Nrf2 participates in depressive disorders through an anti-inflammatory mechanism
Abstract
A causative relationship between inflammation and depression is gradually gaining consistency. Because Nrf2 participates in inflammation, we hypothesized that Nrf2 could play a role in depressive disorders. In this study, we have observed that Nrf2 deletion in mice results in: (i) a depressive-like behavior evaluated as an increase in the immobility time in the tail-suspension test and by a decrease in the grooming time in the splash test, (ii) reduced levels of dopamine and serotonin and increased levels of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex, (iii) altered levels of proteins associated to depression such as VEGF and synaptophysin and (iv) microgliosis. Furthermore, treatment of Nrf2 knockout mice with the anti-inflammatory drug rofecoxib reversed their depressive-like behavior, while induction of Nrf2 by sulforaphane, in an inflammatory model of depression elicited by LPS, afforded antidepressant-like effects. In conclusion, our results indicate that chronic inflammation due to a deletion of Nrf2 can lead to a depressive-like phenotype while induction of Nrf2 could become a new and interesting target to develop novel antidepressive drugs.
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Nrf2 could play a role in depressive disorders through its anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
“given the pivotal role of Nrf2 in inflammatory processes (discussed in Section 3.6), Nrf2 could also play a role in depressive disorders through its anti-inflammatory mechanisms [139].”
From Nrf2 and Oxidative Stress: A General Overview of Mechanisms and Implications in Human Disease (2022) · cites this paper as [139]
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- Authors
- Martín-de-Saavedra, M. D., Budni, J., Cunha, M. P., Gómez-Rangel, V., Lorrio, S., del Barrio, L., Lastres-Becker, I., Parada, E., Tordera, R. M., Rodrigues, A. L. S., Cuadrado, A., & López, M. G.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR)
- Hospital Universitario La Paz (ES)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES)
- Universidad de Navarra (ES)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Corresponding author
- López, Manuela G.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-10
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 2010-2022
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2065520804
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- Nrf2, depression, inflammation, anti-inflammatory mechanism, Nrf2 knockout mice, rofecoxib, sulforaphane, lipopolysaccharide, microglial activation, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, vascular endothelial growth factor, synaptophysin, prefrontal cortex, antidepressant targets
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Behavior, Animal, Depressive Disorder, Dopamine, Inflammation, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neuronal Plasticity, Serotonin, Signal Transduction, Mice, Knockout, NF-E2-Related Factor 2, Mice
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