Cited by 624Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ResearchTreatment of Major DepressionNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Antidepressant Actions of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

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Covington, Herbert E., Maze, Ian, LaPlant, Quincey C., Vialou, Vincent F., Ohnishi, Yoshinori N., Berton, Olivier, Fass, Dan M., Renthal, William +8 more·2009·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Persistent symptoms of depression suggest the involvement of stable molecular adaptations in brain, which may be reflected at the level of chromatin remodeling. We find that chronic social defeat stress in mice causes a transient decrease, followed by a persistent increase, in levels of acetylated histone H3 in the nucleus accumbens, an important limbic brain region. This persistent increase in H3 acetylation is associated with decreased levels of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) in the nucleus accumbens. Similar effects were observed in the nucleus accumbens of depressed humans studied postmortem. These changes in H3 acetylation and HDAC2 expression mediate long-lasting positive neuronal adaptations, since infusion of HDAC inhibitors into the nucleus accumbens, which increases histone acetylation, exerts robust antidepressant-like effects in the social defeat paradigm and other behavioral assays. HDAC inhibitor [ N -(2-aminophenyl)-4-[ N -(pyridine-3-ylmethoxy-carbonyl)aminomethyl]benzamide (MS-275)] infusion also reverses the effects of chronic defeat stress on global patterns of gene expression in the nucleus accumbens, as determined by microarray analysis, with striking similarities to the effects of the standard antidepressant fluoxetine. Stress-regulated genes whose expression is normalized selectively by MS-275 may provide promising targets for the future development of novel antidepressant treatments. Together, these findings provide new insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms of depression and antidepressant action, and support the antidepressant potential of HDAC inhibitors and perhaps other agents that act at the level of chromatin structure.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.1758-09.2009

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63 of 63 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Case/control differences in histone acetylation and methylation have been observed in depression.

    “Like with DNAm, case/control differences in depression have been observed.”

    From Epigenetics and depression (2019) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Results section reports significantly higher histone H3 acetylation in postmortem nucleus accumbens tissue from depressed individuals than from matched controls. It does not report a depression case/control difference in histone methylation; the copy’s reference to demethylation concerns a cited study of antidepressant medications. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • HDAC inhibitors such as valproic acid and sodium butyrate can restore normal gene expression in psychiatric conditions.

    “HDAC inhibitors such as valproic acid and sodium butyrate can restore normal gene expression in psychiatric conditions”

    From The clinical use of epigenetics in psychiatry: a narrative review of epigenetic mechanisms, key candidate genes, and precision psychiatry (2025) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Results section reports that the HDAC inhibitor MS-275 generally reversed stress-induced gene-expression changes in the nucleus accumbens of mice. It does not show that valproic acid or sodium butyrate restored gene expression, and the finding is limited to a mouse model of depression rather than psychiatric conditions generally; page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Molecular studies have identified similarities in chromatin remodeling and transcriptional activation between resilient and antidepressant-treated mice, providing new information about therapeutic targets.

    “In addition, molecular studies have identified similarities in chromatin remodeling29,30 and transcriptional activation31 between resilient and antidepressant-treated mice, providing new information about therapeutic targets.”

    From A standardized protocol for repeated social defeat stress in mice (2011) · cites this paper as [29]

    The Abstract and Discussion describe chromatin changes after social defeat and antidepressant-like effects of HDAC inhibition, supporting a link between chromatin remodeling and potential treatments. But the paper does not compare resilient mice with antidepressant-treated mice; the Discussion says fluoxetine did not produce the H3 acetylation or HDAC2 changes associated with HDAC inhibition. Its reported similarity is in gene-expression effects of two treatments, not between resilient and treated mice (Results, page unavailable). (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • HDAC2 was downregulated in the nucleus accumbens of patients with MDD compared with controls.

    “Accordingly, a downregulation of HDAC2 was observed in these patients.”

    From Epigenetics and depression (2019) · cites this paper as [19]

  • Global acetylation of H3K14ac was increased in the nucleus accumbens in postmortem tissue of patients with MDD compared with psychiatrically healthy controls.

    “Global acetylation of the histone 3 at lysine 14 (H3K14ac), a modification shown to be dynamically regulated by social defeat in rodent models in various brain regions, 17 , 18 was increased in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) taken from postmortem tissue of patients with MDD vs psychiatrically healthy controls.”

    From Epigenetics and depression (2019) · cites this paper as [19]

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Authors
Covington, H. E., Maze, I., LaPlant, Q. C., Vialou, V. F., Ohnishi, Y. N., Berton, O., Fass, D. M., Renthal, W., Rush, A. J., Wu, E. Y., Ghose, S., Krishnan, V., Russo, S. J., Tamminga, C., Haggarty, S. J., & Nestler, E. J.
Affiliations
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
  • Broad Institute (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2009-09-16
Volume
29
Issue
37
Pages
11451-11460
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2028679671
Cited by
624
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 56
FWCI
20.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • AstraZeneca
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH051399, P50MH066172)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA028301)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
histone deacetylase inhibitors, antidepressant mechanism, depression, chronic social defeat stress, histone H3 acetylation, HDAC2, nucleus accumbens, chromatin remodeling, entinostat, gene expression regulation, fluoxetine, postmortem brain
MeSH terms
Vorinostat, Analysis of Variance, Animals, Antidepressive Agents, Behavior, Animal, Benzamides, Depression, Disease Models, Animal, Dominance-Subordination, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Enzyme Inhibitors, Fluoxetine, Food Preferences, Histone Deacetylases, Histones, Humans, Hydroxamic Acids, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Models, Biological, Nucleus Accumbens, Postmortem Changes, Pyridines, Repressor Proteins, RNA, Messenger, Sucrose, Sweetening Agents, Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Gene Expression Profiling, Mice, Histone Deacetylase 2, Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

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