title: Antidepressant-Like Effects of GM1 Ganglioside Involving the BDNF Signaling Cascade in Mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression is a serious psychiatric disorder that easily causes physical impairments and a high suicide rate. Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside is a crucial ganglioside for the central nervous system and has been reported to affect the function of the brain derived neurotrophic factor system. This study is aimed to evaluate whether monosialotetrahexosylganglioside has antidepressant-like effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Antidepressant-like effects of monosialotetrahexosylganglioside were assessed in the chronic social defeat stress model of depression, and various behavioral tests were performed. Changes in the brain derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathway after chronic social defeat stress and monosialotetrahexosylganglioside treatment were also investigated. A tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor and brain derived neurotrophic factor signaling inhibitors were used to determine the antidepressant mechanisms of monosialotetrahexosylganglioside.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside administration significantly reversed the chronic social defeat stress-induced reduction of sucrose preference and social interaction in mice and also prevented the increased immobility time in the forced swim test and tail suspension test. In addition, monosialotetrahexosylganglioside completely ameliorated the stress-induced dysfunction of brain derived neurotrophic factor signaling cascade in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex, 2 regions closely involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Furthermore, the usage of brain derived neurotrophic factor signaling cascade inhibitors, K252a and anti-brain derived neurotrophic factor antibody, each abolished the antidepressant-like effects of monosialotetrahexosylganglioside, while the usage of a serotonin system inhibitor did not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, our findings suggest that monosialotetrahexosylganglioside indeed has antidepressant-like effects, and these effects were mediated through the activation of brain derived neurotrophic factor signaling cascade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang). jiangbo78099@ntu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang).
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang).
authors.forename: Cheng-Niu
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang).
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang).
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Provincial key laboratory of Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Jiangsu, China (Dr Jiang, Mrs Song, Dr Zhang, Dr Huang, and Mrs Tong); Basic Medical Research Centre, Medical College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China (Mr Wang).
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Tong
keywords: chronic social defeat stress; depression; hippocampus; medial prefrontal cortex