摘要抑郁症是一种严重的慢性致残性精神疾病，其高患病率、高复发率、高致残率给社会和家庭带来巨大的经济负担。越来越多的研究显示色氨酸-犬尿氨酸代谢途径异常在抑郁症的病理生理机制中可能具有重要作用。本文中系统的介绍了近年来色氨酸-犬尿氨酸代谢途径及其代谢产物在抑郁症中的相关研究，并梳理了基于该代谢途径的靶向药物潜在的抗抑郁效果，为探索抑郁症的病因及发病机制提供一定的理论基础。

abstractsMajor depressive disorder is a serious chronic and disabling mental disease, which produces a tremendous family-society economic burden due to its high prevalence, high recurrence rate, and high disability rate. Accumulating evidences demonstrate that abnormalities of the kynurenine pathway may be implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. This review systematically elucidates the role of tryptophan-kynurenine pathway and its bioactive metabolites in depression and explains the potential treatment implications of targeted drugs based on kynurenine pathway, which provides a certain theoretical basis for further exploration of the etiology and pathogenesis in depression.