Marker for antidepressant therapy and methods related thereto
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsMark M. Rasenick, Robert J. Donati, Sadamu Toki
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to methods for determining the effectiveness of ongoing antidepressant therapy via analysis of the association of Gsα with components of the plasma membrane or cytoskeleton of cells from peripheral tissues of the depressed individual as well as to methods involved in screening for effective antidepressant agents via their ability to cause a difference in the association of Gsα with components of the plasma membrane or cytoskeleton of cells.
Claims33
A method for monitoring the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy in a depressed individual at an early stage of administration comprising determining whether there has been a redistribution of Gsα from a strongly hydrophobic region of the plasma membrane of blood cells of the depressed individual to a less hydrophobic membrane domain of blood cells of the depressed individual within the first two months of administration of antidepressant therapy to said individual, wherein such a redistribution is observed within three to five days from initial administration of said antidepressant therapy and the redistribution indicates that said antidepressant therapy is effective.
A method for monitoring the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy in a depressed individual, the method comprising:
- (a) collecting blood cells from peripheral tissues from the depressed individual within two months of the initiation of administration of antidepressant therapy;
- and
- (b) determining whether there has been a redistribution of Gsα from a strongly hydrophobic region of the plasma membrane to a less hydrophobic membrane domain of the cells collected in step (a)
- wherein said redistribution is indicative of the effectiveness of the anti-depressant therapy.
A method for monitoring the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy in a depressed individual comprising determining whether there has been a redistribution of Gsα from a strongly hydrophobic region of the plasma membrane of blood cells of the depressed individual to a less hydrophobic membrane domain of blood cells of the depressed individual, wherein such a modification indicates that said antidepressant therapy is effective.
A method for monitoring the effectiveness of antidepressant therapy in depressed individual comprising determining whether there has been a redistribution of Gsα from a strongly hydrophobic region of the cytoskeleton of peripheral cells of the depressed individual to a less hydrophobic region of the membrane of peripheral cells of the depressed individual, wherein such a modification indicates that said antidepressant therapy is effective.
A method for assaying for an agent or agents having antidepressant activity comprising the step of:
- (a) contacting said agent or agents with cultured cells;
- (b) determining whether there has been a modification of the association of Gsα with components of the plasma membrane or cytoskeleton of the cells in step (a) and comparing the modification to a control cell culture lacking said agent or agents;
- (c) identifying agents having antidepressant activity from a difference in the modification of the association of Gsα with components of the plasma membrane or cytoskeleton of the cells in step (a), wherein an agent or agents having antidepressant activity increases the modification of the association of Gsα with components of the plasma membrane or cytoskeleton of the cells in step (a).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.