Effects of doxepin on gene expressions of Bcl-2 family, TNF-α, MAP kinase 14, and Akt1 in the hippocampus of rats exposed to stress.

Stress is one of the effective factors in the development of depressive disorders that performs some parts of its effects by affecting hippocampus. Since doxepin has been shown to have neuroprotective effects, in this study, we focused on the effects of doxepin on the expression of involved genes in neuronal survival and plasticity in the rat hippocampus following chronic stress. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups, the control, the stress, the stress-doxepin 1 mg/kg and the stress-doxepin 5 mg/kg, respectively.

Effects of doxepin on brain-derived neurotrophic factor, tumor necrosis factor alpha, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, and AKT1 genes expression in rat hippocampus.

Background: It has been suggested that doxepin in addition to enhancement of noradrenaline and serotonin levels may have neuroprotective effects. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of doxepin on gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), and serine-threonine protein kinase AKT1 in rat hippocampus.

Materials And Methods: Male rats were divided randomly into three groups: Control, doxepin 1 mg/kg, and doxepin 5 mg/kg.