International collaborative research focusing on the oxidative stress hypothesis for novel drug development in psychiatric diseases

− この都医学研セミナーは終了しました。 −

講演要旨

Debilitating psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression are mostly intractable and result in enormous social burden. However, the disease mechanisms are still largely unknown. Moreover, the development of novel therapeutic agents has been unsuccessful for past 20 years, indicating an urgent need to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms and to design drugs based on novel concepts. The three speakers in this seminar have been investigating the neuronal function of PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide) and its signaling mechanisms as potential risk factors and drug targets for affective and cognitive dysfunction as well as schizophrenia and depression. Reports from other groups have shown that copy number variations of a PACAP receptor gene are observed in approximately 0.35% of schizophrenic patients (Vacic et al, Nature 2011), and that alterations in PACAP signaling are a risk factor for PTSD (Ressler et al, Nature 2011). In this seminar, the speakers will present their research on the role of PACAP signaling in psychiatric disorders as well as pathological conditions including oxidative stress and inflammation. Dr Hashimoto will talk about “Basic research for molecular mechanisms and drug development in psychiatric diseases”, Dr Waschek “VIP/PACAP signaling in psychiatric diseases and neuroinflammatory stress”, and Dr Matsuzaki “SUMOylation in the neural system and diseases”, respectively. It is expected that the seminar will deepen our understanding of pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders.