Topic: CREB

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by alternating manic/hypomanic and depressive episodes. However, the molecular mechanism of transition between both states is unknown yet. Our study reveals that knockdown of the circadian clock gene Per2 in the hippocampal CA1 induces mania-like behaviors in rats. In contrast, overexpression of Per2 in the same region results in depression-like behaviors, indicating that Per2 expression levels may mediate the manic/depressive phenotype switch. In addition, we found that phosphorylation of the transcriptional factor CREB regu

Mutations in Na+/H+ exchanger NHE6 (SLC9A6) underlie several X-linked developmental brain disorders including the neurodegenerative disease Christianson Syndrome (CS). Symptoms include cerebellar atrophy, non-verbal status, seizures and severe cognitive disabilities. NHE6 deletion or loss-of-function mutations lead to attenuated endosomal signaling, dysregulated synaptic transmission and abnormal dendritic branching in vitro and in vivo [1]. In this project, we aim to investigate the localization of wildtype- and CS-associated NHE6 variants in primary neurons, the importance of NHE6 in recepto

Memory decline is considered a normal part of the aging process, while the relationship between melatonin deficit and cognitive functions is complex and not fully understood. The present study explored the role of melatonin deficiency induced in different age stages on changes in recognition and spatial memory in rats. Age-related worsening of memory learning capacity, working and short-term memory, tested in the Y maze, object recognition test, and radial arm maze was detected. Pinealectomy negatively impacted memory capacity in the young adult and middle-aged rats, while old rats were unaffe

Ageing has been defined as a gradual functional decline with a progressive physiological integrity loss, increasing the organism’s vulnerability to death. Otherwise, this described deterioration is the major risk factor for most current human pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and diabetes. However, in the last decades, non-pharmacological treatments like physical exercise have provided general health benefits against ageing decline. In this study, we aim to analyze how lifestyle factors such as physical exercise can modify the molecular expres

Activity-driven transcription is a crucial step in neuronal plasticity processes. We found that during neuronal activation induced by the proepileptic drug kainic acid, there is a dramatic genomic redistribution of the transcriptional cofactors CBP and p300. These cofactors leave their default location at enhancer and promoter regions related with cell identity to occupy regulatory regions at activity-induced genes. In parallel with these changes, we also detect changes in the levels of H3K27ac and chromatin accessibility accordingly with the redistribution and modification of the epigenetic c