Project Summary

Han-Ting Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2008) of West Virginia University, is interested in the PDE4 enzyme, which is critically responsible for the breakdown of cyclic AMP (cAMP), and has been implicated in hippocampal neurogenesis. PDE4 consists of four subtypes: PDE4A, PDE4B, PDE4C, and PDE4D. While it is not clear which subtype is involved in neurogenesis, evidence to date suggests that PDE4D plays the major role in the regulation of the neurogenesis. This study seeks to determine the contribution of PDE4D, and in particular PDE4D4 and PDE4D5, to adult neurogenesis; it also will help explain the mechanism by which PDE4D regulates cAMP/CREB-mediated adult neurogenesis as well as antidepressant activity. This could encourage the development of PDE4D variant-selective inhibitors as novel antidepressants for treatment of depressive disorders.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS

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