Effect of Chronic Inescapable Footshock and Antidepressant Treatment on BDNF/TrkB Levels in Rat Hippocampus

Authors

  • Ritabrata Banerjee
  • Anup K. Ghosh
  • Balaram Ghosh
  • Amal C. Mondal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37591/rrjon.v2i2.936

Abstract

Depression is a major health problem globally. Chronic stress arising out of life style or social factors may trigger depression, the molecular basis of which has been attributed to alterations of brain chemicals like neurotrophins. Among these neurotrophins, brain-derived neurotrophic factor regulates many physiological functions in the brain, alteration of which has been well associated with the pathogenesis of depression. Stress-induced helplessness in rodents constitutes a well-defined model to investigate neurobiological mechanism of depression. In the present investigation, using this model, we investigated the correlation between stress-induced helplessness and BDNF, its receptor TrkB with two of its principal downstream signaling molecules ERK1,2 and Akt. BDNF level was measured by sandwich ELISA and its cognate receptor TrkB, together with downstream molecules ERK1,2 and Akt, was assayed by western blot. Chronic stressed rats exhibited down regulation of BDNF and TrkB along with ERK1,2 and Akt. This parallels the decreased escape behavior. The antidepressant drug Fluxetine hydrochloride (FLX)-treated rats exhibited significant increase in escape behavior in stress-induced helplessness which is correlated with restoration of BDNF, its receptor TrkB and expression of its downstream signaling molecules ERK1,2 and Akt. This supports the notion that pharmacological restoration of BDNF and its receptor TrkB may be of therapeutic value for depression.

 

Keywords: Neurotrophin, BDNF, ERK1,2, Akt, Fluoxetine-hydrochloride

Downloads

Published

2019-03-25

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Research Article

License

Declaration and Copyright Transfer Form

(to be completed by authors)

I/ We, the undersigned author(s) of the submitted manuscript, hereby declare, that the above manuscript which is submitted for publication in the STM Journals(s), is not published already in part or whole (except in the form of abstract) in any journal or magazine for private or public circulation, and, is not under consideration of publication elsewhere.

  • I/We will not withdraw the manuscript after 1 week of submission as I have read the Author Guidelines and will adhere to the guidelines.
  • I/We Author(s ) have niether given nor will give this manuscript elsewhere for publishing after submitting in STM Journal(s).
  • I/ We have read the original version of the manuscript and am/ are responsible for the thought contents embodied in it. The work dealt in the manuscript is my/ our own, and my/ our individual contribution to this work is significant enough to qualify for authorship.
  •  I/We also agree to the authorship of the article in the following order:

Author’s name                                    

 

1. ________________

2. ________________

3. ________________

4. ________________

 

We  Author(s) tick this box and would request you to consider it as our signature as we agree to the terms of this Copyright Notice, which will apply to this submission if and when it is published by this journal.