Rj. Stewart et al., Abnormalities in the cAMP signaling pathway in post-mortem brain tissue from the Stanley Neuropathology Consortium, BRAIN RES B, 55(5), 2001, pp. 625-629
There is an established relationship between the monoaminergic neurotransmi
tter system and mood disorders. In an attempt to define further the pathoph
ysiology of mood disorders, research is focussing on intracellular second m
essenger systems, including cyclic adenosine 3 ' ,5 ' -monophosphate (cAMP)
and the polyphosphoinositol generated second messengers. The availability
of tissue from the Stanley Foundation Neuropathology Consortium has offered
us the opportunity to make a number of observations with respect to these
second messenger systems in tissue from patients with major depressive diso
rder and bipolar affective disorder. There is evidence that antidepressants
stimulate components of the cAMP pathway in patients with depression while
mood stabilizers blunt the same pathway in patients with bipolar disorder.
Furthermore, downstream targets of this pathway appear to be altered in pa
tients with mood disorders. The relations between changes in second messeng
er systems, gene transcription, and clinical effects of current therapeutic
regimens has implications for development of novel treatments of mood diso
rders. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.