Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Nov 2023)
Narrative Review: Pathogenesis of the Inflammatory Response and Intestinal Flora in Depression
Abstract
Jia-Wei Zeng,1,2 Juan-Li Zhao,1 Zhen-Jie Han,1 Yan-Jun Duan,2 Li Lin1 1Laboratory of Medical Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anatomy Teaching and Research, College of Basic Medical sciences, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Li Lin, Laboratory of Medical Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Basic Medical sciences, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 16 of Huangjia Lake Western Road, HongShan District, Wuhan, 430065, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 27 68890123, Fax +86 27 68890029, Email [email protected] Yan-Jun Duan, Department of Anatomy Teaching and Research, College of Basic Medical sciences, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, No. 16 of Huangjia Lake Western Road, HongShan District, Wuhan, 430065, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 27 68890047, Fax +86 27 68890029, Email [email protected]: Depression, as a common mental illness that is often accompanied by suicidal and homicidal behaviors, is one of the most important diseases in the medical field that requires urgent attention. The pathogenesis of depression is complex, and the current therapeutic drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and secondary serotonin reuptake inhibitors have certain shortcomings. The inflammatory factor hypothesis, one of the pathogenesis of depression, suggests that inflammatory response is a key factor leading to the occurrence and development of depression, and that overactivation of inflammatory factors such as NLRP3, Toll-like receptor 4, and IDO leads to immune-system dysfunction and depression. The other pathogenic hypothesis, the gut flora hypothesis, has also been the focus of recent research. The gut flora may work together with inflammatory factors to cause depression. The approach to treating depression has been by altering the gut flora through drugs or probiotics. However, effective and clear treatment methods are lacking. In this study, by exploring the involvement of intestinal flora and inflammatory factors in the pathogenesis of depression, we found that improving the intestinal flora can affect inflammatory factors and, therefore, provide research ideas for the development of novel drugs to treat depression.Keywords: depression, pathogenesis, inflammation, inflammatory factors, intestinal flora, therapeutic drugs
