Curcumin Relieves Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress-Induced Depression-Like Behavior through the PGC-1 α /FNDC5/BDNF Pathway.

Methods: All rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely, control, CUMS, CUMS + CUR, and CUMS + CUR + SR18292 (PGC-1 α inhibitor). Behavioral tests were conducted to assess the antidepressant-like effects of CUR. The expressions of PGC-1 α , estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERR α ), FNDC5, and BDNF were determined to investigate the regulatory effects of CUR on the PGC-1 α /FNDC5/BDNF pathway. The PGC-1 α inhibitor SR18292 was used to explore the role of PGC-1 α in the induction of BDNF by CUR.

Results: Daily gavage of 100 mg/kg CUR successfully attenuated the abnormal behaviors induced by CUMS and effectively prevented CUMS-induced reduction of PGC-1 α , ERR α , FNDC5, and BDNF expressions. CUR also enhanced PGC-1 α and ERR α translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus. Furthermore, we found that CUR supplementation effectively promoted neurocyte proliferation and suppressed neuronal apoptosis induced by CUMS. Of note, the PGC-1 α inhibitor SR18292 remarkably reversed the beneficial effects of CUR on depressed rats, indicating an important role of PGC-1 α in the antidepressant-like effects of CUR.

Conclusion: Collectively, our data evaluating the neuroprotective action of CUR in the CUMS rats highlights the involvement of the PGC-1 α /FNDC5/BDNF pathway in the antidepressant-like effects of CUR.