Immunoregulatory properties of the antidepressant venlafaxine: astroglia provide evidence

Growing evidence indicates immunoregulatory effects of various antidepressant agents. From in vitro studies, we know that antidepressants exert antiinflammatory effects through the suppression of pro- and the increase of antiinflammatory cytokine secretions. In particular, the noradrenalin (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) transmitter system was found to be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory CNS diseases like MS. Thus, we examined the selective NA- and 5-HT reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine in an inflammatory astroglia-/microglia coculture model. Experimentally, we created inflammatory milieus by augmenting the m…