Research

Null effect of antidepressants on the astrocytes-mediated proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells in vitro

Hyoung-Gon Ko¹ , Sung Joong Lee² , Hyeon Son³ and Bong-Kiun Kaang¹

¹  National Creative Research Initiative Center for Memory and Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, San 56-1 Silim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-747, Korea

²  Dental Research Institute and Department of Oral Physiology, College of Dentistry, Seoul National University, 28 Yonkon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul 110-749, Korea

³  Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, 17 Haengdang-dong, Sungdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, Korea

author email corresponding author email

Molecular Pain 2007, 3:16doi:10.1186/1744-8069-3-16

Published:	15 June 2007

Abstract

Background

It is well known that antidepressants increase neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. The increase of neurogenesis might contribute to the behavioral effects of antidepressants. However, the mechanism by which antidepressants increase hippocampal neurogenesis is largely unknown. It has been recently reported that astroglia induce the neurogenesis of the hippocampal neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Therefore, we hypothesized that antidepressants may act on astrocytes, and this in turn induces neurogenesis of NPCs.

Results

To examine this hypothesis, we used two co-culture systems, i.e., a contact-independent Banker culture and a contact-dependent overlay co-culture. In both of these systems, in comparison with naïve astrocytes, antidepressant-treated astrocytes did not further increase the proliferation of NPCs.

Conclusion

These results suggest that astrocytes increase the proliferation of hippocampal NPCs, however, this may not be directly involved in the antidepressant-induced proliferation of NPCs.