Refine
Has Fulltext
- yes (52)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (52)
Year of publication
Document Type
- Journal article (52)
Language
- English (52) (remove)
Keywords
- mice (7)
- ADHD (6)
- anxiety (5)
- depression (5)
- serotonin (5)
- hippocampus (4)
- animal behavior (3)
- chronic stress (3)
- emotion (3)
- knockout mice (3)
Institute
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (33)
- Lehrstuhl für Molekulare Psychiatrie (20)
- Institut für Humangenetik (5)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (5)
- Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften (5)
- Physiologisches Institut (3)
- Institut für Anatomie und Zellbiologie (2)
- Institut für Psychologie (2)
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (2)
- Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik (2)
In most vertebrates, including zebrafish, the hypothalamic serotonergic cerebrospinal fluid-contacting (CSF-c) cells constitute a prominent population. In contrast to the hindbrain serotonergic neurons, little is known about the development and function of these cells. Here, we identify fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)3 as the main Fgf ligand controlling the ontogeny of serotonergic CSF-c cells. We show that fgf3 positively regulates the number of serotonergic CSF-c cells, as well as a subset of dopaminergic and neuroendocrine cells in the posterior hypothalamus via control of proliferation and cell survival. Further, expression of the ETS-domain transcription factor etv5b is downregulated after fgf3 impairment. Previous findings identified etv5b as critical for the proliferation of serotonergic progenitors in the hypothalamus, and therefore we now suggest that Fgf3 acts via etv5b during early development to ultimately control the number of mature serotonergic CSF-c cells. Moreover, our analysis of the developing hypothalamic transcriptome shows that the expression of fgf3 is upregulated upon fgf3 loss-of-function, suggesting activation of a self-compensatory mechanism. Together, these results highlight Fgf3 in a novel context as part of a signalling pathway of critical importance for hypothalamic development.
Aggression and deficient cognitive control problems are widespread in psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). These abnormalities are known to contribute significantly to the accompanying functional impairment and the global burden of disease. Progress in the development of targeted treatments of excessive aggression and accompanying symptoms has been limited, and there exists a major unmet need to develop more efficacious treatments for depressed patients. Due to the complex nature and the clinical heterogeneity of MDD and the lack of precise knowledge regarding its pathophysiology, effective management is challenging. Nonetheless, the aetiology and pathophysiology of MDD has been the subject of extensive research and there is a vast body of the latest literature that points to new mechanisms for this disorder. Here, we overview the key mechanisms, which include neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, insulin receptor signalling and abnormal myelination. We discuss the hypotheses that have been proposed to unify these processes, as many of these pathways are integrated for the neurobiology of MDD. We also describe the current translational approaches in modelling depression, including the recent advances in stress models of MDD, and emerging novel therapies, including novel approaches to management of excessive aggression, such as anti-diabetic drugs, antioxidant treatment and herbal compositions.