Article
Neurosciences
Wen-Jing Ren, Ya-Fei Zhao, Jie Li, Patrizia Rubini, Zeng-Qiang Yuan, Yong Tang, Peter Illes
Summary: This study found that in a mouse model of major depressive disorder, depression-like behavior can be aggravated by microinjecting the P2X7R agonist ATP or its analog dibenzoyl-ATP into the medial prefrontal cortex, and this effect can be reversed by the P2X7R antagonist JNJ-47965567.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Willy Jaya Suento, Kazuo Kunisawa, Bolati Wulaer, Aika Kosuge, Tsubasa Iida, Suwako Fujigaki, Hidetsugu Fujigaki, Yasuko Yamamoto, Andi Jayalangkara Tanra, Kuniaki Saito, Akihiro Mouri, Toshitaka Nabeshima
Summary: In this study, it was found that miR-874-3p may play an important role in preventing LPS-induced depression-like behavior through inhibition of IDO1 expression, which could potentially serve as a novel target for the treatment of MDD.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Sidney Yap, Jessica Luki, Christopher C. Hanstock, Peter Seres, Tami Shandro, Sarah E. C. Hanstock, Alynna Lirette, Huaying (Helen) Zhao, Katherine J. Aitchison, Jean-Michel Le Melledo
Summary: The study found that perimenopause is associated with decreases in MPFC Glu levels, which may contribute to the increased risk of experiencing depression during this period. Further research should focus on assessing MPFC Glu levels in perimenopausal women suffering from MD.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Geoffrey W. Diehl, A. David Redish
Summary: Decision-making requires different aspects of information and involves multiple cognitive processes. The rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is believed to play a central role in these abilities. Previous studies on mPFC function have yielded controversial results, but this study with rats performing an economic decision task revealed four distinct functional domains within mPFC, closely related to anatomical subregions. Dorsal mPFC regions were more involved in processing active decisions, while ventral regions were more engaged in motivational factors.
Article
Biology
Brandon W. Hughes, Benjamin M. Siemsen, Evgeny Tsvetkov, Stefano Berto, Jaswinder Kumar, Rebecca G. Cornbrooks, Rose Marie Akiki, Jennifer Y. Cho, Jordan S. Carter, Kirsten K. Snyder, Ahlem Assali, Michael D. Scofield, Christopher W. Cowan, Makoto Taniguchi, Kate M. Wassum
Summary: Chronic stress can lead to reward system deficits and neural circuit hypofunction in the medial prefrontal cortex. The neuronal activity-regulated transcription factor, NPAS4, is regulated by chronic social defeat stress and plays a role in sucrose preference and natural reward motivation. NPAS4 also affects excitatory synaptic transmission and is linked to genes related to glutamatergic synapses and ribosomal function.
Article
Neurosciences
Christina M. Mecca, Dongman Chao, Guoliang Yu, Yin Feng, Ian Segel, Zhiyong Zhang, Dianise M. Rodriguez-Garcia, Christopher P. Pawela, Cecilia J. Hillard, Quinn H. Hogan, Bin Pan
Summary: The study showed that alterations in endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are related to the development of depression after pain in rats with traumatic neuropathy (SNI). This suggests a potential mechanism for pain-induced depression involving excessive release of 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and loss of CB1R function leading to excessive GABA release in the mPFC.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yan-xin Che, Xiao-yan Jin, Rong-hua Xiao, Ming Zhang, Xiao-hui Ma, Fei Guo, Yang Li
Summary: In this study, the antidepressant effects of a candidate antidepressant M2 were investigated through experiments involving brain slice recordings and protein expression analysis. The results showed that M2 produced rapid antidepressant effects in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by enhancing neurotransmission through dopamine D2 receptor-mediated mechanisms.
