Neurotrophic Factor-α1 prevents stress-induced depression through enhancement of neurogenesis and is activated by rosiglitazone

Major depressive disorder is often linked to stress. Whereas short-term stress is without effect in mice, prolonged stress leads to depressive-like behavior, indicating that an allostatic mechanism exists in this difference. Here we demonstrate that mice after short-term (1h/day for 7days) chronic restraint stress (CRS), do not display depressive-like behavior. Analysis of the hippocampus of these mice showed increased levels of neurotrophic factor-α1(NF-α1) (also known as carboxypeptidase E, CPE), concomitant with enhanced fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) expression, and an increase in neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. In contrast, after prolonged (6h/day for 21days) CRS, mice show decreased hippocampal NF-α1 and FGF2 levels and depressive-like responses. In NF-α1-knock out mice, hippocampal FGF2 levels and neurogenesis are reduced. These mice exhibit depressive-like behavior which is reversed by FGF2 administration. Indeed, studies in cultured hippocampal neurons reveal that NF-α1 treatment directly up-regulates FGF2 expression through ERK-Sp1 signaling. Thus, during short-term CRS, hippocampal NF-α1 expression is up-regulated and it plays a key role in preventing the onset of depressive-like behavior through enhanced FGF2-mediated neurogenesis. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of this pathway, we examined, rosiglitazone, a PPARγ agonist, which has been shown to have antidepressant activity in rodents and humans. Rosiglitazone up-regulates FGF2 expression in a NF-α1-dependent manner in hippocampal neurons. Mice fed rosiglitazone show increased hippocampal NF-α1 levels and neurogenesis compared to controls; thereby indicating the antidepressant action of this drug. Development of drugs that activate the NF-α1/FGF2/neurogenesis pathway can offer a new approach to depression therapy.