Molecules 2011, 16(3), 2688-2713; doi:10.3390/molecules16032688
Review

Glycosides, Depression and Suicidal Behaviour: The Role of Glycoside-Linked Proteins

Gianluca Serafini 1,2,* email, Maurizio Pompili 1,2,3 , Marco Innamorati 1 , Gloria Giordano 1 , Roberto Tatarelli 1 , David Lester 4 , Paolo Girardi 1,2  and Yogesh Dwivedi 5
1 Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Via Grottarossa 1035-1039, 00189 Rome, Italy 2 Villa Rosa, Scientific Medical Research Center, Suore Hospitaliere of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 01100 Viterbo, Italy 3 McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02478, USA 4 The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Jimmie Leeds Road, Pomona, NJ 08240, USA 5 Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Institute, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 17 December 2010; in revised form: 17 March 2011 / Accepted: 18 March 2011 / Published: 23 March 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Glycosides)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [487 KB, uploaded 23 March 2011 09:03 CET]
Abstract: Nowadays depression and suicide are two of the most important worldwide public health problems. Although their specific molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown, glycosides can play a fundamental role in their pathogenesis. These molecules act presumably through the up-regulation of plasticity-related proteins: probably they can have a presynaptic facilitatory effect, through the activation of several intracellular signaling pathways that include molecules like protein kinase A, Rap-1, cAMP, cADPR and G proteins. These proteins take part in a myriad of brain functions such as cell survival and synaptic plasticity. In depressed suicide victims, it has been found that their activity is strongly decreased, primarily in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These studies suggest that glycosides can regulate neuroprotection through Rap-1 and other molecules, and may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of depression and suicide.
Keywords: glycosides; depression; suicidal behaviour; synaptic plasticity

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Serafini, G.; Pompili, M.; Innamorati, M.; Giordano, G.; Tatarelli, R.; Lester, D.; Girardi, P.; Dwivedi, Y. Glycosides, Depression and Suicidal Behaviour: The Role of Glycoside-Linked Proteins. Molecules 2011, 16, 2688-2713.

AMA Style

Serafini G, Pompili M, Innamorati M, Giordano G, Tatarelli R, Lester D, Girardi P, Dwivedi Y. Glycosides, Depression and Suicidal Behaviour: The Role of Glycoside-Linked Proteins. Molecules. 2011; 16(3):2688-2713.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Serafini, Gianluca; Pompili, Maurizio; Innamorati, Marco; Giordano, Gloria; Tatarelli, Roberto; Lester, David; Girardi, Paolo; Dwivedi, Yogesh. 2011. "Glycosides, Depression and Suicidal Behaviour: The Role of Glycoside-Linked Proteins." Molecules 16, no. 3: 2688-2713.

Molecules EISSN 1420-3049 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert