期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2016
卷号：113
期号：32
页码：E4726-E4735
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1609198113
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：The neuropeptide galanin coexists in rat brain with serotonin in the dorsal raphe nucleus and with noradrenaline in the locus coeruleus (LC), and it has been suggested to be involved in depression. We studied rats exposed to chronic mild stress (CMS), a rodent model of depression. As expected, these rats showed several endophenotypes relevant to depression-like behavior compared with controls. All these endophenotypes were normalized after administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The transcripts for galanin and two of its receptors, galanin receptor 1 (GALR1) and GALR2, were analyzed with quantitative real-time PCR using laser capture microdissection in the following brain regions: the hippocampal formation, LC, and ventral periaqueductal gray (vPAG). Only Galr1 mRNA levels were significantly increased, and only in the latter region. After knocking down Galr1 in the vPAG with an siRNA technique, all parameters of the depressive behavioral phenotype were similar to controls. Thus, the depression-like behavior in rats exposed to CMS is likely related to an elevated expression of Galr1 in the vPAG, suggesting that a GALR1 antagonist could have antidepressant effects.
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