Neurobiology of Disease
September 1, 2024
Lijia Chang, Yan Wei, Youge Qu et al.
22 citations
Arketamine, the (R)-enantiomer of ketamine, exhibits antidepressant-like effects in mice, though the precise molecular mechanisms remain elusive. It has been shown to reduce splenomegaly and depression-like behaviors in the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) model of depression. This study investigated whether the spleen contributes to the antidepressant-like effects of arketamine in the CSDS...
Neuropharmacology
May 1, 2023
Xiayun Wan, Akifumi Eguchi, Lijia Chang et al.
Patients with depression exhibit reduced bone mineral density (BMD). We previously reported that the new antidepressant arketamine improved the reduced BMD seen in chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) susceptible mice and ovariectomized mice. Considering the role of the gut microbiota in maintaining bone health, the current study investigated whether the gut microbiota, along with metabolites...
Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
December 5, 2022
Youge Qu, Lijia Chang, Li Ma et al.
42 citations
Classical psychedelics with 5-hydroxytryptamine-2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonism have rapid antidepressant actions in patients with depression. However, there is an ongoing debate over the role of 5-HT2AR in the antidepressant-like actions of psychedelics. In this study, we compared the effects of DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: a hallucinogenic psychedelic drug with potent 5-HT2AR agonism),...
Brain Research Bulletin
February 1, 2022
Yan Wei, Tong Wang, Lei Liao et al.
The spleen, an important tissue for the immune system, acts as a filter for blood within the immune system. Accumulating evidence suggests that the spleen affects a number of brain functions in health and diseases via immune modulation. Systemic inflammation or chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) can cause splenomegaly in rodents. Interestingly, the new antidepressant arketamine could normalize...
Molecular Psychiatry
May 7, 2021
Wei Yan, Lijia Chang, Kenji Hashimoto
242 citations
The discovery of robust antidepressant actions exerted by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine has been a crucial breakthrough in mood disorder research. (R,S)-ketamine is a racemic mixture of equal amounts of (R)-ketamine (arketamine) and (S)-ketamine (esketamine). In 2019, an esketamine nasal spray from Johnson & Johnson was approved in the United States of...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
February 5, 2020
Yan Wei, Lijia Chang, Kenji Hashimoto
157 citations
The robust antidepressant effects of (R,S)-ketamine are among the most important discoveries in mood research over the last half century. Off-label use of (R,S)-ketamine, which is an equal mixture of (R)-ketamine and (S)-ketamine, has become especially popular in the United States (US) for treatment-resistant depression. On March 5, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved an...
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...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
August 28, 2019
Jiancheng Zhang, Youge Qu, Lijia Chang et al.
56 citations
BACKGROUND: A recent study demonstrated that spine formation rates by ketamine in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were not altered at 3-6 h following a single injection, but were markedly altered at 12-24 h. Here, we investigated the acute (3 h post-treatment) effects of (R)-ketamine in the decreased spine density in the medial PFC (mPFC) and hippocampus in susceptible mice after chronic social...
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....