• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.299-305
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• 2001

Activation of D1-like dopamine receptors by psychostimulants, such as amphetamine, upregulates the expression of immediate early gene and opioid peptide gene in the striatum. The genomic changes are regulated by phosphorylated transcription factors via complicated intracellular events. To evaluate temporal expression of the transcription factors by dopaminergic stimulation, the D1-like dopamine agonist, amphetamine or SKF82958, was systematically delivered. As intracellular markers in response to the agonist, phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB), Fos-related antigens (FRA) and FosB immunoreactivity (IR) was compared at 20 and 120 min time points in the selected areas of the striatum. Semi-quantitative immunocytochemistry showed that amphetamine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly increased pCREB-IR at 20 min, sustained up to 60 min and decreased at 120 min after the infusion. Like amphetamine, the full D1 agonist, SKF82958 (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.), also increased pCREB-IR at 20 min, but not at 120 min after the infusion in the dorsal striatum (caudoputaman, CPu) and shell of ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens, NAc). In contrast, FRA- and FosB-IR induced by SKF82958 was significantly increased at 120 min, but not at 20 min after the administration. These data indicate that SKF82958 mimics induction of CREB phosphorylation by amphetamine and differentially regulates temporal induction of pCREB, and FRA and FosB expression in the striatum.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.180-192
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• 2022

Nuclear receptor coactivator 6 (NCOA6) is a transcriptional coactivator of nuclear receptors and other transcription factors. A general Ncoa6 knockout mouse was previously shown to be embryonic lethal, but we here generated liver-specific Ncoa6 knockout (Ncoa6 LKO) mice to investigate the metabolic function of NCOA6 in the liver. These Ncoa6 LKO mice exhibited similar blood glucose and insulin levels to wild type but showed improvements in glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and pyruvate tolerance. The decrease in glucose production from pyruvate in these LKO mice was consistent with the abrogation of the fasting-stimulated induction of gluconeogenic genes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (Pck1) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6pc). The forskolin-stimulated inductions of Pck1 and G6pc were also dramatically reduced in primary hepatocytes isolated from Ncoa6 LKO mice, whereas the expression levels of other gluconeogenic gene regulators, including cAMP response element binding protein (Creb), forkhead box protein O1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α, were unaltered in the LKO mouse livers. CREB phosphorylation via fasting or forskolin stimulation was normal in the livers and primary hepatocytes of the LKO mice. Notably, it was observed that CREB interacts with NCOA6. The transcriptional activity of CREB was found to be enhanced by NCOA6 in the context of Pck1 and G6pc promoters. NCOA6-dependent augmentation was abolished in cAMP response element (CRE) mutant promoters of the Pck1 and G6pc genes. Our present results suggest that NCOA6 regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis by modulating glucagon/cAMP-dependent gluconeogenic gene transcription through an interaction with CREB.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 2018

CREBZF (cAMP-response element binding protein zhangfei) is a member of ATF/CREB family, and which regulates various cellular functions by suppressing major factors with direct interaction. In this study, we have examined the expression of CREBZF on mouse endometrium during uterus estrous cycles and estrogen (E2) treatment. In uterus, CREBZF mRNA expression was higher than other organs and mRNA and protein of CREBZF was increased in proestrus phase and decreased in estrus phase. The expression of CREBZF in 3-weeks old mouse uterus was reduced by E2 injection in endometrium. In addition, the expression of progesterone receptor, a marker of E2 in ovariectomized mice was found to be strongly expressed in stroma, while CREBZF was only expressed in epithelium. Also, we conformed that E2-suppressed CREBZF was restored by co-injection of ICI 182,780, an estrogen receptor antagonist. Overall, these results suggest that CREBZF is regulated by estrogen and involved in ER signaling pathway in mouse uterus.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2018

Cyclic AMP-response element binding protein zhangfei (CREBZF), a member of ATF/CREB (activating transcription factor/ cAMP response element binding protein) family, regulates numerous cellular functions and development of cells by interacting transcription factors. This study discovered the expression pattern of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule of testes during the postnatal development of mice. In testis, CREBZF mRNA expression was the highest among other organs. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that the CREBZF was specifically expressed on spermatocyte but not in spermatogonia and Sertoli cells in seminiferous epithelium of mouse testis. Semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that CREBZF transcript level was significantly elevated during postnatal development of mouse testis. Confocal imaging analysis indicated that the protein expression of CREBZF in seminiferous tubule remained low until postnatal day (PD) 14, and was dramatically increased in PD 21. Interestingly, only one type of the spermatocyte expressed CREBZF specifically among SCP3-positive spermatocytes. Taken together, these results suggest that CREBZF may be novel putative marker of the spermatocyte and regulate meiosis during postnatal development of mice.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2022

Diarylpropionitrile (DPN), a selective agonist for estrogen receptor β (ERβ), has been reported to regulate various hormonal responses through activation of ERβ in tissues including the mammary gland and brain. However, the effect of DPN on melanogenesis independent of ERβ has not been studied. The aim of this study is to examine the possibility of anti-melanogenic effect of DPN and its underlying mechanism. Melanin contents and cellular tyrosinase activity assay indicated that DPN inhibited melanin biosynthesis in alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone-stimulated B16F10 melanoma cell line. However, DPN had no direct influence on in vitro tyrosinase catalytic activity. On the other hand, 17β-estradiol had no effect on inhibition of melanogenesis, suggesting that the DPN-mediated suppression of melanin production was not related with estrogen signaling pathway. Immunoblotting analysis showed that DPN down-regulated the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a central transcription factor of melanogenesis and its down-stream genes including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)-1, and TRP-2. Also, DPN attenuated the phosphorylation of protein kinase A (PKA) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB). Additionally, DPN suppressed the melanin synthesis in UVB-irradiated HaCaT conditioned media culture system suggesting that DPN has potential as an anti-melanogenic activity in physiological conditions. Collectively, our data show that DPN inhibits melanogenesis via downregulation of PKA/CREB/MITF signaling pathway.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.328-337
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• 2016

