Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
07:52
Remote Limb Ischemic Preconditioning: A Neuroprotective Technique in Rodents
Published on: June 2, 2015
12.4K
Astrocytes in rapid ketamine antidepressant action
Matjaž Stenovec1, Baoman Li2, Alexei Verkhratsky3
1Celica BIOMEDICAL, Tehnološki Park 24, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology-Molecular Cell Physiology, Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Neuropharmacology
|May 29, 2020
Summary
Ketamine rapidly alleviates depression by affecting astrocytes, the brain's support cells. It alters their signaling, potassium buffering, and membrane structure, contributing to its antidepressant effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant, but its mechanisms are unclear.
- Ketamine targets NMDARs and also affects astroglia, crucial for CNS homeostasis and psychiatric diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effects of ketamine on astroglial function.
- To elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying ketamine's antidepressant action.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies on ketamine's impact on astrocyte intracellular cAMP and calcium signaling.
- Analysis of ketamine's effects on astroglial potassium buffering and membrane cholesterol redistribution.
Main Results:
- Ketamine elevates astrocyte cAMP, attenuates calcium signaling, and stabilizes vesicle fusion.
- Ketamine impairs astroglial potassium buffering and redistributes plasmalemmal cholesterol in astrocytes.
Conclusions:
- Ketamine's antidepressant effects involve modulation of astroglial functions, including signaling, ion homeostasis, and membrane properties.
- Astroglial mechanisms are key contributors to ketamine's rapid and potent antidepressant actions.
