Table 3.

Summary of studies on the expression of postsynaptic Glu receptors (NMDAR, AMPAR and GluR5) in rat models of depression and/or after antidepressants treatment.

Postsynaptic Proteins	Species/Strain	Model/Treatment/Groups	Brain Region	Methods	Findings	Authors’ Names
NMDA receptor complex
GluN2A-B	Sprague Dawley male and female rats	Learned helpless (LH) non-learned helpless (NLH) wild type (WT)	Hippocampus	Western blot Post-embedding Immunogold	↓GluN2A/GluN2B protein in LH compared to NLH ↑GluN2B protein in LH compared to WT ↔GluN2B protein in NLH compared to WT	Bieler et al. [143]
NMDAR (no information on subunits)	Sprague Dawley male rats	Chronic unpredictable mild stress—3 weeks (CUMS) Paroxetine 1.8 mg/kg/d p.o. (PAR) every day from the 4th week Zn 2.3 mg/kg/d p.o. (Zn) every day from the 4th week Folic acid 21 μg/kg/d p.o. (FA) every day from the 4th week	Frontal cortex	qPCR	↓NMDAR mRNA after CUMS ↑NMDAR mRNA n after CUMS+ PAR, CUMS+ Zn+ FA, CUMS+ Zn+ FA+ PAR	Dou et al. [144]
GluN1 GluN2A pT1325-GluN2A GluN2B pS1303-GluN2B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Chronic unpredictable stress—28 days (CUS) CUS + Ifenprodil (IFE) 3.0 mg/kg i,p. CUS + TC-DAPK 6 (an inhibitor of DAPK1) 290 nM; 0.5 μL/side, microinjected in the mPFC DAPK1 knockdown by adeno-associated virus mediated short hairpin RNA (AAV-shDAPK1), intra-PFC infusion	Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)	Western blot	↑GluN1, GluN2B, p-GluN2B and ↔ GluN2A, p-GluN2A protein after CUS ↔GluN2A, p-GluN2A, GluN2B and ↓p-GluN2B protein after CUS+ IFE ↑GluN1 protein after CUS+ IFE ↔GluN1 protein level after CUS+TC-DAPK 6 ↔GluN2B and ↓p-GluN2B protein level after CUS+TC-DAPK 6 ↔GluN1 protein level after CUS+ AAV-shDAPK1 ↔GluN2B protein after CUS+ AAV-shDAPK1 ↓p-GluN2B protein after CUS+ AAV-shDAPK1	Li et al. [145]
GluN2A-B	Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) male rats Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) male rats	FSL FRL	Hippocampus (HP) Prefrontal cortex (PFC)	Western blot	↓GluN2A and ↑GluN2B protein in FSL—HP ↔GluN2A and GluN2B protein in FSL—PFC	Treccani et al. [146]
GluN2A-B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Olfactory bulbectomy (OB) Sham-operated rats (Sham) Magnesium hydroaspartate 15 mg/kg i.p. (calculated as magnesium ions; Mg15) once daily for 14 days	Prefrontal cortex (PFC) Hippocampus (HP) Amygdala (AMY)	Western blot qPCR	↔GluN2A protein after OB in PFC vs. Sham ↔GluN2A protein after OB+ Mg15 in PFC vs. OB ↔GluN2B protein after OB in PFC vs. Sham ↔GluN2B protein after OB+ Mg15 in PFC vs. OB ↔GluN2A protein after OB in HP vs. Sham ↔GluN2A protein after OB+ Mg15 in HP vs. OB ↔GluN2B protein after OB in HP vs. Sham ↔GluN2B protein after OB+ Mg15 in HP vs. OB ↔GluN2A protein after OB in AMY vs. Sham ↔GluN2A protein after OB+ Mg15 in AMY vs. OB ↔GluN2B protein after OB in AMY vs. Sham ↑GluN2B protein after OB+ Mg15 in AMY vs. OB ↔Grin2A mRNA after OB in PFC vs. Sham ↔Grin2A mRNA after OB+ Mg15 in PFC vs. OB ↔Grin2B mRNA after OB in PFC vs. Sham ↑Grin2B mRNA after OB+ 15 Mg15 in PFC vs. OB ↓Grin2A mRNA after OB in HP vs. Sham ↔Grin2A mRNA after OB+ Mg15 in HP vs. OB ↓Grin2B mRNA after OB in HP vs. Sham ↑Grin2B mRNA after OB+ Mg15 in HP vs. OB	Pochwat et al. [147]
