Extensive evidence implicates dysfunction in serotonin (5-HT) signaling in the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) is a major source of serotonin in the brain, and previous studies have reported within it alterations in 5-HT-related gene expression, protein levels, receptor binding, and morphological organization in mood disorders. In the present study, we utilized in situ hybridization-guided laser capture microdissection to harvest tissue samples from the middle-caudal subregion of the human DR post-mortem from MDD patients and from psychiatrically normal comparison subjects. Extracted RNA was prepared for gene expression profiling, and subsequent confirmation of select targets with quantitative real-time PCR. Our data indicate expression changes in functional gene families that regulate: (1) cellular stress and energy balance, (2) intracellular signaling and transcriptional regulation, and (3) cell proliferation and connectivity. The greatest changes in expression were observed among transcriptional regulators, including downregulation in the expression of TOB1, EGR1, and NR4A2 and their downstream targets. Previous studies have implicated these gene products in the regulation of functional domains impacted by MDD, including cognitive function, affective regulation, and emotional memory formation. These observations indicate altered function of several transcriptional regulators and their downstream targets, which may lead to the dysregulation of multiple cellular functions that contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD. Future studies will require single cell analyses in the DR to determine potential impact of these changes on its cellular functions and related circuits.
Pubmed ID: 23087602 RIS Download
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
A portal to biomedical and genomic information. NCBI creates public databases, conducts research in computational biology, develops software tools for analyzing genome data, and disseminates biomedical information for the better understanding of molecular processes affecting human health and disease.
View all literature mentionsA web-based software application that enables users to analyze, integrate, and understand data derived from gene expression, microRNA, and SNP microarrays, metabolomics, proteomics, and RNA-Seq experiments, and small-scale experiments that generate gene and chemical lists. Users can search for targeted information on genes, proteins, chemicals, and drugs, and build interactive models of experimental systems. IPA allows exploration of molecular, chemical, gene, protein and miRNA interactions, creation of custom molecular pathways, and the ability to view and modify metabolic, signaling, and toxicological canonical pathways. In addition to the networks and pathways that can be created, IPA can provide multiple layering of additional information, such as drugs, disease genes, expression data, cellular functions and processes, or a researchers own genes or chemicals of interest.
View all literature mentionsTool used to design PCR primers from DNA sequence - often in high-throughput genomics applications. It does everything from mispriming libraries to sequence quality data to the generation of internal oligos.
View all literature mentions