The antidepressant effects of ɑ-tocopherol are related to activation of autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR pathway

• Published in: European journal of pharmacology Vol. 833; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Huang, Xiaoyan, Wu, Haoran, Jiang, Ruizhi, Sun, Guangda, Shen, Jiali, Ma, Mengling, Ma, Chuanhui, Zhang, Shijia, Huang, Zhiheng, Wu, Qinan, Chen, Gang, Tao, Weiwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.08.2018
• Subjects: AMPK; Autophagy; Behaviour; Depression; mTOR; ɑ-Tocopherol; mTOR; Depression; AMPK; Behaviour; ɑ-Tocopherol; Autophagy
• ISSN: 0014-2999; 1879-0712
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2018.05.020

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether ɑ-tocopherol exhibited neuro-protective effects in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) mice through the regulation of autophagy. Deficits in behavioural tests, including a sucrose preference test, open field test, forced swim test, and tail suspension test, were ameliorated following ɑ-tocopherol administration. To study the potential mechanism, western blots were performed on both prefrontal cortex and hippocampus samples. Similar to the degree of autophagy, the activities of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Unci-51 like autophagy activating kinase-1 (ULK1) were decreased after CUMS stimulation. In addition, we also found increased activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which was significantly affected following administration of ɑ-tocopherol, as well as its three downstream pathways. Taken together, our study found that ɑ-tocopherol might potentially promote autophagy to induce anti-depressive responses in CUMS mice though the AMPK/mTOR pathway.