Project Summary

Selena E. Bartlett, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2003) of University of California, San Francisco, will study the largest gene family, the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) which control many neurotransmitters and neuromodulators implicated in schizophrenia and depresson.  Dr. Bartlett's lab has discovered a protein (G-protein association sorting protein or GASP) that sorts GPCRs to the degradative pathway.  She will test her hypotheses using behavioral assessment and electrophysiological recordings in animals.  The project seeks to rescue the dopamine 2 (D2) receptors from the degradative pathway and determine how this affects signaling in response to dopamine.  Her work may provide a novel therapeutic target for treating receptor dysregulation associated with serious brain disorders such as schizophrenia.  She hypothesizes that the dysregulation of dopaminergic signal transduction observed in schizophrenic patients is a consequence of targeted down regulation of the D2 receptors in GASP.  These studies will evaluate whether GASP is a rational target for drug development for the indications of schizophrenia in particular, but also other diseases of the brain in which GPCRs are significantly down-regulated.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia\Pharmacology

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