Perlstein Figure (IMAGE)
Caption
Princeton University researchers observed a self-degradation response to the antidepressant Zoloft in yeast cells that could help provide new answers to lingering questions about how antidepressants work. Five minutes after Zoloft treatment, a yeast cell (A) shows elevated activity, particularly in the vacuole (B), a cell component that recycles damaged or dead cellular material. In the cell vesicle (C), Zoloft resulted in the formation of a black membrane whorl, a thick buildup of membrane layers, on the internal membrane. An image from another yeast cell vesicle (D) shows the internal membrane has become a crescent-shaped bulge as the vesicle enters autophagy and begins to break down. Twenty minutes after Zoloft treatment, a cell vacuole (E) exhibits an unknown, active swirl of membrane growth not seen in the untreated cells and that could be part of the final degradation process.
Credit
Ethan Perlstein
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