The Institute for Metabolic and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (IMND) of Binzhou Medical University was established in August 2012. The institute was granted as Shandong province key laboratory of neuropsychiatric pharmacology in December 2013. The research platform provides instruments for performing animal behavior, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neuroelectrophysiology and cellular and molecular biology examinations. The research focuses of the institute include: 1. The adipokine-related mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. 2. Neurodegenerative diseases. 3. Neural plasticity and affective disorders. The institute undertakes three NSFC, two NSF of Shandong province and other grants with total funding of more than 3 million yuan. The institute held the Taishan Academic Forum on Mental Disorders in 2013 and the Second Forum on Mental Disorders in 2015.
Professor LU Xinyun, the director of IMND, is the Taishan scholar and a distinguished overseas specialist. She is a professor of Department of Pharmacology in University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center. Dr. LU’s major research efforts have been directed toward uncovering the biological link between mood and metabolic disorders and identifying novel therapeutic targets for both conditions. Over the past decade, she has contributed significantly to the field of mood regulation by hormonal signals of energy balance and metabolism. She discovered that two hormones derived from fat tissue (termed adipokines), i.e. leptin, an appetite suppressing hormone, and adiponectin, an insulin-sensitizing hormone, have potential as antidepressant agents. Her research has led to the development of a new adipostatic theory for the pathogenesis and treatment of mood disorders and for their comorbidity with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Lu’s current research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms and neuronal circuits underlying the effects of adipokines on depression, anxiety and cognitive functions.
Grants:
1. The protective effects and underlying mechanisms of adiponectin in Alzheimer’s disease (NSFC 81500930)
2. Effect and mechanisms of Grb10 in AD-related cognitive impairments and neuropathologies (NSFC 81400903)
3. The role of LepRb tyrosine phosphorylation in emotional behavior and the underlying signal transduction mechanisms (NSFC 81301164)
4. Selection of AdipoR-activating aptamers and characterization of their antidepressant-like and insulin-sensitizing properties (NSFC 81301182)
5. Effect of leptin on the epigenetic regulation of BDNF gene transcription in its antidepression mechanism (Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation ZR2014HQ080)
6. The neuroprotection of adiponectin and the underlying mechanisms (Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation ZR2014HQ014)
Published papers:
1. Dentate gyrus-CA3 glutamate release/NMDA transmission mediates behavioral despair and antidepressant-like responses to leptin. Wang X, Zhang D, Lu XY. Mol Psychiatry. 2015 Apr; 20(4):509-19. (IF= 14.49)
2. Leptin receptor deficiency confers resistance to behavioral effects of fluoxetine and desipramine via separable substrates. Guo M, Lu XY. Transl Psychiatry. 2014 Dec 2; 4:e486. (IF=5.62)
3. Sex-specific and estrous cycle-dependent antidepressant-like effects and hippocampal Akt signaling of Leptin. Carrier N, Wang X, Sun L, Lu XY. Endocrinology. 2015 Oct;156(10):3695-705. (IF=4.50)
4Leptin/LepRb in the ventral tegmental area mediates anxiety-related behaviors. Liu J, Guo M, Lu XY. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2015 Oct 5. (IF=4.00)
