Aberrant Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (ERK) 5 Signaling in Hippocampus of Suicide Subjects

This study investigated whether suicide brain is associated with alterations in components of the Extracellular Signal-Related Kinase (ERK) 5 signaling cascade. 28 suicide victims & 21 nonpsychiatric control subjects were examined. Findings suggested reduced activation &/or expression of ERK5 & MEK5, & reduced MDF2C-DNA-binding activity demonstrate abnormalities in ERK5 signaling in the hippocampus of suicide victims & suggest possible involvement of this aberrant signaling in pathogenic mechanisms of suicide. (49 refs.)