Astrocyte Activation Mediadates The Antidepressant Effect Of Apelin-13

[Objective] Our previous studies confirmed that Apelin-13,the natural ligand of G protein-coupled receptor APJ,has antidepressant effects,but its mechanism of action is unknown.Astrocytes not only participate in the pathophysiology of depression,but also plays a important role in the anti-depressive effect.The study is to prove that astrocytes mediate the antidepressant effect of Apelin-13,by changing.the activation and number of astrocytes in hippocampus,using the astrocyte inhibitor,fluorocitrate(FC)and astrocyte-specific scavenger,L-alpha-Aminoadipic Acid(L-AAA).[Methods] Forced swim test(FST)was used to evaluate depression-like behavior in rats,open field test was used to evaluate the activity of rats.The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)in hippocampus was tested by western biot,the astrocytes and neuron cells were tested by.immunofluorescence.[Results] Lateral ventricle injection of Apelin-13 exerted antidepressant effects and up-regulated the expression of GFAP in hippocampus.FC blocked the antidepressant effect of Apelin-13.L-AAA-induced astrocyte clearance phase blocked the antidepressant effect of Apelin-13,while the recultivationrecovery period did not affect the antidepressant effect of Apelin-13.[Conclusion] Apelin-13 exerts its antidepressant effect by activating astrocytes.