Manipulating Molecule In Brain Improves Stress Response
DALLAS, July 21 (UPI) — Researchers found that by boosting a molecule in the brain they could positively alter the response to stress in mice.
People with major depressive disorder have been shown previously to have depressed levels of the molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cAMP.
Chronic antidepressant treatments can often increase the molecule, however 20 to 40 percent of depression patients are not helped by these treatments.
“This is the first step in the development of a treatment for patients with major depressive disorder using this new strategy,” said Dr. James Bibb, a professor of psychiatry, and neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern, in a press release.
Researchers in the study found that cAMP levels could be increased in brain cells by disrupting the enzyme PDE4.
They blocked the regulatory protein kinase Cdk5, disrupting the function of PDE4 and increasing cAMP levels in the mice. The researchers then developed a drug-like peptide that disrupted the same enzyme and improved the responses of mice to stress tests.
The study is published in Nature Neuroscience.
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