Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine · Jun 10, 2014

Short peptides stimulate serotonin expression in cells of brain cortex

By Khavinson VKh, Lin'kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI et al.

Peptides Glu-Asp-Arg and Lys-Glu-Asp stimulate serotonin expression in aging cultures of brain cortex cells. Peptide regulation of 5-tryptophan hydroxylase gene encoding the enzyme involved in serotonin synthesis was demonstrated by the molecular docking method. The CCTGCC nucleotide sequence in 5-tryptophan hydroxylase gene was found to be complementary to these peptides. Hence, Glu-Asp-Arg and Lys-Glu-Asp peptides epigenetically regulate serotonin synthesis in the brain cortex, which indicates their neuro- and geroprotective activities.

doi.org/10.1007/s10517-014-2496-yPubMed 24909721Interventions