ACTA PHARMACOLOGICA SINICA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Cong-Cong Fu, Xin-Yi Zhang, Liu Xu, Hui-Xian Huang, Shuang Xu, Qiao-Qi Wu, Zhen Wang, Xi Gu, Li-Fang Lin, Song Lin, Ying-Ying Fang, Xiong Cao, Xuemin Wang
Summary: This study suggests that dysregulation of neuronal PPAR gamma in the medial prefrontal cortex may contribute to an increased risk for depression in obese populations.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Sujin Chae, Jiso Hong, Keunsoo Kang, Anna Shin, Dae-Gun Kim, Sinjeong Lee, Moo-young Kim, Inkyung Jung, Daesoo Kim
Summary: Research has shown that stressed mice exhibit asymmetric gene expression between the medial prefrontal cortices, with differences in cortical asymmetry between stressed mice with depressed social activity and resilient mice with normal behavior. Silencing the CTGF gene leads to stress-resistant behavior, while overexpressing CTGF in the right mPFC induces social avoidance.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Christina R. Merritt, Ashley E. Smith, Kamil Khanipov, George Golovko, Kelly T. Dineley, Noelle C. Anastasio, Kathryn A. Cunningham
Summary: The lack of FDA-approved medications for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD) has contributed to the increase in drug overdose deaths involving cocaine. This study used next-generation sequencing to identify specific genes associated with cue-evoked cocaine-seeking behavior in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats. The findings provide potential candidates for future pharmacotherapeutics aimed at maintaining abstinence in CUD.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Ji Hyeong Baek, Hyeonwi Son, Jae Soon Kang, Dae Young Yoo, Hye Jin Chung, Dong Kun Lee, Hyun Joon Kim
Summary: This study found that long-term hyperglycemia may lead to disturbances in glutamatergic signaling and neural damages, causing depressive behaviors. Insulin treatment can improve blood glucose levels, but has limited effects on depressive-like behaviors. The changes induced by hyperglycemia in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are difficult to reverse with insulin treatment alone.
Article
Cell Biology
Christian M. Wood, Laith Alexander, Johan Alsio, Andrea M. Santangelo, Lauren McIver, Gemma J. Cockcroft, Angela C. Roberts
Summary: Poor outcomes are common in anxiety and depression, thus understanding the neural circuits underlying symptoms and treatment responses is important. By using a chemogenetics strategy involving designer receptors and drugs, the scACC-25 neural circuits related to anhedonia and anxiety in marmosets were identified. Targeting these circuits with the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine may lead to new treatment strategies.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Paula Kaanders, Hamed Nili, Jill X. O'Reilly, Laurence Hunt
Summary: In this study using fMRI, researchers investigate the neural basis of information sampling in economic choice. The activity of the medial frontal cortex (MFC) was found to predict further information sampling, while a distributed network of regions across the prefrontal cortex encoded key features of the sampled information.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Psychology
Ming Li
Summary: Maternal behavior is a socially adaptive behavior that is influenced by the changing characteristics of the young and the mother's psychophysiological state. This article focuses on the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in regulating the postpartum maternal behavior cycle in rats. A triadic model is proposed, which suggests that the mPFC, as an executive control system, organizes different patterns of maternal responses in different stages of postpartum through its interactions with the maternal excitatory approach system and the maternal inhibitory avoidance system. Dopamine and serotonin are hypothesized to regulate maternal behavior in all three neural systems. This model provides a framework for understanding the dynamic changes in postpartum maternal behavior and has implications for studying human parental behavior.
PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
S. F. A. Axelsson, N. K. Horst, Naotaka Horiguchi, A. C. Roberts, T. W. Robbins
Summary: Studies have shown the significant role of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) in higher order cognitive functions, with inactivation causing disruption in sequencing accuracy. Dopamine and serotonergic blockade had contrasting effects on performance, with dopamine producing error perseveration and serotonin significantly impairing accuracy.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Wenjie Zheng, Gaofeng Wang, Zhe Zhang, Zhenguo Wang, Ke Ma
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2020)
Review
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Xiansu Chi, Hongxiu Zhang, Shuo Zhang, Ke Ma
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Xin Wang, Hongxiu Zhang, Xianling Cao, Wei Shi, Xiaoyu Zhou, Qian Chen, Ke Ma
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2020)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yanting Lu, Tao An, Hu Tian, Xueqin Gao, Furong Wang, Shijun Wang, Ke Ma
Summary: The comorbidity between diabetes and depression has been confirmed by studies, leading to poorer outcomes in both conditions. The development of novel therapeutic drugs is crucial, and traditional Chinese medicine and natural products show potential in ameliorating this association.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Qiang Zhang, Lijuan Zhang, Yu Liu, Xu Tian, Xiuyang Li, Bingbing Han, Yanan Zhang, Zhichun Wu, Huayun Yu, Haijun Zhao, Shijun Wang, Ke Ma, Yuan Wang
