Astrocyte-mediated neuroimmune signaling and extracellular matrix regulation in depression and antidepressant response

Personalized medicine, which tailors treatment based on individual molecular profiles, offers a promising strategy to address this challenge. The primary objective of this study was to elucidate astrocyte-specific mechanisms underlying differential responses to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in MDD and to identify potential therapeutic targets for overcoming treatment resistance.

Astrocytes, key regulators of neurotransmitter metabolism, synaptic activity, and neuroimmune responses, have increasingly been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. To investigate these processes, we employed human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology to generate astrocytes from SSRI-responsive patients, SSRI-nonresponsive patients, and healthy controls, thereby capturing patient-specific genetic and epigenetic variations in an in vitro platform.