Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011570 (depression)
172,036 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

There is growing evidence that activation of either protein kinases or protein phosphatases determines the type of plasticity observed after different patterns of hippocampal stimulation. Because activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been shown to be necessary for long-term potentiation, we investigated the regulation of ERK in long-term depression (LTD) in the adult hippocampus in vivo. We found that ERK immunoreactivity was decreased following the induction of LTD and that this decrease required NMDA receptor activation. The LTD-associated decrease in ERK immunoreactivity could be simulated in vitro via incubation of either purified ERK2 or hippocampal homogenates with either protein phosphatase 1 or protein phosphatase 2A. The protein phosphatase-dependent decrease in ERK immunoreactivity was inhibited by microcystin. Intrahippocampal administration of the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid blocked the LTD-associated decrease in ERK2, but not ERK1, immunoreactivity. Collectively, these data demonstrate that protein phosphatases can decrease ERK immunoreactivity and that such a decrease occurs with ERK2 during LTD. These observations provide the first demonstration of a biochemical alteration of ERK in LTD.
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PMID:Long-term depression in the hippocampus in vivo is associated with protein phosphatase-dependent alterations in extracellular signal-regulated kinase. 1061 20

The extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) 1 and ERK2 are members of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family that play an important role in transducing extracellular signals to the nucleus and have been implicated in a broad spectrum of biological responses. To test the hypothesis that MAP kinases may be involved in depression, we examined the activation of p44/42 MAP kinase and expression of ERK1 and ERK2 in the post-mortem brain tissue obtained from non-psychiatric control subjects (n = 11) and age- and the post-mortem interval-matched depressed suicide subjects (n = 11). We observed that p44/42 MAP kinase activity was significantly decreased in the prefrontal cortical areas (Brodmann's areas 8, 9 and 10) and the hippocampus of depressed suicide subjects without any change in the cerebellum. This decrease was associated with a decrease in mRNA and protein levels of ERK1 and ERK2. In addition, the expression of MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP)2, a 'dual function' ERK1/2 phosphatase, was increased in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. These studies suggest that p44/42 MAP kinases are less activated in the post-mortem brain of depressed suicide subjects and this may be because of reduced expression of ERK1/2 and increased expression of MKP2. Given the role of MAP kinases in various physiological functions and gene expression, alterations in p44/42 MAP kinase activation and expression of ERK1/2 may contribute significantly to the pathophysiology of depressive disorders.
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PMID:Reduced activation and expression of ERK1/2 MAP kinase in the post-mortem brain of depressed suicide subjects. 1133 20

Leukocyte infiltration in the CNS after trauma or inflammation is triggered in part by upregulation of the chemokine, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), in astrocytes. However the signals that induce the upregulation of MCP-1 in astrocytes are unknown. We have investigated the roles for ATP P2X7 receptor activation because ATP is an intercellular signaling transmitter that is released in both trauma and inflammation and P2X7 receptors are involved in immune system signaling. Astrocytes in primary cell culture and acutely isolated from the hippocampus were immunopositive for P2X7 receptors. In astrocyte cultures, application of the selective P2X7 agonist, benzoyl-benzoyl ATP (Bz-ATP), activated MAP kinases extracellular signal receptor-activated kinase 1 (ERK1), ERK2, and p38. Purinergic antagonists depressed this activation with a profile suggesting P2X7 receptors. Bz-ATP also increased MCP-1 expression in cultured astrocytes, and again P2X7 antagonists prevented this increase. Blocking either the ERK1/ERK2 or the p38 pathway (with PD98059 or SB203580, respectively) significantly inhibited Bz-ATP-induced MCP-1 expression. Coapplication of both antagonists caused a greater depression. We also tested the roles for ATP receptor activation in inducing MCP-1 upregulation in corticectomy, an in vivo model of trauma. This model of cortical trauma was previously shown to increase MCP-1 expression in vivo principally in astrocytes. Suramin, a wide-spectrum purinergic receptor antagonist, significantly depressed the rapid (3 hr) trauma-induced increase in MCP-1 mRNA. These data indicate that purinergic transmitter receptors in astrocytes are important in regulating chemokine synthesis. The regulation of MCP-1 in astrocytes by ATP may be important in mediating communication with hematopoietic inflammatory cells.
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PMID:P2X7-like receptor activation in astrocytes increases chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression via mitogen-activated protein kinase. 1154 24

