Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is thought to be essential for learning and memory, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several disorders. Although recent studies have identified key factors regulating neuroprogenitor proliferation in the adult hippocampus, the mechanisms that control the migration and integration of adult-born neurons into circuits are largely unknown. Reelin is an e...

The processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to Abeta is an important event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, but the physiological function of APP is not well understood. Our previous work has shown that APP processing and Abeta production are regulated by the extracellular matrix protein Reelin. In the present study, we examined whether Reelin interacts with APP, and the functi...

Reelin is a signaling protein increasingly associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease that relevantly modulates tau phosphorylation. We have previously demonstrated that β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) alters reelin expression. We have now attempted to determine whether abnormal reelin triggered by Aβ will result in signaling malfunction, contributing to the pathogenic process. Here, we sho...

Reelin is a neurodevelopmental protein important in adult synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Recent evidence points to the importance for Reelin proteolysis in normal signaling and in cognitive function. Support for the dysfunction of Reelin proteolysis in neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction comes from postmortem analysis of Alzheimer's diseases (AD) tissues including cerebral...

In addition to the fundamental role of the extracellular glycoprotein Reelin in neuronal development and adult synaptic plasticity, alterations in Reelin-mediated signaling have been suggested to contribute to neuronal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In vitro data revealed a biochemical link between Reelin-mediated signaling, Tau phosphorylation, and amyloid precursor prot...

The finding that reelin expression is significantly decreased in mood and psychotic disorders, together with evidence that reelin can regulate key aspects of hippocampal plasticity in the adult brain, brought our research group and others to study the possible role of reelin in the pathogenesis of depression. This review describes recent progress on this topic using an animal model of depressio...

Reelin is an extracellular matrix-associated protein important in the regulation of neuronal migration during cerebral cortical development. Point mutations in the RELN gene have been shown to cause an autosomal recessive human brain malformation termed lissencephaly with cerebellar hypoplasia (LCH). Recent work has raised the possibility that reelin may also play a pathogenic role in other neu...

Reelin is an extracellular signaling protein that plays an important role in the development of the central nervous system. Post-mortem studies have shown lower reelin protein levels in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder compared with controls. Genetic studies have also shown that mutations in the reelin gene (RELN) increase the risk for schizophrenia and bipolar dis...

A recent study by Persico et al. [2001: Mol Psychiatry 6:150-159] suggests alleles of a CGG polymorphism, just 5' of the reelin gene (RELN) initiator codon, confer liability for autism, especially alleles bearing 11 or more CGG repeats (long alleles). The association is consistent across both a case-control and family-based sample. We attempted to replicate their finding using a larger, indepen...

The reelin gene is a strong candidate in the etiology of several psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. Most of these diseases are accompanied by cognitive and executive-function deficits associated with prefrontal dysfunctions. Mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC) development is characterized by a protracted postnatal matur...