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  • Mechanisms of Drug Action
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The neurobiological properties of tianeptine (Stablon): from monoamine hypothesis to glutamatergic modulation

Molecular Psychiatry volume 15, pages 237–249 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Tianeptine is a clinically used antidepressant that has drawn much attention, because this compound challenges traditional monoaminergic hypotheses of depression. It is now acknowledged that the antidepressant actions of tianeptine, together with its remarkable clinical tolerance, can be attributed to its particular neurobiological properties. The involvement of glutamate in the mechanism of action of the antidepressant tianeptine is consistent with a well-developed preclinical literature demonstrating the key function of glutamate in the mechanism of altered neuroplasticity that underlies the symptoms of depression. This article reviews the latest evidence on tianeptine's mechanism of action with a focus on the glutamatergic system, which could provide a key pathway for its antidepressant action. Converging lines of evidences demonstrate actions of tianeptine on the glutamatergic system, and therefore offer new insights into how tianeptine may be useful in the treatment of depressive disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    B S McEwen

  2. National Center for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India

    S Chattarji

  3. Medical Research Division, Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA

    D M Diamond

  4. Center for Preclinical and Clinical Research on PTSD, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    D M Diamond

  5. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    D M Diamond

  6. Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    D M Diamond

  7. INSERM, Physiopathologie des Maladies Psychiatriques, U894, Paris, France

    T M Jay

  8. Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France

    T M Jay

  9. Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    L P Reagan

  10. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    P Svenningsson

  11. Clinical Neurobiology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany

    E Fuchs

  12. Department of Neurology and DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    E Fuchs

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  1. B S McEwen
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  2. S Chattarji
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  3. D M Diamond
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  4. T M Jay
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  5. L P Reagan
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  6. P Svenningsson
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  7. E Fuchs
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Correspondence to B S McEwen.

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McEwen, B., Chattarji, S., Diamond, D. et al. The neurobiological properties of tianeptine (Stablon): from monoamine hypothesis to glutamatergic modulation. Mol Psychiatry 15, 237–249 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2009.80

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2009.80

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