GluN1 GluN2A-B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Zinc deficiency (ZnD; 3 mg Zn/kg) for 6 weeks Zinc adequate (ZnA; 50 mg Zn/kg) Fluoxetine 10 mg/kg i,p. (FLU) after 4 weeks ZnD for subsequent 2 weeks	Hippocampus	Western blot	↑GluN1, GluN2A and GluN2B proteins after ZnD vs. ZnA ↓GluN1, GluN2A and GluN2B proteins after ZnD+ FLU vs. ZnD	Doboszewska et al. [73]
GluN2A-B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Chronic restraint stress—14 days (CRS)Fasudil 10 mg/kg i.p. (FAS) for 18 days from the 5th day of CRS	Hippocampus (whole tissue lysate) Hippocampus (synaptoneurosomes)	Western blot	↓GluN2A and ↔GluN2B protein after CRS ↔ GluN2A, ↔GluN2B protein after CRS+ FAS ↔GluN2A, GluN2B protein after CRS ↔GluN2A, GluN2B protein after CRS+ FAS	Román-Albasini et al. [148]
GluN2B	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—3 weeks inta-CA1 microinjections of BDNF (0.25 μg/μL) for CUMS inta-CA1 microinjections of proBDNF (0.5 μg/μL) for naïve control	Hippocampus	Western blot	↔ GluN2B protein after CUMS ↑GluN2B protein after CUMS+BDNF ↓GluN2B protein after proBDNF	Qiao et al. [149]
GluN2B	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—4 weeks YY-21 10 mg/kg i.g. once a day for 3 weeks after CUMS Fluoxetine 10 mg/kg i.p. (FLU) once a day for 3 weeks after CUMS	Medial prefrontal cortex	Western blot	↓GluN2B protein after CUMS ↑GluN2B protein after CUMS+ YY-21 ↑GluN2B protein after CUMS+ FLU	Guo et al. [150]
GluN2A-B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Chronic mild stress—8 weeks (CMS)	Amygdala	Western blot	↑GluN2A and GluN2B protein after CMS	Zhou et al. [151]
GluN2A-B	Dark Agouti male rats	Venlafaxine (VLX) 40 mg/kg s.c. (osmotic minipumps) each day for 21 days	Frontal cortex	qPCR	↑Grin2A and Grin2B mRNA after VLX	Tamási et al. [152]
GluN2B	Sprague Dawley male rats	Ketamine (KET) 10 mg/kg i.v. 24h before analysis	Hippocampus (HP) Nucleus accumbens (NAc) Amygdala (AMY)	Western blot	↓GluN2B protein after KET in HP ↑GluN2B protein after KET in NAc ↑GluN2B protein after KET in AMY	Piva et al. [153]
AMPA receptor complex
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—35 days Ifenprodil 3 mg/kg i,p. (IFE) on day 37 (2 days after finish CUMS)	Hippocampus (HP) Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)	Western blot	↓GluA1 protein after CUMS and ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+ IFE in HP ↓GluA1 protein after CUMS and ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+ IFE in mPFC	Yao et al. [154]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	NVP-AAM07 10 mg/kg i.p.	Medial prefrontal cortex	Western blot	↑GluA1 protein after NVP-AAM077 (only 30 min after administration)	Gordillo-Salas et al. [155]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUS—28 days Ifenprodil 3.0 mg/kg i,p. (IFE) 30 min before analysis	Medial prefrontal cortex	Western blot	↓GluA1 protein after CUS ↑GluA1 protein after CUS+IFE	Li et al. [145]
