The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7401 p586
20 May 2006

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Fluoxetine target identified

Fluoxetine targets early progenitor cells in the adult brain leading to the generation of new neurons, researchers have discovered.

Using a mouse model to define neurogenesis, the researchers then examined how the process is affected by fluoxetine. They observed that the drug specifically stimulates generation of “amplifying neural progenitors” — the second step in the neurogenesis pathway from stem cells to mature neurons.

The researchers say their findings might enable a new generation of antidepressants to be developed (published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 15 May 2006).