Protein fosB, also known as FosB and G0/G1 switch regulatory protein 3 (G0S3), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (FOSB) gene.[5][6][7]
The FOS gene family consists of four members: FOS, FOSB, FOSL1, and FOSL2. These genes encode leucine zipper proteins that can dimerize with proteins of the JUN family (e.g., c-Jun, JunD), thereby forming the transcription factor complex AP-1. As such, the FOS proteins have been implicated as regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation, and transformation.[5] FosB and its truncated splice variants, ΔFosB and further truncated Δ2ΔFosB, are all involved in osteosclerosis, although Δ2ΔFosB lacks a known transactivation domain, in turn preventing it from affecting transcription through the AP-1 complex.[8]
The ΔFosB splice variant has been identified as playing a central, crucial[9][10] role in the development and maintenance of addiction.[9][11][12] ΔFosB overexpression (i.e., an abnormally and excessively high level of ΔFosB expression which produces a pronounced gene-related phenotype) triggers the development of addiction-related neuroplasticity throughout the reward system and produces a behavioral phenotype that is characteristic of an addiction.[9][12][13] ΔFosB differs from the full length FosB and further truncated Δ2ΔFosB in its capacity to produce these effects, as only accumbal ΔFosB overexpression is associated with pathological responses to drugs.[14]
- ^ a b c GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000125740 – Ensembl, May 2017
- ^ a b c GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000003545 – Ensembl, May 2017
- ^ "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ^ "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ^ a b "Entrez Gene: FOSB FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B".
- ^ Siderovski DP, Blum S, Forsdyke RE, Forsdyke DR (October 1990). "A set of human putative lymphocyte G0/G1 switch genes includes genes homologous to rodent cytokine and zinc finger protein-encoding genes". DNA and Cell Biology. 9 (8): 579–87. doi:10.1089/dna.1990.9.579. PMID 1702972.
- ^ Martin-Gallardo A, McCombie WR, Gocayne JD, FitzGerald MG, Wallace S, Lee BM, Lamerdin J, Trapp S, Kelley JM, Liu LI (April 1992). "Automated DNA sequencing and analysis of 106 kilobases from human chromosome 19q13.3". Nature Genetics. 1 (1): 34–9. doi:10.1038/ng0492-34. PMID 1301997. S2CID 1986255.
- ^ Sabatakos G, Rowe GC, Kveiborg M, Wu M, Neff L, Chiusaroli R, Philbrick WM, Baron R (May 2008). "Doubly truncated FosB isoform (Delta2DeltaFosB) induces osteosclerosis in transgenic mice and modulates expression and phosphorylation of Smads in osteoblasts independent of intrinsic AP-1 activity". Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 23 (5): 584–95. doi:10.1359/jbmr.080110. PMC 2674536. PMID 18433296.
- ^ a b c Ruffle JK (November 2014). "Molecular neurobiology of addiction: what's all the (Δ)FosB about?". The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 40 (6): 428–37. doi:10.3109/00952990.2014.933840. PMID 25083822. S2CID 19157711.
ΔFosB as a therapeutic biomarker
The strong correlation between chronic drug exposure and ΔFosB provides novel opportunities for targeted therapies in addiction (118), and suggests methods to analyze their efficacy (119). Over the past two decades, research has progressed from identifying ΔFosB induction to investigating its subsequent action (38). It is likely that ΔFosB research will now progress into a new era – the use of ΔFosB as a biomarker. If ΔFosB detection is indicative of chronic drug exposure (and is at least partly responsible for dependence of the substance), then its monitoring for therapeutic efficacy in interventional studies is a suitable biomarker (Figure 2). Examples of therapeutic avenues are discussed herein. ...
Conclusions
ΔFosB is an essential transcription factor implicated in the molecular and behavioral pathways of addiction following repeated drug exposure. The formation of ΔFosB in multiple brain regions, and the molecular pathway leading to the formation of AP-1 complexes is well understood. The establishment of a functional purpose for ΔFosB has allowed further determination as to some of the key aspects of its molecular cascades, involving effectors such as GluR2 (87,88), Cdk5 (93) and NFkB (100). Moreover, many of these molecular changes identified are now directly linked to the structural, physiological and behavioral changes observed following chronic drug exposure (60,95,97,102). New frontiers of research investigating the molecular roles of ΔFosB have been opened by epigenetic studies, and recent advances have illustrated the role of ΔFosB acting on DNA and histones, truly as a molecular switch (34). As a consequence of our improved understanding of ΔFosB in addiction, it is possible to evaluate the addictive potential of current medications (119), as well as use it as a biomarker for assessing the efficacy of therapeutic interventions (121,122,124). Some of these proposed interventions have limitations (125) or are in their infancy (75). However, it is hoped that some of these preliminary findings may lead to innovative treatments, which are much needed in addiction. - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Nestlerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Natural and drug addictionswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Cellular basiswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Biliński P, Wojtyła A, Kapka-Skrzypczak L, Chwedorowicz R, Cyranka M, Studziński T (2012). "Epigenetic regulation in drug addiction". Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine. 19 (3): 491–6. PMID 23020045.
For these reasons, ΔFosB is considered a primary and causative transcription factor in creating new neural connections in the reward centre, prefrontal cortex, and other regions of the limbic system. This is reflected in the increased, stable and long-lasting level of sensitivity to cocaine and other drugs, and tendency to relapse even after long periods of abstinence. These newly constructed networks function very efficiently via new pathways as soon as drugs of abuse are further taken ... In this way, the induction of CDK5 gene expression occurs together with suppression of the G9A gene coding for dimethyltransferase acting on the histone H3. A feedback mechanism can be observed in the regulation of these 2 crucial factors that determine the adaptive epigenetic response to cocaine. This depends on ΔFosB inhibiting G9a gene expression, i.e. H3K9me2 synthesis which in turn inhibits transcription factors for ΔFosB. For this reason, the observed hyper-expression of G9a, which ensures high levels of the dimethylated form of histone H3, eliminates the neuronal structural and plasticity effects caused by cocaine by means of this feedback which blocks ΔFosB transcription
- ^ Ohnishi YN, Ohnishi YH, Vialou V, Mouzon E, LaPlant Q, Nishi A, Nestler EJ (January 2015). "Functional role of the N-terminal domain of ΔFosB in response to stress and drugs of abuse". Neuroscience. 284: 165–70. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.10.002. PMC 4268105. PMID 25313003.