title: Stressed and Inflamed, Can GSK3 Be Blamed?
abstract: Psychological stress has a pervasive influence on our lives. In many cases adapting to stress strengthens organisms, but chronic or severe stress is usually harmful. One surprising outcome of psychological stress is the activation of an inflammatory response that resembles inflammation caused by infection or trauma. Excessive psychological stress and the consequential inflammation in the brain can increase susceptibility to psychiatric diseases, such as depression, and impair learning and memory, including in some patients with cognitive deficits. An emerging target to control detrimental outcomes of stress and inflammation is glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3). GSK3 promotes inflammation, partly by regulating key transcription factors in the inflammation signaling pathway, and GSK3 can impair learning by promoting inflammation and by inhibiting long-term potentiation (LTP). Drugs inhibiting GSK3 may prove beneficial for controlling mood and cognitive impairments caused by excessive stress and the associated neuroinflammation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA. Electronic address: rjope@med.miami.edu.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jope
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Yuyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lowell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Worthen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Yoel H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Sitbon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Eleonore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beurel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; depression; glycogen synthase kinase-3; inflammation; learning; stress