Embryonic Neuron-Activating Factor Identified

Researchers have identified a calcium-responsive transactivator called CREST (for calcium-responsive transactivator) as being responsible for activation of neurons during early embryonic development.

CREST, which has been shown to be expressed in the developing brain, is a SYT-related nuclear protein that interacts with adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) response element–binding protein (CREB)–binding protein (CBP).

Investigators at the University of California, San Diego (USA), and Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA) genetically engineered a line of mice lacking the gene for CREST. They reported in the January 9, 2003, issue of Science that these mice were viable but displayed defects in cortical and hippocampal dendrite development. Neurons from these animals grown in tissue culture showed retarded calcium-dependent dendritic growth.

"CREST is the first example of a transcription factor--a protein that turns genes on and off--that appears to be specifically required for the development of brain neurons after birth,” explained senior author Dr. Anirvan Ghosh, professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego. "Humans also have CREST, and the CREST gene sequence is highly similar between mice and humans. If it turns out that CREST plays a role in learning and memory in the mouse, then it is very likely it also plays a similar role in humans.”





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University of California, San Diego
Johns Hopkins University