The genetically selected long attack latency (LAL) and short attack latency (SAL) mice differ in a wide variety of behavioural traits and display differences in the serotonergic system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)-axis. Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was used to generate a hippocampal expression profile of almost 30 000 genes in LAL and SAL mice. Using SAGE, we found differential expression of 191 genes. Among these were genes involved in growth, signal transduction, and cell metabolism. The SAGE study was supported by GeneChip analysis (Affymetrix). Strikingly, both SAGE and GeneChips showed a higher expression of numerous cytoskeleton genes, such as cofilin and several tubulin isotypes in LAL mice. LAL mice also showed a higher expression of several calmodulin-related genes and genes encoding components of a MAPK cascade, namely raf-related oncogene and ERK2. The findings were confirmed by in situ hybridization. Our results of differential expression of cytoskeleton and signal transduction genes therefore suggest differential regulation of the raf/ERK pathway that may be related to structural differences in the hippocampus of LAL and SAL mice. As stress-related disorders, such as depression, are also linked to differential regulation of the HPA-axis and the serotonergic system and are associated with altered hippocampal morphology, differential regulation of these genes may be involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases.
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PMID:Serial analysis of gene expression predicts structural differences in hippocampus of long attack latency and short attack latency mice. 1254 75

Depression is associated with deficiencies in monoaminergic transmitters and possibly neurotrophins. A common cellular response to these molecules is the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). A deficiency of ERK signal transduction in depression was therefore hypothesized and was tested in a rat model of depression, produced by neonatal treatment with clomipramine (CLI). We measured sexual behaviors and brain levels of ERK, phosphorylated ERK (pERK), protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), and MAPK phosphatase-2 (MKP-2) during adulthood in control and neonatally CLI-treated rats (CLI rats). As expected, the CLI rats exhibited significantly lower sexual activities and also exhibited (1). significant decreases of pERK1/2 in the frontal cortex and pERK1 in the hippocampus, (2). slight but significant reduction of ERK2 in the frontal cortex and hippocampus, (3). no change of pERK1/2 levels in the temporal cortex, occipital cortex, parietal cortex, midbrain, and medulla, (4). significantly higher levels of PP1 in both the frontal cortex and hippocampus, (5). no change in MKP-2 in any examined region, and (6). all five measures of sexual function were significantly correlated with ERK2 and pERK2 in the frontal cortex. These findings suggest that a deficiency in the ERK signaling pathway is involved in the display of depressive behaviors.
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PMID:Impairments of ERK signal transduction in the brain in a rat model of depression induced by neonatal exposure of clomipramine. 1457 92

The acute hippocampal slice preparation has been widely used to study the cellular mechanisms underlying activity-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Although protein phosphorylation has a key role in LTP and LTD, little is known about how protein phosphorylation might be altered in hippocampal slices maintained in vitro. To begin to address this issue, we examined the effects of slicing and in vitro maintenance on phosphorylation of six proteins involved in LTP and/or LTD. We found that AMPA receptor (AMPAR) glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) subunits are persistently dephosphorylated in slices maintained in vitro for up to 8 h. alpha calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (alphaCamKII) was also strongly dephosphorylated during the first 3 h in vitro but thereafter recovered to near control levels. In contrast, phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase ERK2, the ERK kinase MEK, proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), and Src family kinases was significantly, but transiently, increased. Electrophysiological experiments revealed that the induction of LTD by low-frequency synaptic stimulation was sensitive to time in vitro. These findings indicate that phosphorylation of proteins involved in N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity is altered in hippocampal slices and suggest that some of these changes can significantly influence the induction of LTD.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of proteins involved in activity-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity is altered in hippocampal slices maintained in vitro. 1558 11

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a key component of the CNS stress and reward circuit. Synaptic plasticity in this region could in part underlie the persistent behavioral alterations in generalized anxiety and addiction. Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) have been implicated in stress, addiction, and synaptic plasticity, but their roles in the BNST are unknown. We find that activation of group I mGluRs in the dorsal BNST induces depression of excitatory synaptic transmission through two distinct mechanisms. First, a combined activation of group I mGluRs (mGluR1 and mGluR5) induces a transient depression that is cannabinoid 1 receptor dependent. Second, as with endocannabinoid-independent group I mGluR long-term depression (LTD) in the adult hippocampus, we find that activation of mGluR5 induces an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent LTD. Surprisingly, our data demonstrate that this LTD requires the ERK1 rather than ERK2 isoform, establishing a key role for this isoform in the CNS. Finally, we find that this LTD is dramatically reduced after multiple exposures but not a single exposure to cocaine, suggesting a role for this form of plasticity in the actions of psychostimulants on anxiety and reward circuitries and their emergent control of animal behavior.
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PMID:Extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1-dependent metabotropic glutamate receptor 5-induced long-term depression in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is disrupted by cocaine administration. 1655 72

