Alterations in a naturally occurring chemical in the brain called serotonin have been linked to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of Florida Atlantic University’s Brain Institute and a professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and his team, have been studying this mood-regulating gene in the brain that carries signals across the synapse, or the gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is tightly regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT) and inappropriate shifts in SERT activity can have dramatic consequences.
Blakely first identified and cloned the SERT gene about 25 years ago, and recently received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue his research efforts to gain a better understanding of how SERT is regulated. Through this research, Blakely and the team pursue studies that can reveal critical insights into the mechanisms producing overactive SERT, changes that can drive diminished serotonin signaling during development and in adulthood. Blakely’s ultimate goal: to provide new ways of treating several widespread neuropsychiatric disorders associated with perturbed serotonin signaling.
“Serotonin transporters are an important research subject because they are the target for the most commonly used drugs prescribed by physicians worldwide to treat depression,” said Blakely. “By understanding how the brain can naturally turn serotonin transporter activity up and down, we may be able to develop more efficacious medications and ones with milder side-effects. We suspect that the study of inappropriately regulated SERT proteins during development may yield insights into pediatric onset behavioral disorders such as autism whereas an understanding of poor SERT regulation during adulthood may yield insights into mood disorders, such as depression.”
A particularly important class of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) includes medications such as Prozac™, Lexapro™, and Zoloft™. These medications are thought to work by blocking the ability of SERT to eliminate serotonin. A downside of their action is that these drugs must fully shut down the brain’s serotonin transporters to achieve a clinical benefit. However, this manipulation can produce a number of unpleasant side effects such as nausea, weight gain, sexual problems, fatigue and insomnia. Blakely’s research is motivated by the concept that resetting the normal regulation of SERT, rather than eliminating its function, may be a more subtle, and ultimately a more effective way to control serotonin signaling.
Alterations in a naturally occurring chemical in the brain called serotonin have been linked to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of Florida Atlantic University’s Brain Institute and a professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and his team, have been studying this mood-regulating gene in the brain that carries signals across the synapse, or the gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is tightly regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT) and inappropriate shifts in SERT activity can have dramatic consequences.
