کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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4338627 | 1614876 | 2012 | 6 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
Oxytocin (OT) levels in plasma increase during sexual response and are significantly lower in patients with depression. A drug for the treatment of sexual dysfunction, sildenafil, enhances the electrically evoked release of OT from the posterior pituitary. In this study, we showed that sildenafil had an antidepressant-like effect through activation of an OT signaling pathway. Application of sildenafil reduced depression-related behavior in male mice. The antidepressant-like effect was blocked by an OT receptor (OTR) antagonist and was absent in OTR knockout (KO) mice. Sildenafil increased the phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the hippocampus. The OTR antagonist inhibited sildenafil-induced CREB phosphorylation and sildenafil had no effect on CREB phosphorylation in OTR KO mice. These results suggest sildenafil to have an antidepressant-like effect through the activation of OT signaling and to be a promising drug for the treatment of depression.
▶Sildenafil has an antidepressant-like effect in mice. ▶Sildenafil increases the phosphorylation of CREB. ▶An OTR antagonist blocked the antidepressant-like effect of sildenafil. ▶Sildenafil had no effect on CREB phosphorylation in OTR null mice.
Journal: Neuroscience - Volume 200, 3 January 2012, Pages 13–18