GluA1 pS831-GluA1 pS845-GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	Olfactory bulbectomy (OB) Sham-operated rats (Sham) Magnesium hydroaspartate 15 mg/kg i.p. (calculated as magnesium ions; Mg15) once daily for 14 days	Prefrontal cortex (PFC) Hippocampus (HP) Amygdala (AMY)	Western blot	↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1, pS845-GluA1 proteins after OB in PFC vs. Sham ↔GluA1,↑pS831-GluA1 and pS845-GluA1 protein after OB+ Mg15 in PFC vs. OB ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1 and ↑pS845-GluA1 protein after OB in HP vs. Sham ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1 and ↓pS845-GluA1 protein after OB+ Mg15 in HP vs. OB ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1 and pS845-GluA1 protein after OB in AMY vs. Sham ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1 and pS845-GluA1 protein after OB+ Mg15 in AMY vs. OB	Pochwat et al. [147]
GluA1 pS831-GluA1 pS845-GluA1 GluA2	Sprague Dawley male rats	CRS—14 days Fasudil 10 mg/kg i.p. (FAS) for 18 days from the 5th day of CRS	Hippocampus (whole tissue lysate) Hippocampus (synaptoneurosomes)	Western blot	↓GluA1 and ↔pS831-GluA1, pS845-GluA1, GluA2 protein level after CRS ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1, pS845-GluA1, GluA2 protein after CRS+ FAS ↔GluA1, pS831-GluA1, pS845-GluA1, GluA2 protein after CRS ↔GluA1, pS845-GluA1, GluA2 and ↓pS831-GluA1 proteins after CRS+ FAS	Román-Albasini et al. [148]
GluA3	Dark Agouti male rats	Venlafaxine 40 mg/kg s.c. (osmotic minipumps) (VLX) for 21 days	Frontal cortex	qPCR	↑Gria3 mRNA after VLX	Tamási et al. [152]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—28 days S-Ketamine 20 mg/kg i,p. (S-KET) once a day for 7 days NSC23766 50 μg i.c.v once a day for 7 days	Hippocampus	Western blot	↓GluA1 protein after CUMS ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+S-KET ↔GluA1 protein after CUMS+ NSC23766 + S-KET ↔GluA1 protein after CUMS + NSC23766	Zhu et al. [156]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley rats	Conditioned stimulus; white noise of 95 dB + unconditioned stimulus (CS-US); foot-shock 0.6 mA: 3/6/10 CS-US pairings) Ketamine 10 mg/kg i,p. (KET) 24 h before analysis Fluoxetine 10 mg/kg i,p. (FLU) for 28 days	Amygdala (AMY) Prefrontal cortex (PFC)	Western blot	↑GluA1 protein after 3 CS-US in AMY ↔GluA1 protein after 6 CS-US in AMY ↑GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US in AMY ↓GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US+ KET in AMY ↔GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US + FLU in AMY ↓GluA1 protein after 3 CS-US in PFC ↓GluA1 protein after 6 CS-US in PFC ↓GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US in PFC ↑GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US+ KET in PFC ↔GluA1 protein after 10 CS-US + FLU in PFC	Lee et al. [157]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—28 days 7,8-Dihydroxy-4-methylcoumarin 10 mg/kg i,p. (Dhmc) once a day 30 min before receiving stress from day 11 to 28 for 18 days Venlafaxine 10 mg/kg i,p. (VLX) once a day 30 min before receiving stress from day 11 to 28 for 18 days	Hippocampus	Western blot	↓GluA1 protein after CUMS ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+ VLX ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+ Dhmc	Yang et al. [158]
