Natural killer cell activity in patients with major depressive disorder treated with escitalopram

Circulating T‐cell subsets discrepancy between bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder during mood episodes: A naturalistic, retrospective study of 1015 cases

“…12 The pharmacotherapy of depression also increases both the number and cytotoxic activity of NK cells. 57,58 In our study, there was no significant difference on the past use history of psychotropic medication among the three groups. However, we did not record the details of different psychotropic medicines, which may also limit the further interpretation of our findings.…”

Empirically Supported Use of Psychiatric Medications in Adolescents and Adults with IBD

“…Overall, published data suggest improvements of immune function in patients responding to interventions targeting affective spectrum disorders with SSRIs. [67][68][69][70][71][72][73] Although some reports suggest that SSRI therapy may also directly promote T-cell proliferation, 74,75 these findings were not confirmed by others examining lymphocytes or T-cell subpopulations. 70,76 The emerging picture indicates that SSRI therapy can directly target immune cells and that these cells are indeed affected by serotonin.…”

Drug repurposing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: Could these drugs help fight COVID-19 and save lives?

“…For example, Frank et al [57] demonstrated that in vitro exposure of mononuclear cells to fluoxetine and paroxetine directly increase NK-cell activity. Several authors also found significant increases in NK cells counts or activity following SSRI treatment of depressed individuals [58][59][60]. Moreover, Evans et al [42] and Benton et al [61] found that the administration of citalopram to HIV-seropositive women exerted a number of immunomodulatory effects, including enhanced NK cell innate immunity, decreased HIV replication in latently infected T-cell and macrophage cell lines, and inhibited acute HIV infection of macrophages.…”