We examined whether wogonin (WO) improved hippocampal neuronal activity, behavioral alterations and cognitive impairment, in rats induced by administration of trimethyltin (TMT), an organotin compound that is neurotoxic to these animals. The ability of WO to improve cognitive efficacy in the TMT-induced neurodegenerative rats was investigated using a passive avoidance test, and the Morris water maze test, and using immunohistochemistry to detect components of the acetylcholinergic system, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) expression. Rats injected with TMT showed impairments in learning and memory and daily administration of WO improved memory function, and reduced aggressive behavior. Administration of WO significantly alleviated the TMT-induced loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity and restored the hippocampal expression levels of BDNF and CREB proteins and their encoding mRNAs to normal levels. These findings suggest that WO might be useful as a new therapy for treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.324-328
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• 2013

Soy (Glycine max, family Leguminosae) contains isoflavones and saponins as main constituents. In our preliminary study, soybean ethanol extract (SE) ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice in the passive avoidance task. Therefore, to confirm its ameliorating effect for memory impairments, we measured its effect in scopolamine-induced memory-impaired mice in Morris water maze task. SE significantly prevented scopolamine-induced memory impairment in the Morris water maze task. SE also increased the swimming time within quadrant section of the platform on the day after the final training session test. SE protected the reduction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation in the hippocampi of scopolamine-treated mice. However, SE did not inhibit acetylcholinesterase. To understand the possible role of soysaponins in memory impairments, we prepared soyasaponins-rich (butanol) fraction of soybean (SRF) and investigated its protective effect against in the passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks. SRF ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. The memory impairment-ameliorating effect of SRF was more effective than that of SE. Based on these findings, soybean may improve memory impairment by regulating CREB phosphorylation and BDNF expression.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.467-473
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate the memory enhancing effect and underlying molecular mechanism of arabinoxylan (AX), a major component of dietary fiber in wheat against scopolamine (SCO)-induced amnesia in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Diverse behavior tests including Y-maze, Morris water maze, and passive avoidance tests were performed to measure cognitive functions. SCO significantly decreased the spontaneous alterations in Y-maze test and step-through latency in passive avoidance test, whereas increased time spent to find the hidden platform in Morris water maze test compared with the sham control group. In contrast, oral administration of AX (25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg) effectively reversed the SCO-induced cognitive impairments in SD rats. Furthermore, AX treatment up-regulated the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cortex and hippocampus via promoting activation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Therefore, our findings suggest that AX can improve SCO-induced learning and memory impairment possibly through activation of CREB and up-regulation of BDNF levels, thereby exhibiting a cognition-enhancing potential.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of dopaminergic receptors (DR) in behavioral sensitization, as measured by locomotor activity, and the over-expression of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptides after repeated administration of cocaine in mice. Repeated administrations of cocaine induced behavioral sensitization and CART over-expression in mice. The levels of striatal CART mRNA were significantly increased on the $3^{rd}$ day. CART peptides were over-expressed on the $5^{th}$ day in the striata of behaviorally sensitized mice. A higher proportion of $CART^+$ cells in the cocaine-treated mice were present in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell than in the dorsolateral (DL) part of caudate putamen (CP). The concomitant administration of both $D_1R$ and $D_2R$ antagonists, SCH 23390 ($D_1R$ selective) and raclopride ($D_2R$ selective), blocked cocaine induced-behavioral sensitization, CART over-expression, and cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate (cAMP)/ protein kinase A (PKA)/phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein (pCREB) signal pathways. SCH 23390 more predominantly inhibited the locomotor activity, CART over-expression, pCREB and PKA activity than raclopride. Cocaine induced-behavioral sensitization was also attenuated in the both $D_1R$ and $D_2R$ knockout (KO) mice, respectively. CART over-expression and activated cAMP/PKA/pCREB signal pathways were inhibited in the $D_1R$-KO mice, but not in the $D_2R$-KO mice. It is suggested that behavioral sensitization, CART over-expression and activated cAMP/PKA/pCREB signal pathways induced by repeated administration of cocaine could be more predominantly mediated by $D_1R$.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.2 no.6
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• pp.671-676
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• 1998

In the present study, we first examined whether the changes in the DNA binding activities of the transcription factors, cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) mediate the long-term effects of morphine in differentiated SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. The increases in CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities were time-dependent up to 6 days of morphine treatment (1, 4, and 6 days). However, the significant reduction in the DNA binding activities of CREB and AP-1 was observed after 10 days of chronic morphine $(10\;{\mu}M)$ administration. Secondly, we examined whether the changes of CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities could be modulated by dopamine and haloperidol. Dopamine cotreatment moderately increased the levels of the CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities induced by 10 days of chronic morphine treatment, and haloperidol cotreatment also resulted in a moderate increase of the CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities. However, dopamine or haloperidol only treatment showed a significant increase or decrease of the CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities, respectively. In the case of acute morphine treatment, the CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities were shown to decrease in a time-dependent manner (30, 60, 90, and 120 min). Taken these together, in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, morphine tolerance seems to involve simultaneous changes of the CREB and AP-1 DNA binding activities. Our data also suggest the possible involvement of haloperidol in prevention or reversal of morphine tolerance at the transcriptional level.