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Major Depressive Disorder pp 257–272Cite as

The Role of Neurotrophic Factors in Pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1305))

Abstract

According to the neurotrophic hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), impairment in growth factor signaling might be associated with the pathology of this illness. Current evidence demonstrates that impaired neuroplasticity induced by alterations of neurotrophic growth factors and related signaling pathways may be underlying to the pathophysiology of MDD. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the most studied neurotrophic factor involved in the neurobiology of MDD. Nevertheless, developing evidence has implicated other neurotrophic factors, including neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), nerve growth factor (NGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) in the MDD pathophysiology. Here, we summarize the current literature on the involvement of neurotrophic factors and related signaling pathways in the pathophysiology of MDD.

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Acknowledgments

The Translational Psychiatry Program (USA) is funded by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders (USA) is funded by Pat Rutherford Jr. Chair in Psychiatry, the John S. Dunn Foundation, and the Anne and Don Fizer Foundation Endowment for Depression Research. Translational Psychiatry Laboratory (Brazil) is one of the centers of the National Institute for Molecular Medicine (INCT-MM) and one of the members of the Center of Excellence in Applied Neurosciences of Santa Catarina (NENASC). Its research is supported by grants from CNPq (JQ and GZR), FAPESC (JQ and GZR), Instituto Cérebro e Mente (JQ and GZR), and UNESC (JQ, GZR, and TB). JQ is a 1A CNPq Research Fellow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Meysam Amidfar

  2. Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina, Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Gislaine Zilli Réus & Airam Barbosa de Moura

  3. UT Health Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Faillace Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA

    João Quevedo

  4. Translational Psychiatry Program, Faillace Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA

    João Quevedo

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Ansan Hospital, College of Medicine, Ansan, Republic of Korea

    Yong-Ku Kim

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  1. Meysam Amidfar
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  3. Airam Barbosa de Moura
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  5. Yong-Ku Kim
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Correspondence to Yong-Ku Kim .

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Ansan Hospital, College of Medicine, Ansan, Korea (Republic of)

    Yong-Ku Kim

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Amidfar, M., Réus, G.Z., de Moura, A.B., Quevedo, J., Kim, YK. (2021). The Role of Neurotrophic Factors in Pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder. In: Kim, YK. (eds) Major Depressive Disorder. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1305. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6044-0_14

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