Depression is a complex and heterogeneous mental disorder. Yet, the mechanisms behind depression remain elusive. Increasing evidence suggests that inflammatory reaction and microglia activation are involved in the pathogenesis of depression. Scutellarin has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in various diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anti-depressant effects and potential mechanism of scutellarin in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression animal model. The behavioral tests showed that scutellarin administration ameliorated LPS-induced depressive-like behaviors. Additionally, the scutellarin treatment inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Western blot analysis results showed that scutellarin pretreatment suppressed LPS-induced the protein levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, and IL-1β. Furthermore, immunostaining results showed that scutellarin pretreatment inhibited LPS-induced microglia activation in the hippocampus of rats. These findings suggest that scutellarin effectively improves LPS-induced inflammation-related depressive-like behaviors by inhibiting LPS-induced neuroinflammation and microglia activation, possibly via regulation of the ROS/NLRP3 signaling pathway and microglia activation. Thus, scutellarin may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for depression.

抑郁症是一种复杂多样的精神障碍。然而，抑郁症背后的机制仍然难以捉摸。越来越多的证据表明，炎症反应和小胶质细胞活化与抑郁症的发病机制有关。发现黄苷在多种疾病中具有抗炎和抗氧化作用。本研究的目的是研究黄cut苷在脂多糖（LPS）诱导的抑郁症动物模型中的抗抑郁作用及其潜在机制。行为测试表明，服用黄cut苷可改善LPS诱导的抑郁样行为。另外，黄cut苷处理抑制了活性氧（ROS）的产生。蛋白质印迹分析结果表明，盾cut素预处理可抑制LPS诱导的NLRP3，caspase-1，和IL-1β。此外，免疫染色结果表明，黄cut苷预处理可抑制LPS诱导的大鼠海马小胶质细胞活化。这些发现表明，黄cut苷可能通过调节ROS / NLRP3信号通路和小胶质细胞活化来抑制LPS诱导的神经炎症和小胶质细胞活化，从而有效改善了LPS诱导的炎症相关的抑郁样行为。因此，黄cut苷可以作为抑郁症的潜在治疗策略。可能是通过调节ROS / NLRP3信号通路和小胶质细胞激活来实现的。因此，黄cut苷可以作为抑郁症的潜在治疗策略。可能是通过调节ROS / NLRP3信号通路和小胶质细胞激活来实现的。因此，黄cut苷可以作为抑郁症的潜在治疗策略。