GluA1 pS845-GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—28 days YY-21 10 mg/kg i.g. once a day for 3 weeks after CUMS Fluoxetine 10 mg/kg i,p. (FLU) once a day for 3 weeks after CUMS	Medial prefrontal cortex	Western blot	↔GluA1 and ↓pS845-GluA1 proteins after CUMS ↔GluA1 and ↑pS845-GluA1 proteins after CUMS+ YY-21 ↔GluA1 and ↑pS845-GluA1 proteins after CUMS+ FLU	Guo et al. [150]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	Zinc hydroaspartate 5 mg/kg i,p. (Zn) 30 min, 3 h and 24 h before decapitation	Prefrontal cortex	Western blot	↔GluA1 protein 30 min after Zn5 treatment ↑GluA1 protein 3 h after Zn5 treatment ↑GluA1 protein 24h after Zn treatment	Szewczyk et al. [159]
GluA1 pS845-GluA1	Sprague Dawley male and female rats	Ketamine 10 mg/kg i,p. (KET) before analysis Memantine 10 mg/kg i,p. (MEM) before analysis	Hippocampus	Western blot	↑GluA1 and pS845-GluA1 protein after KET ↔GluA1 and ↑pS845-GluA1 protein after MEM	Zhang et al. [160]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUS—21 days	Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (hPVN) Hypothalamus (HY)	Western blot qPCR	↑ GluA1 protein after CUS in hPVN ↑GluA1 protein and ↑Gria1 mRNA after CUS in HY	Li et al. [161]
GluA1-2	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—35 days sodium hydrosulfide 11.2 mg/kg i.p. (NaHS) before behavioral test	Hippocampus	Western blot	↓GluA1 and GluA2 protein after CUMS ↑GluA1 protein after CUMS+ NaHS ↑GluA2 protein after CUMS+ NaHS	Hou et al. [162]
GluA1	Sprague Dawley male rats	Ketamine 10 mg/kg i.v. (KET) 24h before sacrifice	Hippocampus (HP) Nucleus accumbens (NAc) Amygdala (AMY)	Western blot	↓GluA1 protein after KET in HP ↓GluA1 protein after KET in NAc ↔GluA1 protein after KET in AMY	Piva et al. [153]
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5
mGluR5	Sprague Dawley male rats	CUMS—42 days Saikosaponin D: high-dose 1.5 mg/kg/d p.o. (SSDH); low-dose 0.75 mg/kg/d p.o. (SSDL) for 3 weeks Fluoxetine 2.0 mg/kg/d p.o. (FLU) for 3 weeks	Hippocampus	Western blot Immunohistochemistry qPCR	↓mGluR5 protein after CUMS ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ FLU ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ SSDH ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ SSDL ↓mGluR5 protein after CUMS ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ FLU ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ SSDH ↑mGluR5 protein after CUMS+ SSDL ↓Grm5 mRNA after CUMS ↑Grm5mRNA after CUMS+ FLU ↑Grm5 mRNA after CUMS+ SSDH ↑Grm5 mRNA after CUMS+ SDDL	Liu et al. [163]
mGluR5	Sprague Dawley male rats	Ketamine 10 mg/kg i.v. (KET) 24h before sacrifice	Hippocampus (HP) Nucleus accumbens (NAc) Amygdala (AMY)	Western blot	↓mGluR5 protein after KET in HP ↓mGluR5 protein after KET in NAc ↑mGluR5 protein after KET in AMY	Piva et al. [153]

Abbreviations: YY-21—novel furostan skeleton secondary timosaponin, was obtained from timosaponin B-III via hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid; NVP-AAM07—[(S)-[[(1S)-1-(4-bromophenyl)ethyl]amino]-(2,3-dioxo-1,4-dihydroquinoxalin-5-yl)methyl]phosphonic acid; preferring GluN2A subunit antagonist; NSC23766—(N6-[2-(4-Diethylamino-1-methyl-butylamino)-6-methyl-pyrimidin-4-yl]-2-methyl-quinoline-4,6-diamine); Rac1 inhibitor; qPCR—quantitative polymerase chain reaction.