Serotonin

Acetylcholine (32)
Dopamine (52)
Gaba (23)
Neurotransmitter (83)
Serotonin (47)

Synopsis: Domenii: Neuroscience: Neuroscience generale: Nervous system: Neurotransmitter: Serotonin:

TPH-2 controls the production of serotonin a brain hormone that regulates mood, sleep and alertness--all of

or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, which were designed to treat depression, target serotonin. More physicians are prescribing SSRIS to treat disorders beyond depression,

including PTSD.""We found a significant association between variants of COMT and TPH-2 with PTSD symptoms, suggesting that these genes contribute to the onset

#Serotonin receptors offer clues to new antidepressants Researchers have deciphered the molecular structures of two of the brain's crucial lock-and-key mechanisms.

The two molecules are receptors for the natural neurotransmitter serotonin #which regulates activities such as sleep,

2."Before this there was no crystal structure for any serotonin receptor. A lot of what was theoretical is known now with a great degree of certainty,

Scientists have been trying to decipher serotonin receptors for years. Armed with information on the atomic level,

There are 14 different known serotonin receptors. The molecules lie on the outer membranes of nerve cells;

They found that the molecules had very similar structures in the areas where serotonin docks.

However, Anacker points out that serotonin receptors can have different effects depending on where in the brain they are located and other factors."

'In the 1980s we saw the first wide scale use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants), such as Prozac, Paxil and others.'

#These serotonin neurons were built in a dish Serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood and mental states, has been linked to numerous neurological

But because there has been no way to obtain live human serotonin neurons to study these diseases,

most serotonin research has been done with lab animals. Now, researchers have generated human serotonin neurons from human fibroblasts,

the cells that give rise to connective tissue in the body. The researchers say that their findings are applicable to generating many other previously inaccessible human cell types,

and drug discovery. ur work demonstrates that the precious serotonin neurons hidden deep inside the human brain can now be created in a petri dish,

These nduced serotonergic neuronsbehave like serotonin neurons in the human brain. e know the cells were converted to serotonergic neurons

because they express proteins that are only found in neurons that produce serotonin, Feng explains. hey are electrophysiologically active

and the selective uptake of serotonin. he researchers found that they could produce induced serotonergic neurons from fibroblasts by introducing four genes that control the development of serotonin neurons. hese genes change how the human genome,

so that the cell switches from a lung cell to a serotonin neuron, says Feng. ith this new technology,

scientists can generate serotonin neurons from patients who suffer from serotonin-related mental illnesses, says Feng.

While the paper focuses on converting lung fibroblasts to serotonin neurons Feng group has also been working on generating serotonin neurons from human skin cells,

which would be an even easier and less invasive process. Such induced serotonin neurons would be extremely beneficial

since they can be generated from individual patients suffering from illnesses involving the neurotransmitter. hese patient-specific serotonin neurons will be very useful to the discovery of new drugs for diseases ranging from depression

and anxiety to obsessive-compulsive disorder and many others, says Feng. hey will not only allow researchers to study why certain individuals develop a disease

and identify 5 specific receptors for dopamine and serotonin on their surface, two neurotransmitters that are essential to the body (see schema on page 2). The presence of these receptors on the surface of these stem cells indicated that they had the ability to respond to the presence of dopamine and serotonin in the event of a lesion.

The researchers naturally wondered what cells might be the source of these neurotransmitters a warning signal.

activated by the dental lesion, are responsible for releasing a large quantity of serotonin and dopamine. Once released, these neurotransmitters then recruit the stem cells to repair the tooth by binding to their receptors (see schema on page 2). The research team was able to confirm this result by observing that dental repair was absent in rats with modified platelets that do not produce serotonin or dopamine,

i e. in the absence of the signal.""In stem cell research, it is unusual to be simultaneously able to isolate cell lines,

discover the signal that recruits them (serotonin and dopamine), and discover the source of that signal (blood platelets).

This drug mimics the neurotransmitter serotonin and it is known to induce walking motions in mice with spinal cord injuries.

The patients also received the drug buspirone that acts like serotonin and which in the past has demonstrated considerable benefits for mice with spinal cord injuries.

and the serotonin receptor-and these happened to be positioned very close together, which suggested that the drug was acting on both at the same time.

the team blocked the activity of a specific type of serotonin receptor-called 5ht2ar-in the brains of mice,

"These animals, lacking the serotonin receptor, showed differences only in the memory and mood tests-not in the pain tests,

if they can mimic the same serotonin receptor-blocking effect they achieved in the mice.

Mccormick calls this effect a"Chinese wall"that sits between the serotonin and cannabinoid receptors, and thinks it could be the key to medical marijuana without the negative side effects."

a drug that does not recognise the THC cannabinoid receptor when near serotonin, or alternatively a drug you could add with THC that would provide that Chinese wall between the two,

which mimics the action of serotonin and has been shown to help mice with spinal cord injuries move again.

Tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for mood. The researchers determined the structure and mechanism of an enzyme in the kynurenine pathway, AMSDH.

"Currently, most people with depression take medications that increase levels of the neurochemical serotonin in the brain.

The most common of these drugs, such as Prozac and Lexapro, are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIS.

Dr. Thompson and his team focused on another neurotransmitter besides serotonin, an inhibitory compound called GABA.

which mimics the action of serotonin and has been shown to induce locomotion in mice with spinal cord injuries.

< Back - Next >

Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011