Differential effects of antidepressants on glucocorticoid receptors in human primary blood cells and human monocytic U-937 cells.

A number of data support the assumption that antidepressants (ADs) normalize the altered function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system involved in the pathophysiology of depressive disorder via direct effects on glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). In the present study, we examined the tricyclic ADs desipramine (DESI) and imipramine (IMI), the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor maprotiline (MAPRO), and the noradrenergic and specific serotonergic AD (NaSSA) mirtazapine (MIR) for their effects on GR expression in primary human leukocytes and in monocytic U-937 cells. Semiquantitative RT-PCR indicated that the ADs exert differential effects on GR-mRNA levels in both primary human leukocytes and U-937 cells: whereas MAPRO and IMI did not induce pronounced changes in GR-mRNA levels, DESI and MIR significantly decreased the amounts of GR-mRNA in both cell systems.