Cell biology and toxicology
January 29, 2025
Xiaoming Ji, Zhimin Huang, Chenming Zhou et al.
6 citations
Esketamine, a new antidepressant, reduces depressive-like behavior in mice with neuropathic pain by boosting levels of the m6A methyltransferase METTL3 and the AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit. Esketamine activates METTL3, which binds to GluA1 mRNA and promotes m6A modification, enhancing GluA1 expression at synapses. This mechanism offers new insights into esketamine's potential applications and therapeutic avenues for neuropathic pain and depressive behavior.
BMC anesthesiology
July 29, 2025
Zhaoli Wang, Hongqin Li, Yu Wang et al.
2 citations
A 0.25 mg/kg dose of esketamine, given during ureteroscopic lithotripsy, reduced the incidence of moderate-to-severe catheter-related bladder discomfort immediately after surgery from 33.9% with placebo to 9.1%. The higher dose also lowered discomfort at 1 and 6 hours postoperatively and reduced the need for tramadol rescue pain medication. A lower dose of 0.15 mg/kg did not produce significant benefits. No increase in adverse effects was observed with the 0.25 mg/kg dose, suggesting it is a safe and effective option for preventing this distressing complication.
Frontiers in neuroscience
January 1, 2026
Yue Gou, Xuemei Liu, Wenjie Zhu et al.
1 citation
Cognition, emotion, and behavior arise from ongoing bidirectional communication between a host and its symbiotic gut microbes, not from brain-isolated processes alone. The gut microbiota acts as an embedded signaling system, producing cognitively active metabolites like short-chain fatty acids and neuroactive substances that shape interoceptive states and neural function through neural, immune, and metabolic pathways. Evidence from germ-free animal models, fecal microbiota transplantation, human multi-omics, and clinical interventions indicates that microbiota-derived processes are constitutively relevant to embodied cognitive architectures organized by interoceptive prediction, affective appraisal, and vagal-metabolic signaling. This framework moves beyond a linear gut-brain axis to a multispecies model, offering a biological foundation for the mind and enabling precision mental health interventions like psychobiotics.
BMC anesthesiology
May 8, 2025
Guang-Qiu Zhu, Yu Wang, Xiao-Xia Wang et al.
1 citation
A low-dose combination of esketamine and propofol for general anesthesia induction during category-1 emergency cesarean sections maintained maternal hemodynamic stability without causing neonatal depression. In a case series of 11 patients, the median 1-minute Apgar score was 9 and the 5-minute Apgar score was 10 for all newborns. The mean decision-to-delivery interval was 10.9 minutes. Only one newborn required temporary mask ventilation due to acute fetal distress from placental abruption; no newborns were admitted to the ICU. No episodes of hypotension, intraoperative awareness, reflux aspiration, or adverse psychiatric effects occurred. The strategy appears suitable, but randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Molecular Psychiatry
July 3, 2026
Yu Wang, Ji-Tao Li, Lin-Lin Zhu et al.
Mitochondrial dysfunction—including DNA abnormalities, impaired energy production, disrupted quality control, and redox imbalance—is a central feature of major depressive disorder. Beyond energy deficits, mitochondria act as upstream regulators of neuroinflammation: damage-associated molecular patterns and reactive oxygen species activate innate immune signaling, and inflammation in turn compromises mitochondrial integrity. This bidirectional, self-reinforcing interaction may contribute to disease onset, progression, and clinical heterogeneity. Conventional antidepressants gradually restore mitochondrial function and suppress oxidative and inflammatory stress, while rapid-acting agents like ketamine induce acute metabolic reprogramming and mitophagy. Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants, metabolic modulators, and psychedelic compounds further highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting mitochondrial pathways.