Modulation of the inflammatory response in rats chronically treated with the antidepressant agomelatine

The Beneficial Effects of Agomelatine in Experimental Model of Sepsis Related Acute Kidney Injury

“…[33] The effect of agomelatine on inflammation was studied by Molteni et al [34] Pro-inflammatory cytokines were found to be reduced in rats treated with agomelatine, a finding similar to that of the present study. The authors reported that agomelatine modified the expression of enzymes involved in the kynurenine pathway.…”

Kynurenine pathway dysfunction in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression: Evidences from animal and human studies

“…Agomelatine, a melatonergic antidepressant, was able to reverse LPS-induced IL-1β and IL-6 production in the brain and periphery. Agomelatine also prevented the LPS-dependent increase in KMO (Molteni et al, 2013). Pre-treatment with etanercept, a TNF-α antagonist, partially diminished BCG-induced IDO activation and depressive-like behavior (O’Connor et al, 2009a).…”

Stress-induced anhedonia is associated with the activation of the inflammatory system in the rat brain: Restorative effect of pharmacological intervention

“…Among these, one intriguing possibility is a role for the kynurenine pathway [58], which represents an important link between inflammation and depression [59]. We have previously demonstrated that chronic agomelatine treatment is able to modulate the expression of two of the major enzymes involved in this pathway, namely kynurenine-3-monooxygenase (KMO) and kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT)-II, [60] that, by acting on kynurenine, may switch the pathway toward neurotoxic or neuroprotective arms respectively [58]. In line with these data, preliminary results point to an unbalance between these two enzymes in response to stress, which can be regulated by chronic treatment with antidepressant drugs (Molteni et al, unpublished).…”