We would also like to thank Mr Xiaowe Su for assistance

with literature research, and Drs G. Aghajanian and R-J. Li for providing images of PFC dendrites in Figure 2. Selected abbreviations and acronyms ADT antidepressant treatment AMPA α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid BDNF brain derived neurotrophic factor IDO indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase MDD major depressive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical disorder NMDA N-methyl-D-aspartic acid PFC prefrontal cortex TNF tumor necrosis factor
Family history is one of the greatest risk factors for psychiatric disorders, yet their genetic basis remains poorly understood despite substantial advances in whole genome sequencing techniques. While the search for Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical genetic mutations continues at a rapid pace, the field is also investigating the environmental component of family history,

which has remained more difficult to explain mechanistically. One hypothesis is that environmental stimuli alter gene expression patterns in certain brain regions that ultimately change neural function and behavior. Support for this hypothesis Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical has been observed in animal models of psychiatric illness, as well as in human patients. The interactions between the environment and the genes that give rise to specific phenotypes are termed “epigenetic.”1 An example of this process is observed in cellular differentiation, where unique chemical signals induce totipotent stem cells to differentiate into genetically identical cell types with vastly different functions. This is due in part to the vastly different sets of genes expressed between Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical distinct cell types (eg, neurons vs hepatocytes),

despite their identical DNA templates. Mechanistic insight into this process has recently been uncovered, and involves the transduction of unique environmental signals into precise and highly stable alterations in chromatin structure that ultimately gate access of transcriptional Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical machinery to specific gene programs, thereby providing unique gene expression profiles in response to specific environmental cues.2 Importantly, many of these chromatin remodeling mechanisms are highly stable, contributing to the maintenance of specific gene expression Selleck Docetaxel programs in the correct tissues throughout for the life of an individual. The strong control exerted by chromatin remodeling on gene expression, and the potential stability of chromatin mechanisms, make chromatin regulation a prime candidate for mediating aspects of the long-lasting neural plasticity that ultimately results in psychiatric syndromes. It is also interesting to note that certain neurological and psychiatric diseases are caused by rare genetic mutations in chromatin remodeling enzymes (Table I). While these mutations are rare, they directly illustrate how disruption of chromatin regulation can profoundly affect neural function and lead to complex behavioral abnormalities.