Unveiling Ketamine's Influence on Astrocytic Kir4.1 Channels Through Multimodal Analysis: Confocal Microscopy, Immunocytochemistry, Fluorescence Analysis, and Electrophysiology.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) January 1, 2025 Samo Pirnat, Katja Fink, Matjaž Stenovec et al.
Ketamine, an antidepressant for major depressive disorder, alters the dynamics of the potassium channel Kir4.1 in astrocytes. Using cultured rat and mouse astrocytes, the authors tracked fluorescently labeled Kir4.1 vesicles and measured surface density and currents after ketamine exposure. The findings suggest that ketamine modulates Kir4.1 trafficking and activity, which could influence extracellular potassium levels and neuronal excitability. This mechanism may contribute to ketamine's therapeutic effects in depression, offering a cellular-level explanation for its rapid antidepressant action.