CONCENTRATION DEPENDENT ACTIONS OF GLUCOCORTICOIDS ON NEURONAL VIABILITY AND SURVIVAL

A growing body of evidence based on experimental data demonstrates that glucocorticoids (GCs) can play a potent role in the survival and death of neurons. However, these observations reflect paradoxical features of GCs, since these adrenal stress hormones are heavily involved in both neurodegenerative and neuroprotective processes. The actual level of GCs appears to have an essential impact in this bimodal action. In the present short review we aim to show the importance of concentration dependent action of GCs on neuronal cell viability and cell survival in the brain. Additionally, we will summarize the possible GC-induced cellular mechanisms at different GC concentrations providing a background for their effect on the fate of nerve cells in conditions that are a challenge to their survival

Measuring serotonin synthesis: from conventional methods to PET tracers and their (pre)clinical implications

The serotonergic system of the brain is complex, with an extensive innervation pattern covering all brain regions and endowed with at least 15 different receptors (each with their particular distribution patterns), specific reuptake mechanisms and synthetic processes. Many aspects of the functioning of the serotonergic system are still unclear, partially because of the difficulty of measuring physiological processes in the living brain. In this review we give an overview of the conventional methods of measuring serotonin synthesis and methods using positron emission tomography (PET) tracers, more specifically with respect to serotonergic function in affective disorders. Conventional methods are invasive and do not directly measure synthesis rates. Although they may give insight into turnover rates, a more direct measurement may be preferred. PET is a noninvasive technique which can trace metabolic processes, like serotonin synthesis. Tracers developed for this purpose are α-[11C]methyltryptophan ([11C]AMT) and 5-hydroxy-L-[β-11C]tryptophan ([11C]5-HTP). Both tracers have advantages and disadvantages. [11C]AMT can enter the kynurenine pathway under inflammatory conditions (and thus provide a false signal), but this tracer has been used in many studies leading to novel insights regarding antidepressant action. [11C]5-HTP is difficult to produce, but trapping of this compound may better represent serotonin synthesis. AMT and 5-HTP kinetics are differently affected by tryptophan depletion and changes of mood. This may indicate that both tracers are associated with different enzymatic processes. In conclusion, PET with radiolabelled substrates for the serotonergic pathway is the only direct way to detect changes of serotonin synthesis in the living brain

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging of Opioid Receptors

The opioid system consists of opioid receptors (which mediate the actions of opium), their endogenous ligands (the enkephalins, endorphins, endomorphins, dynorphin, and nociceptin), and the proteins involved in opioid production, transport, and degradation. PET tracers for the various opioid receptor subtypes are available, and changes in regional opioidergic activity have been assessed during both sensory and affective processing in healthy individuals and in various disease conditions such as chronic pain, neurodegeneration, epilepsy, eating disorders, and substance abuse. It is not always clear whether observed changes of tracer binding refl ect altered release of endogenous opioids or altered opioid receptor expression. Some radioligands for opioid receptors have suboptimal kinetics (i.e., slow dissociation from their target protein) or can induce undesired side effects even at low administered doses (sedation, respiratory arrest). There remains a need for PET tracers with improved properties, which can selectively visualize changes of the apparent density of a single opioid receptor subtype. Yet, PET offers the unique opportunity of quantifying opioid receptor- mediated signaling in the human central nervous system in vivo

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging of Opioid Receptors

The opioid system consists of opioid receptors (which mediate the actions of opium), their endogenous ligands (the enkephalins, endorphins, endomorphins, dynorphin, and nociceptin), and the proteins involved in opioid production, transport, and degradation. PET tracers for the various opioid receptor subtypes are available, and changes in regional opioidergic activity have been assessed during both sensory and affective processing in healthy individuals and in various disease conditions such as chronic pain, neurodegeneration, epilepsy, eating disorders, and substance abuse. It is not always clear whether observed changes of tracer binding refl ect altered release of endogenous opioids or altered opioid receptor expression. Some radioligands for opioid receptors have suboptimal kinetics (i.e., slow dissociation from their target protein) or can induce undesired side effects even at low administered doses (sedation, respiratory arrest). There remains a need for PET tracers with improved properties, which can selectively visualize changes of the apparent density of a single opioid receptor subtype. Yet, PET offers the unique opportunity of quantifying opioid receptor- mediated signaling in the human central nervous system in vivo

Major depressive disorder is associated with changes in a cluster of serum and urine biomarkers

\u3cp\u3eMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous disorder with a considerable symptomatic overlap with other psychiatric and somatic disorders. This study aims at providing evidence for association of a set of serum and urine biomarkers with MDD. We analyzed urine and serum samples of 40 MDD patients and 47 age- and sex-matched controls using 40 potential MDD biomarkers (21 serum biomarkers and 19 urine biomarkers). All participants were of Caucasian origin. We developed an algorithm to combine the heterogeneity at biomarker level. This method enabled the identification of correlating biomarkers based on differences in variation and distribution between groups, combined the outcome of the selected biomarkers, and calculated depression probability scores (the “bio depression score”). Phenotype permutation analysis showed a significant discrimination between MDD and euthymic (control) subjects for biomarkers in urine (P <.001), in serum (P =.02) and in the combined serum plus urine result (P <.001). Based on this algorithm, a combination of 8 urine biomarkers and 9 serum biomarkers were identified to correlate with MDD, enabling an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.955 in a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. Selection of either urine biomarkers or serum biomarkers resulted in AUC values of 0.907 and 0.853, respectively. Internal cross-validation (5-fold) confirmed the association of this set of biomarkers with MDD.\u3c/p\u3