CREB activity maintains the survival of cingulate cortical pyramidal neurons in the adult mouse brain

Abstract

Cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) activity is known to contribute to important neuronal functions, such as synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. Using a microelectroporation technique to overexpress dominant negative mutant CREB (mCREB) in the adult mouse brain, we found that overexpression of mCREB in the forebrain cortex induced neuronal degeneration. Our findings suggest that constitutively active CREB phosphorylation is important for the survival of mammalian cells in the brain.

Figure 1

Effects of overexpressing mutant CREB in adult cingulate neurons. a. Transfected ACC area showing GFP tagged mCREB protein expression. Scaled Bar: 10 μm. b. YFP mouse brain transfected with the CREB vector. The pCMV transfected brain showed no neurodegeneration (right). The mCREB transfected area showed significant neurodegeneration (left). c. Hoechst nucleus staining showed nuclear condensation and fragmentation at the mCREB transfected area (Top). Caspase 3 staining showed that apoptosis occurred at the mCREB transfected area (Lower).