Figure 1.

Imipramine but not escitalopram increases the expression of Bdnf RNA in rat astrocyte cell cultures. The cells were incubated for 4 h with either 50 μM escitalopram (E), 50 μM imipramine (I), or 100 μM imipramine (I). RNA levels of Bdnf were analyzed by quantitative real time PCR. Results are expressed as relative levels after normalization against housekeeping genes (Gapdh, Arp, and 18S) in percentages of control cells and represent the means of six independent experiments ± SD. Data were statistically analyzed using non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis-Test. ***p < 0.001.