Recent studies have shown that a 9-hour fast in mice reduces the amount of time spent immobile in the forced swimming test. However, whether 9-hour fasting has therapeutic effects in female mice with depressive symptoms has not been established. Therefore, in this study, we simulated perimenopausal depression via an ovariectomy in mice, and subjected them to a single 9-hour fasting 7 days later.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA major type of serious mood disorder, depression is currently a widespread and easily overlooked psychological illness. With the low side effects of natural products in the treatment of diseases becoming the pursuit of new antidepressants, natural Chinese medicine products have been paid more and more attention for their unique efficacy in improving depression. In a view from the current study, the positive antidepressant effects of berberine are encouraging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dysfunction of chondrocytes is thought to play a role in the initiation and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Brucine possesses wide pharmacological activities. But the protective mechanism of the brucine on chondrocytes remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF5-HT plays a crucial role in the progress and adjustment of pain both centrally and peripherally. The therapeutic action of the 5-HT receptors` agonist and antagonist in neuropathic pain have been widely reported in many studies. However, the specific roles of 5-HT subtype receptors have not been reviewed comprehensively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe regulation of insulin on depression and depression-like behaviour has been widely reported. Insulin and activation of its receptor can promote learning and memory, affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) balance, regulate the secretion of neurotrophic factors and neurotransmitters, interact with gastrointestinal microbiome, exert neuroprotective effects and have an impact on depression. However, the role of insulin on depression remains largely unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin is well acknowledged as an anorexigenic hormone that plays an important role in feeding control. Hypothalamic GABA system plays a significant role in leptin regulation on feeding and metabolism control. However, the pharmacological relationship of leptin and GABA receptor is still obscure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural compounds are highly effective anticancer chemotherapeutic agents, and the targets of plant-derived anticancer agents have been widely reported. In this review, we focus on the main signaling pathways of apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis that are regulated by polyphenols, alkaloids, saponins, and polysaccharides. Alkaloids primarily affect apoptosis-related pathways, while polysaccharides primarily target pathways related to proliferation, invasion, and metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe neuroimmune system plays a crucial role in the regulation of mood disorders. Moreover, recent studies show that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family, is a key regulator in the neuroimmune axis. However, the potential mechanism of BDNF action in the neuroimmune axis' regulation of mood disorders remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with the syndrome of cognitive and functional decline. Pharmacotherapy has always been in a dominant position for the treatment of AD. However, in most cases, drug therapy is accompanied with clinical delays when older adults have suffered from cognitive decline in episodic memory, working memory, and executive function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, most of evidence shows that caloric restriction could induce antidepressant-like effects in animal model of depression. Based on studies of the brain-gut axis, some signal pathways were common between the control of caloric restriction and depression. However, the specific mechanism of the antidepressant-like effects induced by caloric restriction remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA range of evidence implicates the neuropeptide substance P (SP), a member of the tachykinin family, in emotional behavior, anxiety, pain, and inflammation. Recently, SP has been implicated in susceptibility to seizures, for which a potential proconvulsant role was indicated. Indeed, antagonists of a specific SP receptor, neurokinin-1 receptor, were found to attenuate kainic acid (KA)-induced seizure activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent evidence shows that ghrelin plays an important role in depression. However, it was little known whether ghrelin produces antidepressant-like effect in the ovariectomized mice. The present study was aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects of the ghrelin in ovariectomized mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerotonin (5-HT) is a critical neurotransmitter in the control of autonomic functions. 5-HT(3) receptors participate in vagal afferent feedback to decrease food intake and regulate cardiovascular reflexes; however, the phenotype of the solitary tract nucleus (NTS) neurons involved is not known. A(2)/C(2) catecholamine (CA) neurons in the NTS are directly activated by visceral afferents and are important for the control of food intake and cardiovascular function, making them good candidates to respond to and mediate the effects of serotonin at the level of the NTS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrainstem A2/C2 catecholamine (CA) neurons in the solitary tract nucleus (NTS) are thought to play an important role in the control of food intake and other homeostatic functions. We have previously demonstrated that these neurons, which send extensive projections to brain regions involved in the regulation of appetite, are strongly and directly activated by solitary tract (ST) visceral afferents. Ghrelin, a potent orexigenic peptide released from the stomach, is proposed to act in part through modulating NTS CA neurons but the underlying cellular mechanisms are unknown.
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