2. Academic Validation
  3. Berberine exerts antidepressant effects in vivo and in vitro through the PI3K/AKT/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway

Berberine exerts antidepressant effects in vivo and in vitro through the PI3K/AKT/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway

  • Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Dec 18:170:116012. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.116012.
Yueheng Tang 1,  Hao Su 2,  Kexin Nie 3,  Hongzhan Wang 3,  Yang Gao 3,  Shen Chen 3,  Fuer Lu 3,  Hui Dong 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
  • 2 Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
  • 3 Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
  • 4 Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China. Electronic address: tjhdonghui@163.com.
PMID: 38113631 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.116012
Abstract

Background: Depression, a global neuropsychiatric disorder, brings a serious burden to patients and society as its incidence continues to rise. Berberine is one of the main compounds of a variety of Chinese herbal medicines and has been shown to have multiple pharmacological effects. However, whether berberine can exert antidepressant effects in vivo and in vitro and its related mechanisms remain to be explored.

Methods: The chronic restraint stress (CRS) method and corticosterone (CORT) were applied to simulate depression-like behavior in vivo and neuronal Apoptosis in vitro, respectively. The antidepressant effects of berberine were evaluated by behavioral tests and changes in the content of monoamine neurotransmitters. Inflammatory cytokines were detected and immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to examine the mRNA and protein expression (or phosphorylation) levels of biomarkers of the PI3K/Akt/CREB/BDNF signaling pathways.

Results: Behavioral tests and levels of neurotransmitters proved that berberine could effectively ameliorate depression-like symptoms in CRS mice. Meanwhile, the results of ELISA and immunofluorescence staining showed that berberine could alleviate inflammatory status and reduce cell Apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the changes of the PI3K/Akt/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway induced by CRS or CORT in mouse hippocampus or HT-22 cells were significantly reversed by berberine.

Conclusion: Our current study suggested that berberine could exert antidepressant effects in vitro and in vivo, which may be associated with the PI3K/Akt/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway.

Keywords

Apoptosis; Berberine; CREB/BDNF; Depression; PI3K/AKT.

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