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Altered expression of neurotrophic factors as well as neuroinflammation is commonly associated with Major depressive disorder (MDD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate whether or not reserpine-induced MDD affects the expression of AD-related proteins, the expression of γ-secretase components and substrate were measured in brains of ICR mice following reserpine treatment for 15 days. In active avoidance test, total response time and peak slightly increased in the 2 mg/kg reserpine (RSP2)-treated group compared to vehicle-treated group (P

Among the various phenotypes seen in Down syndrome (DS), mental retardation is the most common and most debilitating condition suffered by individuals with DS. The DYRK1A gene on human chromosome 21q22.2 encodes a subfamily of protein kinases that displays dual substrate specificities and is known to play a critical role in neurodevelopment. To study DS mental retardation, we have generated transgenic mice that contain only one copy of the complete human DYRK1A gene in a bacterial artificial chromosome. The transgenic mice showed significant impairment in hippocampal-dependent memory tasks in a Morris water maze. Interestingly, we observed shifts in both long-term potentiation and long-term depression, which suggests a role for DYRK1A in bidirectional synaptic plasticity. These mice represent the most clinically relevant DYRK1A mouse model to date and provide us a valuable tool for the in vivo study of mechanisms that underlie the learning and memory deficit in DS.

Background To characterize changes in global protein expression in kidneys of transgenic rats overexpressing human selenoprotein M (SelM) in response to increased bioabivility of selenium (Sel), total proteins extracted from kidneys of 10-week-old CMV/hSelM Tg and wild-type rats were separated by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and measured for changes in expression. Results Ten and three proteins showing high antioxidant enzymatic activity were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in SelM-overexpressing CMV/hSelM Tg rats compared to controls based on an arbitrary 2-fold difference. Up-regulated proteins included LAP3, BAIAP2L1, CRP2, CD73 antigen, PDGF D, KIAA143 homolog, PRPPS-AP2, ZFP313, HSP-60, and N-WASP, whereas down-regulated proteins included ALKDH3, rMCP-3, and STC-1. After Sel treatment, five of the up-regulated proteins were significantly increased in expression in wild-type rats, whereas there were no changes in CMV/hSelM Tg rats. Only two of the down-regulated proteins showed reduced expression in wild-type and Tg rats after Sel treatment. Conclusions These results show the primary novel biological evidences that new functional protein groups and individual proteins in kidneys of Tg rats relate to Sel biology including the response to Sel treatment and SelM expression.