ACTA NEUROPHARMACOLOGICA

Acta Neuropharmacologica ›› 2013, Vol. 3 ›› Issue (5): 27-37.

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Depression and Inflammation

WANG Zhen-zhen, CHEN Nai-hong   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Center for Neuroscience, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
  • Online:2013-10-26 Published:2014-06-27
  • Contact: 陈乃宏，男，研究员，博士生导师；研究方向：神经系统疾患创新药物研究； Tel：+86-010-63165177，Fax：+86-010-63165211，E-mail：chennh@imm.ac.cn
  • About author:王真真，女，助理研究员；研究方向：神经精神药理；E-mail：wangzz@imm.ac.cn
  • Supported by:

    国家自然科学基金（No. 81274122、No.81202507、No.81373997、No.81373998），国家“重大新药创制”科技重大专项（No. 2012ZX09301002-004、No.2012ZX09103101-006），北京市自然科学基金（No. 7142115、No. 7131013），教育部博士点基金重点项目（No. 20121106130001），新药作用机制研究与药效评价北京市重点实验室资助项目（No. BZ0150），中国医学科学院药物研究所基本科研业务费创新人才培养专项（No. 2014RC03）

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Abstract: Depression is the affective disorder characterized by a state of low mood, pessimism, cognitive and sleep disorders. Despite the widespread prescription of monoaminergic neurotransmitter modulators, the monoamine hypothesis cannot explain all the phenomena of depression. Moreover, limited drug efficacies, slow onset of action and undesirable side effects have made urgent the task of discovering novel therapeutics. Thus, several hypotheses other than the monoamine hypothesis have received much attention in recent years. The inflammatory hypothesis of depression is that inflammatory mechanisms play a crucial role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of major depression. This review will focus on progress of the (neuro)inflammatory hypothesis of depression.

Key words: depression, proinflammatory cytokine, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, pathogenesis