2. Academic Validation
  3. CAPON-nNOS coupling can serve as a target for developing new anxiolytics

CAPON-nNOS coupling can serve as a target for developing new anxiolytics

  • Nat Med. 2014 Sep;20(9):1050-4. doi: 10.1038/nm.3644.
Li-Juan Zhu 1,  Ting-You Li 2,  Chun-Xia Luo 3,  Nan Jiang 4,  Lei Chang 5,  Yu-Hui Lin 3,  Hai-Hui Zhou 3,  Chen Chen 3,  Yu Zhang 6,  Wei Lu 7,  Li-Yan Gao 3,  Yu Ma 4,  Qi-Gang Zhou 6,  Qin Hu 8,  Xiao-Ling Hu 9,  Jing Zhang 6,  Hai-Yin Wu 3,  Dong-Ya Zhu 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 1] Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Disease, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [2] Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [3].
  • 2 1] Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [2].
  • 3 1] Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Disease, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [2] Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 4 Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 5 1] Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Disease, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [2] Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 6 Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 7 1] Department of Neurobiology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. [2].
  • 8 Department of Chemistry, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 9 Center of Drug Metabolism &Pharmacokinetics, Jiangsu Simcere Pharmaceutical, Nanjing, China.
PMID: 25129479 DOI: 10.1038/nm.3644
Abstract

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent psychiatric diseases. There is need for a deeper understanding of anxiety control mechanisms in the mammalian brain and for development of new anxiolytic agents. Here we report that the coupling between neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and its carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand (CAPON) can serve as a target for developing new anxiolytic agents. Augmenting nNOS-CAPON interaction in the hippocampus of mice by overexpressing full-length CAPON gave rise to anxiogenic-like behaviors, whereas dissociating CAPON from nNOS by overexpressing CAPON-125C or CAPON-20C (the C-terminal 125 or 20 Amino acids of CAPON) or delivering Tat-CAPON-12C (a peptide comprising Tat and the 12 C-terminal Amino acids of CAPON) in the hippocampus of mice produced anxiolytic-like effects. Mice subjected to chronic mild stress (CMS) displayed a substantial increase in nNOS-CAPON coupling in the hippocampus and a consequent anxiogenic-like phenotype. Disrupting nNOS-CAPON coupling reversed the CMS-induced anxiogenic-like behaviors. Moreover, small-molecule blockers of nNOS-CAPON binding rapidly produced anxiolytic-like effects. Dexamethasone-induced Ras protein 1 (Dexras1)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling was involved in the behavioral effects of nNOS-CAPON association. Thus, nNOS-CAPON association contributes to the modulation of anxiety-related behaviors via regulating Dexras1-ERK signaling and can serve as a target for developing potential anxiolytics.

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