CRE/CREB-driven up-regulation of gene expression by chronic social stress in CRE-luciferase transgenic mice: reversal by antidepressant treatment.

Background: It has been suggested that stress provokes neuropathological changes and may thus contribute to the precipitation of affective disorders such as depression. Likewise, the pharmacological therapy of depression requires chronic treatment and is thought to induce a positive neuronal adaptation, presumably based on changes in gene transcription. The transcription factor cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) and its binding site (CRE) have been suggested to play a major role in both the development of depression and antidepressive therapy.