAMP response element-binding...

Hippocampal PACAP signaling activation triggers a rapid antidepressant response.

Military Medical Research July 23, 2024 Hai-Lou Zhang, Yan Sun, Zhang-Jie Wu et al. 24 citations

The development of ketamine-like rapid antidepressants holds promise for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of depression, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Implicated in depression regulation, the neuropeptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is investigated here to examine its role in mediating the rapid antidepressant response. The...

Arketamine, a new rapid-acting antidepressant: A historical review and future directions

Neuropharmacology August 14, 2022 Ji-Chun Zhang, Wei Yao, Kenji Hashimoto 88 citations

The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine causes rapid onset and sustained antidepressant actions in treatment-resistant patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. (R,S)-ketamine is a racemic mixture consisting of (R)-ketamine (or arketamine) and (S)-ketamine (or...

Microglial ERK-NRBP1-CREB-BDNF signaling in sustained antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine

Molecular Psychiatry November 24, 2021 W. Yao, Qianqian Cao, Shilin Luo et al. 208 citations

(R,S)-ketamine elicits rapid-acting and sustained antidepressant actions in treatment-resistant patients with depression. (R)-ketamine produces longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine in rodents; however, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying antidepressant actions of (R)-ketamine remain unknown. Using isobaric Tag for Relative and Absolute Quantification, we identified...

Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin-Independent Antidepressant Effects of (R)-Ketamine in a Social Defeat Stress Model.

Biological Psychiatry 2018 Chun Yang, Q. Ren, Y. Qu et al. 249 citations

BACKGROUND The role of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling in the antidepressant effects of ketamine is controversial. In addition to mTOR, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is a key signaling molecule in prominent pathways that regulate protein synthesis. (R)-Ketamine has a greater potency and longer-lasting antidepressant effects than (S)-ketamine. Here we...

Rapid and Sustained Antidepressant Action of the mGlu2/3 Receptor Antagonist MGS0039 in the Social Defeat Stress Model: Comparison with Ketamine

The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology October 7, 2016 Chao Dong, Ji-Chun Zhang, Wei Yao et al. 116 citations

Background: Similar to the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine, the metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptor antagonist, MGS0039, shows antidepressant effects. However, there are no reports comparing these 2 compounds in the social defeat stress model of depression. Methods: We examined the effects of MGS0039 (1 mg/kg) and ketamine (10 mg/kg) on depression-like behavior in susceptible...

Comparison of R-ketamine and rapastinel antidepressant effects in the social defeat stress model of depression

Psychopharmacology August 3, 2016 Bangkun Yang, Ji-Chun Zhang, Mei Han et al. 93 citations

RATIONALE: The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, including R-ketamine and rapastinel (formerly GLYX-13), show rapid antidepressant effects in animal models of depression. OBJECTIVE: We compared the rapid and sustained antidepressant effects of R-ketamine and rapastinel in the social defeat stress model. RESULTS: In the tail suspension and forced swimming tests, R-ketamine (10...