Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 1 modulates stem cell proliferation to affect learning and memory in male mice

Yu Lung Lin, Shawna D. Persaud, Jennifer Nhieu, Li Na Wei

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Retinoic acid (RA) is the active ingredient of vitamin A. It exerts its canonical activity by binding to nuclear RA receptors (RARs) to regulate gene expression. Increasingly, RA is also known to elicit nongenomic RAR-independent activities, most widely detected in activating extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2. This study validated the functional role of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 1 (Crabp1) in mediating nongenomic activity in RA, specifically activating ERK1/2 to rapidly augment the cell cycle by expanding the growth 1 phase and slowing down embryonic stem cell and neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation. The study further uncovered the physiological activity of Crabp1 in modulating NSC proliferation and animal behavior. In the Crabp1 knockout mouse hippocampus, where Crabp1 is otherwise detected in the subgranular zone, neurogenesis and NSC proliferation increased and hippocampus-dependent brain functions such as learning and memory correspondingly improved. This study established the physiological role of Crabp1 in modulating stem cell proliferation and hippocampus-dependent brain activities such as learning and memory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3004-3014
Number of pages11
JournalEndocrinology
Volume158
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2017
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Endocrinology

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