Summary: This paper systematically introduces clinical and experimental studies of Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction (THD) in the treatment of ischaemic stroke (IS), summarising its clinical application, pharmacological mechanisms, and active components. It explores the key pathways in the treatment of IS through network pharmacology analyses and speculates on its underlying mechanisms, which is significant for the secondary development of this classic prescription and research and development of new drugs.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Honglei Li, Jiansheng Huang, Caihong Liu, Zhentao Zhang, Kuiquan Song, Ke Ma, Connor W. Dennewitz, Shijun Wang
Summary: A reliable and reproducible model of heart failure post-myocardial infarction in rats without the need of a ventilator or exteriorization of the heart was developed in this study. This new model shows smaller variations in infarct size and cardiac fibrosis area, making it useful for studying potential mechanisms of myocardial infarction and heart failure. This new method may also be valuable for developing new drugs for the treatment of myocardial infarction and heart failure in rats using pharmacological strategies.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Ke Ma, Zulqarnain Baloch, Fengbiao Mao
EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Hongxiu Zhang, Xiaoyan Xue, Jin Pan, Xiaobin Song, Xing Chang, Qiancheng Mao, Yanting Lu, Haijun Zhao, Yuan Wang, Xiansu Chi, Shijun Wang, Ke Ma
Summary: The study identified the chemical composition and active ingredients of the Lily Bulb and Rehmannia Decoction (LBRD) and found that it has significant effects in treating depression by regulating neurotransmitters, inflammatory cytokines, and miRNA/mRNA expression.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Hua Tian, Tong Wang, Yumei Zhang, Tianqi Pan, Shutong Yao, Huayun Yu, Ke Ma, Shijun Wang
Summary: This study found that Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) protected macrophages from oxLDL-induced apoptosis mediated by ER stress-CHOP through promoting autophagy, which may enhance the stability of atherosclerotic plaques.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiaoyan Xue, Jin Pan, Hongxiu Zhang, Yanting Lu, Qiancheng Mao, Ke Ma
Summary: Baihe Dihuang Decoction (LBRD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription with nourishing yin and clearing heat properties. This study found that LBRD can ameliorate GABA deficits in depression by regulating miRNA-144-3p mediated GABA synthesis and release, improving the SST-positive neuron deficits.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiansu Chi, Xiaoyan Xue, Jin Pan, Jiang Wu, Huishan Shi, Yong Wang, Yanting Lu, Zhe Zhang, Ke Ma
Summary: This study investigated the metabolic mechanism of the traditional Chinese medicine formula LBRD in treating depression using network pharmacology and metabolomics. The results showed that LBRD can increase neurotransmitters, attenuate proinflammatory cytokines, and regulate glycerophospholipid metabolism and glutamatergic synapse, thereby improving depressive symptoms.
PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Reproductive Biology
Xin Wang, Shiyuan Wang, Shujuan Yao, Wei Shi, Ke Ma
Summary: This study analyzed the clinical features, pathology, and molecular biology characteristics of ovarian malignant mesoderm mixed tumor (OMMMT) to provide reference for its treatment and prognosis. The results showed that optimal ovarian tumor cell debulking surgery (OOTCDS) and platinum-based chemotherapy regimens could improve the prognosis of OMMMT. Targeted therapy might be a new research direction in the future. The toxicity of new drugs on elderly patients needs to be considered since they are the majority in OMMMT cases.
JOURNAL OF OVARIAN RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Pei-Wei Su, Zhe Zhai, Tong Wang, Ya-Nan Zhang, Yuan Wang, Ke Ma, Bing-Bing Han, Zhi-Chun Wu, Hua-Yun Yu, Hai-Jun Zhao, Shi-Jun Wang
Summary: Ischemic stroke is a serious disease, and autophagy plays a crucial role in its occurrence and development. The autophagy of astrocytes is related to pathological mechanisms and may have a protective effect on neurons. Studying astrocytic autophagy can provide new perspectives and strategies for the treatment of ischemic stroke.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Zhe Zhai, Pei-Wei Su, Lan-ying Ma, Hui Yang, Tong Wang, Zheng-Gen Fei, Ya-Nan Zhang, Yuan Wang, Ke Ma, Bing-Bing Han, Zhi-Chun Wu, Hua-Yun Yu, Hai-Jun Zhao
Summary: Ischemic stroke has a severe impact on human health. The Gut-Brain axis, a bidirectional connection between the central nervous system and the enteric system, plays a crucial role in the occurrence and development of ischemic stroke. Changes in the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal hormones caused by ischemic stroke can affect the disease development. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in treating ischemic stroke by improving the gut microbiota and regulating gastrointestinal hormones. This review summarizes the Chinese medicines that regulate the Gut-Brain axis for therapeutic effects in cerebral ischemia and explores the underlying mechanisms.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Xin Wang, Yaxin Shi, Li Xu, Zilu Wang, Yanfei Wang, Wei Shi, Ke Ma
Summary: Endometriosis, known as Zheng Jia in traditional Chinese medicine, is treated with Guizhi Fuling Pills, which promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. Clinical research has shown that the main mechanisms of action of Guizhi Fuling Pills in treating endometriosis include analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and improvement of hemodynamics effects, with active compounds such as paeonol, pachymic acid, and cinnamaldehyde.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2021)