Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1509543

Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides alleviate chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression through the BDNF/TrkB/CREB pathway and symptoms of sexual dysfunction in mice

Provisionally accepted
Mengjie He Mengjie He 1Mengying Hu Mengying Hu 2*Tingqiao Wang Tingqiao Wang 1*Zeping Zuo Zeping Zuo 3*Hongkai Li Hongkai Li 3*Zhiwei Zhao Zhiwei Zhao 3*Yunwen Hao Yunwen Hao 4*Xueling Dai Xueling Dai 1Jianfang Wang Jianfang Wang 5*Yaxuan Sun Yaxuan Sun 1*
  • 1 Beijing Union University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3 Beijing Tongrentang Company Limited, Beijing, China
  • 4 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • 5 Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In recent years, depression has become a global public health concern, and one of the common concomitant symptoms are diminished sexual motivation and impaired sexual performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides (MOO) on depression and its concomitant symptom, sexual dysfunction.Methods: Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression model was constructed, and the effects of MOO on depression and sexual abilities were evaluated.The results revealed that MOO was able to alleviate CUMS-induced depression-like behavior in mice, to inhibit hippocampal neuron apoptosis, to reverse monoamine neurotransmitter imbalance, increase Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression levels in the hippocampus, to modulate the composition and distribution of gut microbiota, and to increase the abundance of probiotics after continuous gavage of MOO for 28 days. MOO further confirmed that sexual dysfunction is closely related to the development of depression by improving the lack of sexual motivation and low sexual performance in CUMS-induced depressed mice, modulating the disruption of sex hormone secretion in serum, and alleviating sperm morphology and functional defects in the epididymis.These findings on MOO provide a basis for exploring its antidepressant mechanism, its use to improve hypogonadotropic symptoms, and for future development of new antidepressant drug to improves hypogonadotropic symptoms.

    Keywords: Morinda officinalis Oligosaccharides, Depression, CUMS, BDNF/TrkB/CREB pathway, Gut Microbiota, Sexual dysfunction

    Received: 14 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 He, Hu, Wang, Zuo, Li, Zhao, Hao, Dai, Wang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Mengying Hu, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, Beijing Municipality, China
    Tingqiao Wang, Beijing Union University, Beijing, China
    Zeping Zuo, Beijing Tongrentang Company Limited, Beijing, China
    Hongkai Li, Beijing Tongrentang Company Limited, Beijing, China
    Zhiwei Zhao, Beijing Tongrentang Company Limited, Beijing, China
    Yunwen Hao, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z2, British Columbia, Canada
    Jianfang Wang, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100078, Beijing, China
    Yaxuan Sun, Beijing Union University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.