Comparison of R-ketamine and rapastinel antidepressant effects in the social defeat stress model of depression
Psychopharmacology August 3, 2016 Bangkun Yang, Ji-Chun Zhang, Mei Han et al. 93 citations
R-ketamine and rapastinel, both NMDA receptor antagonists, produced rapid antidepressant effects in mice susceptible to social defeat stress. A single injection of either compound (10 mg/kg) reduced immobility in the tail suspension and forced swimming tests and increased sucrose preference for up to seven days. R-ketamine, but not rapastinel, restored reduced BDNF-TrkB signaling, PSD-95, and GluA1 levels in the prefrontal cortex, dentate gyrus, and CA3 of the hippocampus. Neither compound altered the elevated levels of these proteins in the nucleus accumbens. A lower intravenous dose of R-ketamine (3 mg/kg) maintained antidepressant effects after seven days, whereas rapastinel did not, indicating R-ketamine produces a longer-lasting antidepressant effect.