The Role of Astrocytic Mitochondrial Metabolism in Chronic Stress – ASTROMICS

Depressive disorders are among the most serious challenges in modern medicine. Although depression affects 5–8% of the population, current therapies remain insufficient: only one-third of patients respond to first-line treatment, and many never achieve full remission. Global research consortia emphasize the need to understand the biological foundations of psychiatric disorders at the level of dysfunction within specific brain regions, cell types, signaling pathways, and genes, as well as to determine the contribution of these biological units to psychiatric phenotypes. The “Astromics” project aligns with this paradigm of precision psychiatry.

In this project, the Biology of Astrocytes Research Group at Łukasiewicz – PORT in Wrocław (led by Dr. M. Ślęzak), the Neuronal Homeostasis Group at UniKlinik Bonn (Dr. N. Gassen), and the Neurobiology of Stress Resilience Group at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Dr. M. Schmidt) will combine their expertise to investigate the role of astrocyte-specific metabolic pathways in depression-related phenotypes. Using advanced technologies, the teams will modify the expression of genes crucial for the metabolic function of astrocytes within the brain region responsible for stress responses—the prefrontal cortex. The impact of this intervention will be evaluated using state-of-the-art, non-invasive behavioral analysis systems enabling objective assessment of social behaviors in animals.

In parallel, the project will examine how this manipulation influences local changes in neurotransmitters and metabolites, providing insight into potential therapeutic intervention points. Subsequently, the researchers will test whether reversing abnormalities in the selected signaling pathway can normalize depression-like symptoms. In summary, the synergistic efforts of the collaborating teams will enable the discovery of new molecular targets for therapeutic development and improved strategies for treating stress-related disorders.