Regulation of glutamate transporter 1 via BDNF-TrkB signaling plays a role in the anti-apoptotic and antidepressant effects of ketamine in chronic unpredictable stress model of depression.

Rationale: Growing evidence suggests that downregulated clearance of glutamate and signaling pathways involving brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor TrkB play a role in morphological changes in the hippocampus of depressed patients. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine is the most attractive antidepressant, although precise mechanisms are unknown.

Objective: In this study, we examined whether hippocampal BDNF-TrkB signaling underlies the antidepressant effects of ketamine via upregulating glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) in rats, subjected to the chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) for 42 days. The rats received a single injection of ketamine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and/or a TrkB inhibitor, K252a (1 μl, 2 mM, intracerebroventicular (i.c.v.)) on day 43. Behavioral tests and brain sample collection were evaluated 24 h later.

Results: The CUS-exposed rats exhibited depression- and anxiety-like behaviors; decreased number of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive (but not NeuN-positive) cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 areas; increased number of cleaved caspase-3-positive astrocytes; reduced spine density; lower ratio of Bcl2 to Bax; and decreased levels of BDNF, phosphorylated cAMP response element binging protein (CREB), GLT-1, and postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) proteins in the hippocampus. Ketamine alleviated the CUS-induced abnormalities. The effects of ketamine were antagonized by pretreatment with K252a.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that regulation of GLT-1 on astrocytes, responsible for 90 % of glutamate reuptake from the synapse, through BDNF-TrkB signaling is involved in mediation of the therapeutic effects of ketamine on behavioral abnormalities and morphological changes in the hippocampus of the CUS-exposed rats.