microRNAs as novel antidepressant targets: converging effects of ketamine and electroconvulsive shock therapy in the rat hippocampus

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013 Sep;16(8):1885-92. doi: 10.1017/S1461145713000448. Epub 2013 May 20.

Abstract

Early-life stress is a main contributory factor to the onset of depression. Treatments remain inadequate and as such, a large unmet medical need for novel therapeutics remains. Impeding advancement is the poor understanding of the molecular pathology. microRNAs (miRNAs) are novel regulators of gene expression. A paucity of information regarding their role in depressive pathology and antidepressant action remains. This study investigated changes to hippocampal miRNA levels induced via early-life stress in Sprague-Dawley rats and whether antidepressant treatments could reverse these changes. Investigated were the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, the rapid acting N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine and electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT). Microarray analysis revealed early-life stress affected the expression of multiple hippocampal miRNAs. Antidepressant treatments reversed some of these effects including a stress-induced change to miR-451. Ketamine and ECT possessed the highest number of common targets suggesting convergence on common pathways. Interestingly all three treatments possessed miR-598-5p as a common target. This demonstrates that changes to hippocampal miRNA expression may represent an important component of stress-induced pathology and antidepressant action may reverse these.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Computational Biology
  • Depression / etiology
  • Depression / therapy*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Electroconvulsive Therapy / methods*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Ketamine / therapeutic use*
  • Male
  • Maternal Deprivation
  • MicroRNAs / drug effects
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Rats

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • MicroRNAs
  • Ketamine