Small molecule screening identifies regulators of the transcription factor ΔFosB.

ABSTRACT: ΔFosB protein accumulates in the striatum in response to chronic administration of drugs of abuse, L-DOPA, or stress, triggering long lasting neural and behavioral changes that underlie aspects of drug addiction, abnormal involuntary movements (dyskinesia), and depression. ΔFosB binds AP-1 DNA consensus sequences found in promoters of many genes and can both repress or activate gene transcription. In the striatum, ΔFosB is thought to dimerize with JunD to form a functional transcription factor, though strikingly JunD does not accumulate in parallel. One explanation is that ΔFosB can recruit different partners, including itself, depending on the neuron type in which it is induced and the chronic stimulus, generating protein complexes with different effects on gene transcription. To develop

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3399579 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature