title: The endocannabinoid/endovanilloid system and depression.
abstract: Depression is one of the most frequent causes of disability in the 21st century. Despite the many preclinical and clinical studies that have addressed this brain disorder, the pathophysiology of depression is not well understood and the available antidepressant drugs are therapeutically inadequate in many patients. In recent years, the potential role of lipid-derived molecules, particularly endocannabinoids (eCBs) and endovanilloids, has been highlighted in the pathogenesis of depression and in the action of antidepressants. There are many indications that the eCB/endovanilloid system is involved in the pathogenesis of depression, including the localization of receptors, modulation of monoaminergic transmission, inhibition of the stress axis and promotion of neuroplasticity in the brain. Preclinical pharmacological and genetic studies of eCBs in depression also suggest that facilitating the eCB system exerts antidepressant-like behavioral responses in rodents. In this article, we review the current knowledge of the role of the eCB/endovanilloid system in depression, as well as the effects of its ligands, models of depression and antidepressant drugs in preclinical and clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, College of Medicum, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Smaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, College of Medicum, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bystrowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, College of Medicum, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Dawid
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gawliński
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Smętna 12, PL 31-343 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Przegaliński
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University, College of Medicum, Medyczna 9, PL 30-688 Kraków, Poland ; Laboratory of Drug Addiction Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Smętna 12, PL 31-343 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filip
keywords: Animal model of depression; antidepressant drug; depression; endocannabinoid system; endovanilloid.