The formation of enduring internal representation of sensory information demands, in many cases, convergence in time and space of two different stimuli. The first conveys the sensory input, mediated via fast neurotransmission. The second conveys the meaning of the input, hypothesized to be mediated via slow neurotransmission. We tested the biochemical conditions and feasibility for fast (NMDA) and slow (dopamine) neurotransmission to converge on the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase signaling pathways, crucial in several forms of synaptic plasticity, and recorded its effects upon synaptic transmission. We detected differing kinetics of ERK2 activation and synaptic strength changes in the CA1 for low and high doses of neurotransmitters in hippocampal slices. Moreover, when weak fast and slow inputs are given together, they converge on ERK2, but not on p38 or JNK, and induce strong short-term synaptic depression. Surprisingly, pharmacological analysis revealed that a probable site of such convergence is the NMDA receptor itself, suggesting it serves as a detector and integrator of fast and slow neurotransmission in the mature mammalian brain, as revealed by ERK2 activation and synaptic function.
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PMID:NMDA and dopamine converge on the NMDA-receptor to induce ERK activation and synaptic depression in mature hippocampus. 1720 42

Human anxiety is frequently accompanied by depression, and when they co-occur both conditions exhibit greater severity and resistance to treatment. Little is known, however, about the molecular processes linking these emotional and mood disorders. Based on previously reported phosphorylation patterns of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the brain, we hypothesized that ERK's upstream activators intertwine fear and mood regulation through their hippocampal actions. We tested this hypothesis by studying the upstream regulation of ERK signaling in behavioral models of fear and depression. Wild-type and ERK1-deficient mice were used to study the dorsohippocampal actions of the putative ERK activators: mitogen-activated and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK), protein kinase C (PKC), and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Mice lacking ERK1 exhibited enhanced fear extinction and reduced depression caused by overactivation of ERK2. Both behaviors were reversed by inhibition of MEK, however the extinction phenotype depended on hippocampal, whereas the depression phenotype predominantly involved extrahippocampal MEK. Unexpectedly, inhibition of PKC accelerated extinction and decreased depression by ERK-independent mechanisms, whereas inhibition of PKA did not produce detectable molecular or behavioral effects in the employed paradigm. These results indicate that, contrary to fear conditioning but similar to mood stabilization, extinction of fear required upregulation of MEK/ERK and downregulation of ERK-independent PKC signaling. The dissociation of these pathways may thus represent a common mechanism for fear and mood regulation, and a potential therapeutic option for comorbid anxiety and depression.
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PMID:Regulatory mechanisms of fear extinction and depression-like behavior. 1771 45

Isoflurane, propofol and ketamine are representative general anesthetics with distinct molecular mechanisms of action that have neuroprotective properties in models of excitotoxic ischemic damage. We characterized the effects of these agents on neuronal glutamate and dopamine signaling by profiling drug-induced changes in brain intracellular protein phosphorylation in vivo to test the hypothesis that they affect common downstream effectors. Anesthetic-treated and control mice were killed instantly by focused microwave irradiation, frontal cortex and striatum were removed, and the phosphorylation profile of specific neuronal signaling proteins was analyzed by immunoblotting with a panel of phospho-specific antibodies. At anesthetic doses that produced loss of righting reflex, isoflurane, propofol, and ketamine all reduced phosphorylation of the activating residue T183 of ERK2 (but not of ERK1); S897 of the NR1 NMDA receptor subunit; and S831 (but not S845) of the GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit in cerebral cortex. At sub-anesthetic doses, these drugs only reduced phosphorylation of ERK2. Isoflurane and ketamine also reduced phosphorylation of spinophilin at S94, but oppositely regulated phosphorylation of presynaptic (tyrosine hydroxylase) and postsynaptic (DARPP-32) markers of dopaminergic neurotransmission in striatum. These data reveal both shared and agent-specific actions of CNS depressant drugs on critical intracellular protein phosphorylation signaling pathways that integrate multiple second messenger systems. Reduced phosphorylation of ionotropic glutamate receptors by all three anesthetics indicates depression of normal glutamatergic synaptic transmission and reduced potential excitotoxicity. This novel approach indicates a role for phosphorylation-mediated down-regulation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission by general anesthetics and identifies specific in vivo targets for focused evaluation of anesthetic mechanisms.
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PMID:General anesthetics selectively modulate glutamatergic and dopaminergic signaling via site-specific phosphorylation in vivo. 1782 4


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