Current antidepressants still display unsatisfactory efficacy and a delayed onset of therapeutic action. Here we show that the pharmacological blockade of serotonin 7 (5-HT 7 ) receptors produced a faster antidepressant-like response than the commonly prescribed antidepressant fluoxetine. In the rat, the selective 5-HT 7 receptor antagonist SB-269970 counteracted the anxiogenic-like effect of fluoxetine in the open field and exerted an antidepressant-like effect in the forced swim test. In vivo, 5-HT 7 receptors negatively regulate the firing activity of dorsal raphe 5-HT neurons and become desensitized after long-term administration of fluoxetine. In contrast with fluoxetine, a 1-week treatment with SB-269970 did not alter 5-HT firing activity but desensitized cell body 5-HT autoreceptors, enhanced the hippocampal cell proliferation, and counteracted the depressive-like behavior in olfactory bulbectomized rats. Finally, unlike fluoxetine, early-life administration of SB-269970, did not induce anxious/depressive-like behaviors in adulthood. Together, these findings indicate that the 5-HT 7 receptor antagonists may represent a new class of antidepressants with faster therapeutic action.

Serotonin (5-HT)3 receptors are the only ligand-gated ion channel of the 5-HT receptors family. They are present both in the peripheral and central nervous system and are localized in several areas involved in mood regulation (e.g., hippocampus or prefrontal cortex). Moreover, they are involved in regulation of neurotransmitter systems implicated in the pathophysiology of major depression (e.g., dopamine or GABA). Clinical and preclinical studies have suggested that 5-HT3 receptors may be a relevant target in the treatment of affective disorders. 5-HT3 receptor agonists seem to counteract the effects of antidepressants in non-clinical models, whereas 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, such as ondansetron, present antidepressant-like activities. In addition, several antidepressants, such as mirtazapine, also target 5-HT3 receptors. In this review, we will report major advances in the research of 5-HT3 receptor's roles in neuropsychiatric disorders, with special emphasis on mood and anxiety disorders.

Background:Recent studies revealed that bipolar disorder may be associated with deficits of neuroplasticity. Additionally, accumulating evidence has implicated alterations of the intracellular signaling molecule protein kinase C (PKC) in mania.Methods:Using sleep deprivation (SD) as an animal model of mania, this study aimed to examine the possible relationship between PKC and neuroplasticity in mania. Rats were subjected to SD for 72h and tested behaviorally. In parallel, SD-induced changes in hippocampal cell proliferation were evaluated with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling. We then examined the effects of the mood stabilizer lithium, the antipsychotic agent aripiprazole, and the PKC inhibitors chelerythrine and tamoxifen on both behavioral and cell proliferation impairments induced by SD. The antidepressant fluoxetine was used as a negative control.Results:We found that SD triggered the manic-like behaviors such as hyperlocomotion and increased sleep latency, and reduced hippocampal cell proliferation. These alterations were counteracted by an acute administration of lithium and aripiprazole but not of fluoxetine, and only a single administration of aripiprazole increased cell proliferation on its own. Importantly, SD rats exhibited increased levels of phosphorylated synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, suggesting PKC overactivity. Moreover, PKC inhibitors attenuated manic-like behaviors and rescued cell proliferation deficits induced by SD.Conclusions:Our findings confirm the relevance of SD as a model of mania, and provide evidence that antimanic agents are also able to prevent SD-induced decrease of hippocampal cell proliferation. Furthermore, they emphasize the therapeutic potential of PKC inhibitors, as revealed by their antimanic-like and pro-proliferative properties.