biostudies-literatureUnknown11(1)Xiao LU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentStress leads to brain pathology including hippocampal degeneration, cognitive dysfunction, and potential mood disorders. Hippocampal CA3, a most stress-vulnerable region, consists of pyramidal neurons that regulate cognitive functions e.g. learning and memory. These CA3 neurons express high levels of the neuroprotective protein, neurotrophic factor-α1 (NF-α1), also known as carboxypeptidase E (CPE), and receive contacts from granule cell projections that release BDNF which has neuroprotective activity. Whether NF-α1-CPE and/or BDNF are critical in protecting these CA3 neurons against severe stress-induced cell death is unknown. Here we show that social combined with the physical stress of maternal separation, ear tagging, and tail snipping at weaning in 3-week-old mice lacking NF-α1-CPE, lTranslational psychiatry24https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7791060biostudies-literatureNeurotrophic factor-α1, a novel tropin is critical for the prevention of stress-induced hippocampal CA3 cell death and cognitive dysfunction in mice: comparison to BDNF.PMC7791060Sharma VKYang XLee CToulabi LXiao LAbebe DArnaoutova ILou HPeltekian ALoh YPfalseNeurotrophic factor-α1, a novel tropin is critical for the prevention of stress-induced hippocampal CA3 cell death and cognitive dysfunction in mice: comparison to BDNF.Stress leads to brain pathology including hippocampal degeneration, cognitive dysfunction, and potential mood disorders. Hippocampal CA3, a most stress-vulnerable region, consists of pyramidal neurons that regulate cognitive functions e.g. learning and memory. These CA3 neurons express high levels of the neuroprotective protein, neurotrophic factor-α1 (NF-α1), also known as carboxypeptidase E (CPE), and receive contacts from granule cell projections that release BDNF which has neuroprotective activity. Whether NF-α1-CPE and/or BDNF are critical in protecting these CA3 neurons against severe stress-induced cell death is unknown. Here we show that social combined with the physical stress of maternal separation, ear tagging, and tail snipping at weaning in 3-week-old mice lacking NF-α1-CPE, l2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Jan2025-04-25T20:47:46.941Z2021-02-20T22:09:01ZS-EPMC77910603341437610.1038/s41398-020-01112-w