Long-lasting stress-induced changes in neuronal alternative splicing

Ample information suggests multileveled relationships§between long-term psychological stress responses and§alternative splicing the process which yields§different mRNAs from the same gene. However, the§nature of these relationships remains unclear. Eran§Meshorer studied the stress-induced changes in§alternative splicing at Hermona Soreq s lab and shed§light on the molecular pathways that lead to such§responses. Meshorer focused on a particular mRNA -§acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is§neuronally-expressed, stress-responsive, and yields§alternatively spliced products, thus serving as an§adequate model for this purpose. The book begins with§an introduction covering the general areas of stress§responses, their long-term consequences, the§mechanism of splicing and alternative splicing,§neuritic translocation of mRNAs and highlights the§AChE gene and its protein products as putative§mediators of such long-term consequences. The results§section depicts 3 works describing 3 and 5 §alternative splicing of AChE and a potential mediator§of the stress-induced responses. Finally, the book§ends with a discussion on the consequences of such§responses, linking stress responses with aging.