Share Rspecialized regions in the membrane of nervous system cells, rich in cholesterol and known as lipid rafts – lipid rafts, in English – may be the key to understanding the action of antidepressant drugs. In a study with the participation of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine (FMRP) at USP, scientists found that the level of cholesterol in these regions of the cell membrane determines the structure and functioning of a receptor, a protein that serves as a target for antidepressants in neurons. The research is described in an article published in the scientific journal Cell . “For the study, several classes of antidepressants were used, including classic drugs, such as fluoxetine and imipramine, and the fast-acting antidepressants, discovered more recently, such as ketamine,” says researcher Cassiano Ricardo Alves to Jornal da USP Faria Diniz, who is doing post-doctoral studies at FMRP and participated in the work. “From in vitro, laboratory, and in silico approaches, using high-performance computer simulations, it was found that in lipid rafts, antidepressants bind directly to the TRKB receptor, thus being able to modulate the activity of the receptor while stabilize its three-dimensional structure. ”