No abstract

In addition to its clinical antimanic effects, lithium also has efficacy in the treatment of depression. However, the mechanism by which lithium exerts its antidepressant effects is unclear. Our objective was to further characterize the effects of peripheral and central administration of lithium in mouse models of antidepressant efficacy as well as to investigate the role of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors in these behaviors. We utilized the mouse forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST), intracerebroventricular (ICV) lithium administration, AMPA receptor inhibitors, and BS3 crosslinking followed by western blot. Both short-and long-term administration of lithium resulted in robust antidepressant-like effects in the mouse FST and TST. Using ICV administration of lithium, we show that these effects are due to actions of lithium on the brain, rather than to peripheral effects of the drug. Both ICV and rodent chow (0.4% LiCl) administration paradigms resulted in brain lithium concentrations within the human therapeutic range. The effects of lithium to decrease immobility in the FST and TST were blocked by administration of AMPA receptor inhibitors. Additionally, administration of lithium increased the cell surface expression of GluR1 and GluR2 in the mouse hippocampus. Collectively, these data show that lithium exerts centrally mediated antidepressant-like effects in the mouse FST and TST that require AMPA receptor activation. Lithium may exert its antidepressant effects in humans through AMPA receptors, thus further supporting a role of targeting AMPA receptors as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of depression. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Depression is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder that manifests both as a component of bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder. Bipolar disorder affects at least 1% of the world's population when a strict definition (DSM IV bipolar I disorder) is applied. Major depression is more common than bipolar disorder in the overall population (~ 15% lifetime risk as defined by DSM IV) (Kessler et al., 2005;Sullivan et al., 2000). The recognition of the significant morbidity and mortality (suicide rate of 15%) associated with these severe mood disorders (Evans et al., 2005;Jamison, 2000;Kupfer, 2005), as well as the growing appreciation that a significant percentage of patients either do not respond fully to existing treatments or are intolerant of undesirable side effects, has made the challenge of discovering improved therapeutic agents increasing...

The canonical Wnt pathway and β-catenin have been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. We generated forebrain-specific CRE-mediated conditional β-catenin knockout mice to begin exploring the behavioral implications of decreased Wnt pathway signaling in the central nervous system. In situ hybridization revealed a progressive knockout of β-catenin that began between 2 and 4 weeks of age, and by 12 weeks resulted in considerably decreased β-catenin expression in regions of the forebrain, including the frontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. A significant decrease in protein levels of β-catenin in these brain regions was observed by western blot. Behavioral characterization of these mice in several tests (including the forced swim test, tail suspension test (TST), learned helplessness, response and sensitization to stimulants, and light/dark box among other tests) revealed relatively circumscribed alterations. In the TST, knockout mice spent significantly less time struggling (a depression-like phenotype). However, knockout mice did not differ from their wild-type littermates in the other behavioral tests of mood-related or anxiety-related behaviors. These results suggest that a considerable β-catenin reserve exists, and that a 50-70% β-catenin reduction in circumscribed brain regions is only capable of inducing subtle behavioral changes. Alternatively, regulating β-catenin may modulate drug effects rather than being a model of mood disorder pathophysiology per se. Keywords depression; bipolar disorder; mood; Wnt pathway; glycogen synthase kinase; behavior; mice Major challenges for neuropsychiatric research have been the characterization of biochemical pathways involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders and the identification of truly novel therapeutic targets for their treatment [30]. The canonical Wnt pathway is a signaling οTo whom correspondence should be addressed: