Biomedical subjects

Daphna Laifenfeld

Publications and source records attributed to Daphna Laifenfeld.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Alterations in cell adhesion molecule L1 and functionally related genes in major depression: a postmortem study.

BACKGROUND: Current research in depression aims to delineate genes involved in neuronal plasticity that are altered in the disease or its treatment. We have shown antidepressant induced increases in three interrelated genes, cell adhesion molecule L1 (CAM-L1), laminin, and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), and a reciprocal decrease in these genes consequent to stress. Presently we hypothesized that CAM-L1, CREB, and laminin may be altered in post mortem brains of depressed subjects. METHODS: Studies were performed in the prefrontal and in the ventral parieto-occipital cortices, of 59 brains from depressed, bipolar, and schizophrenic subjects, and normal controls, obtained from the Stanley Foundation Brain Collection. mRNA and protein levels were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Levels of CAM-L1 and of phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) were increased in the prefrontal cortex of the depressed group, while CAM-L1, laminin and pCREB were decreased in the parieto-occipital cortex. Depressed subjects receiving antidepressants differed from subjects not receiving antidepressants in the expression of CAM-L1 and laminin in the parieto-occipital cortex, and in the expression of pCREB in the prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings of specific alterations in depression and antidepressant treatment particularly in CAM-L1 suggest that this gene may play an important role in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Mitochondria, synaptic plasticity, and schizophrenia.

The conceptualization of schizophrenia as a disorder of connectivity, i.e., of neuronal?synaptic plasticity, suggests abnormal synaptic modeling and neuronal signaling, possibly as a consequence of flawed interactions with the environment, as at least a secondary mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of this disorder. Indeed, deficits in episodic memory and malfunction of hippocampal circuitry, as well as anomalies of axonal sprouting and synapse formation, are all suggestive of diminished neuronal plasticity in schizophrenia. Evidence supports a dysfunction of mitochondria in schizophrenia, including mitochondrial hypoplasia, and a dysfunction of the oxidative phosphorylation system, as well as altered mitochondrial-related gene expression. Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to alterations in ATP production and cytoplasmatic calcium concentrations, as well as reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide production. All of the latter processes have been well established as leading to altered synaptic strength or plasticity. Moreover, mitochondria have been shown to play a role in plasticity of neuronal polarity, and studies in the visual cortex show an association between mitochondria and synaptogenesis. Finally, mitochondrial gene upregulation has been observed following synaptic and neuronal activity. This review proposes that mitochondrial dysfunction in schizophrenia could cause, or arise from, anomalies in processes of plasticity in this disorder.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Norepinephrine alters the expression of genes involved in neuronal sprouting and differentiation: relevance for major depression and antidepressant mechanisms.

Recent research into depression has focused on the involvement of long-term intracellular processes, leading to abnormal neuronal plasticity in brains of depressed patients, and reversed by antidepressant treatment. Given a suggested decrease in noradrenergic transmission in depression, and an antidepressant induced increase in norepinephrine (NE) level, a possible role for NE in mediating alterations in neuronal morphology and plasticity was examined. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with 10-5 m NE presented an elongated granule-rich cell-body and increased number of neurites, when compared with non-treated cells. Moreover, cell survival was enhanced in the presence of NE, while proliferation was inhibited. The above effects suggest a role for NE in cell differentiation. Indeed similar effects on cell survival and neurite outgrowth were induced in SH-SY5Y cells by retinoic acid (RA), an established differentiating agent. Finally, NE treatment resulted in a progressive decrease in the pluripotent marker Oct4 and an increase in the neuronal growth cone marker, growth-associated-protein 43 (GAP-43). Alongside these effects, NE-treated cells presented alterations in the expression of 44 genes as observed in a neurobiology cDNA microarray. Among the altered genes, an increase in the expression level of two neurite-outgrowth promoting genes, neural cell adhesion molecule L1 and laminin, was confirmed by RT-PCR. Taken together, the results support a role for NE in processes of synaptic connectivity, and may point to a role for this neurotransmitter in mediating the suggested neuronal plasticity in depression and in antidepressant treatment.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