The allosteric citalopram binding site differentially interferes with neuronal firing rate and SERT trafficking in serotonergic neurons.

Citalopram is a clinically applied selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor for antidepressant pharmacotherapy. It consists of two enantiomers, S-citalopram (escitalopram) and R-citalopram, of which escitalopram exerts the antidepressant therapeutic effect and has been shown to be one of the most efficient antidepressants, while R-citalopram antagonizes escitalopram via an unknown molecular mechanism that may depend on binding to a low-affinity allosteric binding site of the serotonin transporter. However, the precise mechanism of antidepressant regulation of the serotonin transporter by citalopram enantiomers still remains elusive. Here we investigate escitalopram׳s acute effect on (1) serotonergic neuronal firing in transgenic mice that express the human serotonin transporter without and with a mutation that disables the allosteric binding site, and (2) regulation of the serotonin transporter׳s cell surface localization in stem cell-derived serotonergic neurons. Our results demonstrate that escitalopram inhibited neuronal firing less potently in the mouse line featuring a mutation that abolishes the function of the allosteric binding site and induced serotonin transporter internalization independently of the allosteric binding site mechanism. Furthermore, citalopram enantiomers dose-dependently induced serotonin transporter internalization. In conclusion, this study provides new insight into antidepressant effects exerted by citalopram enantiomers in presence and absence of a functional allosteric binding site.

Impact of preconditioning with retinoic acid during early development on morphological and functional characteristics of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a suitable tool to study basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodevelopment. The directed differentiation of hiPSCs via the generation of a self-renewable neuronal precursor cell line allows the standardization of defined differentiation protocols. Here, we have investigated whether preconditioning with retinoic acid during early neural induction impacts on morphological and functional characteristics of the neuronal culture after terminal differentiation. For this purpose we have analyzed neuronal and glial cell markers, neuronal outgrowth, soma size, depolarization-induced distal shifts of the axon initial segment as well as glutamate-evoked calcium influx. Retinoic acid preconditioning led to a higher yield of neurons vs. glia cells and longer axons than unconditioned controls. In contrast, glutamatergic activation and depolarization induced structural plasticity were unchanged. Our results show that the treatment of neuroectodermal cells with retinoic acid during early development, i.e. during the neurulation phase, increases the yield of neuronal phenotypes, but does not impact on the functionality of terminally differentiated neuronal cells.