Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2025 Feb;23(1):110-119. 10.9758/cpn.24.1212.

Effects of Epothilone D on Social Defeat Stress-induced Changes in Microtubule-related and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Protein Expression

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
  • 2Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Korea
  • 3Department of Physiology, Institute for Medical Sciences, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea

Abstract


Objective
Epothilone D (EpoD), microtubule (MT) stabilizing agent, demonstrated promising results in the animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. The present study sought to investigate preventive effects of EpoD on altered changes of MT related proteins and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress proteins induced by social defeat stress (SDS).
Methods
We measured protein expression levels of -tubulin and its post-translational modifications, MT-associated protein 2, stathmin1 and 2 with their phosphorylated forms, and ER stress markers, 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP-78) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)-homologous protein (CHOP) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP) of C57BL/6J strain mice treated with EpoD (2 mg/kg) or its vehicle, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and exposed to SDS.
Results
We observed lower levels of acetylated -tubulin, MAP2, p-STMN (Ser16), and GRP-78 in the PFC of the EpoD-Con group when compared to the DMSO-Con group. On the other hand, in the HIP, there were significantly higher levels of tyrosinated -tubulin and GRP-78 in the EpoD-Defeat group compared to the DMSO-Defeat group. Furthermore, the level of MAP2 in the HIP was found to be lower in the EpoD-Con group compared to the DMSO-Con group.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that EpoD exhibits a dual impact, manifesting both beneficial and detrimental effects on the aberrant changes of MT-related proteins and ER stress proteins induced by SDS, depending on the brain regions. These findings underscore the complexity of EpoD’s effects, necessitating further exploration to understand its intricate mechanisms in cellular pathways linked to SDS.

Keyword

Epothilone D; Microtubules; Endoplasmic reticulum; Social defeat
Full Text Links
  • CPN
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2025 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr