Signal transduction mechanism of antidepressant action / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

ABSTRACT

The mechanisms of antidepressants are still unclear. There a re two classical theories on monoamine neurotransmitter or on neurotransmitter rec eptors, but both of them can not fully explain the delayed therapeutic action of antidepressants. Recently, many researches have focused on the postreceptor int racellular signal transduction as the mechanism of antidepressant action. G protein is the molecular basis of antidepressants. Neurotransmitter receptors and G protein are the two sectors of their therapeut ic action. They will ultimately influence intracellular signal transduction and result in relative effects such as phosphoration, the induction of neurotrophic factors and neurogenesis. This mechanism suggests a reasonable explanation for t he clinical delaying of antidepressants and it will do great help for the develo pment of antidepressants. It makes the design of novel, safe and more efficaciou s antidepressants possible and provides significant information for the elucidat ion of biology of depression.