SLC6A4 and mood disorder: Therefore, in accordance with these previous preclinical findings, to explore the pathophysiology of mood disorders associated with astrocytes, the present study determined the effects of escitalopram (selective 5-HT transporter inhibitor) and vortioxetine (5-HT partial agonist reuptake inhibitor: SPARI) [50,51] on astroglial L-glutamate release through activated hemichannels and Cx43 expression using primary cultured rat cortical astrocytes.