Cellular mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of ketamine: role of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors.
Sungho Maeng, Carlos A. Zarate, Jing Du, Robert J Schloesser, Joseph McCammon, Guang Chen, Husseini Manji
Biological Psychiatry February 15, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.05.028 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Interventions | Ketamine MK-801 (dizocilpine) Ro25-6981 NBQX |
| Dose | Subanesthetic doses of ketamine |
| Measures | Learned helplessness test, forced swim test, passive avoidance test |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key points | Subanesthetic ketamine produced acute and sustained antidepressant-like effects in mice without impairing fear memory retention, while MK-801 and Ro25-6981 produced shorter-lasting effects. NBQX pre-treatment attenuated ketamine's behavioral effects and its regulation of hippocampal phosphorylated GluR1 AMPA receptors, leading the authors to propose that NMDA antagonists act by enhancing AMPA relative to NMDA throughput. |
Abstract
Ketamine exerts a robust, rapid, and relatively sustained antidepressant effect in patients with major depression. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the intriguing effects of N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists could lead to novel treatments with a rapid onset of action. The learned helplessness, forced swim, and passive avoidance tests were used to investigate ketamine's behavioral effects in mice. Additional biochemical and behavioral experiments were undertaken to determine whether the antidepressant-like properties of ketamine and other NMDA antagonists involve alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor throughput. Subanesthetic doses of ketamine treatment caused acute and sustained antidepressant-like effects. At these doses, ketamine did not impair fear memory retention. MK-801 (dizocilpine) and Ro25-6981, an NR2B selective antagonist, also exerted antidepressant-like effects; these effects, however, were not sustained as long as those of ketamine. Pre-treatment with NBQX, an AMPA receptor antagonist, attenuated both ketamine-induced antidepressant-like behavior and regulation of hippocampal phosphorylated GluR1 AMPA receptors. NMDA antagonists might exert rapid antidepressant-like effects by enhancing AMPA relative to NMDA throughput in critical neuronal circuits.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| mTOR-Dependent Synapse Formation Underlies the Rapid Antidepressant Effects of NMDA Antagonists Rats | 2010 | Observational study | |
| Activation of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission by Ketamine: A Novel Step in the Pathway from NMDA Receptor Blockade to Dopaminergic and Cognitive Disruptions Associated with the Prefrontal Cortex Conscious rats | 1997 | Dose-response study with microdialysis and behavioral testing | |
| NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites Mice | 2016 | Preclinical study | |
| The dissociative anaesthetics, ketamine and phencyclidine, selectively reduce excitation of central mammalian neurones by N‐methyl‐aspartate Spinal neurons in decerebrate or pentobarbitone-anaesthetized cats and rats | 1983 | Experimental study | |
| R-ketamine: a rapid-onset and sustained antidepressant without psychotomimetic side effects Mice | 2015 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 316
- mTOR-Dependent Synapse Formation Underlies the Rapid Antidepressant Effects of NMDA Antagonists Science August 19, 2010
- NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites Nature April 24, 2016
- Ketamine and Ketamine Metabolite Pharmacology: Insights into Therapeutic Mechanisms Pharmacological Reviews June 26, 2018
- Mechanisms of Ketamine Action as an Antidepressant Molecular Psychiatry March 13, 2018
- A Randomized Add-on Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 2010
and 311 more in the library
Cites 2
- A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 2006
- Activation of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission by Ketamine: A Novel Step in the Pathway from NMDA Receptor Blockade to Dopaminergic and Cognitive Disruptions Associated with the Prefrontal Cortex Journal of Neuroscience April 15, 1997