The Anti-Apoptotic, Glucocorticoid Receptor Cochaperone Protein BAG-1 Is a Long-Term Target for the Actions of Mood Stabilizers

Increasing data suggest that impairments of cellular plasticity/resilience underlie the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. A series of microarray studies with validating criteria have recently revealed a common, novel target for the long-term actions of the structurally highly dissimilar mood stab...

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Veröffentlicht in:The Journal of neuroscience 2005-05, Vol.25 (18), p.4493-4502
Hauptverfasser: Zhou, Rulun, Gray, Neil A, Yuan, Peixiong, Li, Xiaoxia, Chen, Jingshan, Chen, Guang, Damschroder-Williams, Patricia, Du, Jing, Zhang, Lei, Manji, Husseini K
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Increasing data suggest that impairments of cellular plasticity/resilience underlie the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. A series of microarray studies with validating criteria have recently revealed a common, novel target for the long-term actions of the structurally highly dissimilar mood stabilizers lithium and valproate: BAG-1 [BCL-2 (B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2)-associated athanogene]. Because BAG-1 attenuates glucocorticoid receptor (GR) nuclear translocation, activates ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinases, and potentiates anti-apoptotic functions of BCL-2, extensive additional studies were undertaken. Chronic administration of both agents at therapeutic doses increased the expression of BAG-1 in rat hippocampus. Furthermore, these findings were validated at the protein level, and the effects were seen in a time frame consistent with therapeutic effects and were specific for mood stabilizers. Functional studies showed that either lithium or valproate, at therapeutically relevant levels, inhibited dexamethasone-induced GR nuclear translocation and inhibited GR transcriptional activity. Furthermore, small interfering RNA studies showed that these inhibitory effects on GR activity were mediated, at least in part, through BAG-1. The observation that BAG-1 inhibits glucocorticoid activation suggests that mood stabilizers may counteract the deleterious effects of hypercortisolemia seen in bipolar disorder by upregulating BAG-1. Additionally, these studies suggest that regulation of GR-mediated plasticity may play a role in the treatment of bipolar disorder and raise the possibility that agents affecting BAG-1 more directly may represent novel therapies for this devastating illness.
ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4530-04.2005