Antidepressant drugs modulate growth factors in cultured cells

Andreas W Henkel^* , Wolfgang Sperling^* , Andrea Rotter , Udo Reulbach , Cornelia Reichardt , Dominikus Bönsch , Juan M Maler , Johannes Kornhuber and Jens Wiltfang

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Pharmacology 2008, 8:6doi:10.1186/1471-2210-8-6


Published:	4 March 2008

Abstract

Background

Different classes of antidepressant drugs are used as a treatment for depression by activating the catecholinergic system. In addition, depression has been associated with decrease of growth factors, which causes insufficient axonal sprouting and reduced neuronal damage repair. In this study, antidepressant treatments are analyzed in a cell culture system, to study the modulation of growth factors.

Results

We quantified the transcription of several growth factors in three cell lines after application of antidepressant drugs by real time polymerase chain reaction. Antidepressant drugs counteracted against phorbolester-induced deregulation of growth factors in PMA-differentiated neuronal SY5Y cells. We also found indications in a pilot experiment that magnetic stimulation could possibly modify BDNF in the cell culture system.

Conclusion

The antidepressant effects antidepressant drugs might be explained by selective modulation of growth factors, which subsequently affects neuronal plasticity.