{"id":8697,"date":"2013-09-18T12:23:57","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T17:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=8697"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:01:40","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:01:40","slug":"uwm-study-helps-deconstruct-estrogens-role-in-memory-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/uwm-study-helps-deconstruct-estrogens-role-in-memory-2\/","title":{"rendered":"UWM study helps deconstruct estrogen\u2019s role in memory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Karyn Frick. Photo by Troye Fox<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The loss of estrogens at menopause increases a woman\u2019s risk of dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s disease, yet hormone replacement therapy can cause harmful side effects.<\/p>\n

Knowing the exact mechanism of estrogen activation in the brain could lead to new targets for drug development that would provide middle-aged women the cognitive benefits of hormone replacement therapy without increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease or breast cancer.<\/p>\n

In a new study, Karyn Frick, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, uncovers details about estrogen\u2019s role in the complex cellular communication system underlying memory formation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe receptor mechanisms that regulate estrogen\u2019s ability to enhance memory are still poorly understood,\u201d says Frick. \u201cWith this study, we\u2019ve begun to sort out several of the key players needed for estrogens to mediate memory formation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research, published in the The<\/em> Journal of Neuroscience<\/em> today, focused on estrogen effects in a brain region called the hippocampus, which deteriorates with age or Alzheimer\u2019s disease. The researchers found that each of the two known estrogen receptors rapidly activate a specific cellular pathway necessary for memory formation in the hippocampus of female mice, but only if they interact with a certain glutamate receptor, called mGluR1.<\/p>\n

The study revealed that when this glutamate receptor is blocked, the cell-signaling protein ERK cannot be activated by the potent estrogen, 17\u03b2-estradiol. Because ERK activation is necessary for memory formation, estradiol failed to enhance memory among mice in which mGluR1 was blocked.<\/p>\n

Frick\u2019s team also found evidence that estrogen receptors and mGluR1 physically interact at the cell membrane, allowing estradiol to influence memory formation within seconds to minutes. Collectively, the data provide the first evidence that the rapid signaling initiated by such interactions is essential for estradiol to enhance memory regulated by the hippocampus.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data suggesting that interactions between estrogen receptors and mGluR1 at the cell membrane are critical for estradiol to enhance memory provides important new information about how estrogens regulate memory formation,\u201d Frick says. \u201cBecause membrane proteins are better targets for drug development than proteins inside the cell, these data could lead to a new generation of therapies that provide the cognitive benefits of estrogens without harmful side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other authors on the paper include Marissa Boulware and John Heisler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a new study, Karyn Frick, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, uncovers details about estrogen\u2019s role in the complex cellular communication system underlying memory formation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":836,"featured_media":8698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-8697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research"],"yoast_head":"\nUWM study helps deconstruct estrogen\u2019s role in memory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a new study, Karyn Frick, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, uncovers details about estrogen\u2019s role in the complex cellular 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