To address the mechanisms underlying the astrocytic VNUT-mediated anti-depressive effect of FLX, we focused on extracellular ATP and BDNF because FLX increased ATP in astrocytes (Fig. 1) and ATP increased the astrocytic expression of Bdnf mRNA [62], one of the most important molecules in the pathogenesis of depression [72]. Here, BDNF is linked to depressive symptom measurement.