Picture

Northwestern Medicine
​Breakthroughs for Physicians

​​
  • Home
  • Specialties
    • Cardiovascular >
      • Research
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • News
    • Endocrinology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs In Endocrinology
      • Research In Endocrinology
      • News
    • ENT (Otolaryngology) >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Gastroenterology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Geriatrics >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Neurosciences >
      • Rare and Complex Brain Tumors
      • Research
      • COVID-19 and Neurosciences
      • News
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • OB-GYN >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Oncology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Ophthalmology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Organ Transplant >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Orthopaedics >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Psychiatry >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Pulmonary >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Rehabilitation >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • News
    • Rheumatology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Urology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
  • CME
  • REFERRALS
    • Refer to NM Cardiovascular
    • Refer to NM Neurosciences
    • Refer to Other Specialties

< RESEARCH IN PSYCHIATRY

Microscopic image of Homer1

January 2021

PSYCHIATRY

PROTEIN REGULATION NETWORK MAY INFLUENCE PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

Featuring: ​Peter Penzes, PhD
​
​​Homer1, a protein that’s important for neural plasticity and learning, is part of a large network of proteins in the brain that help ensure new connections are wired correctly, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

These findings are good news for scientists searching for treatments for psychiatric disorders, according to Peter Penzes, PhD, the Ruth and Evelyn Dunbar Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, and senior author of the study.

“This network means it may be easier to find treatments: because it’s all interconnected, we can look for more therapeutic pathways,” said Penzes, who is also director of the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment.

Previous studies have shown Homer1 is important for brain development: genetically modified mice missing this protein show behavioral abnormalities, and genetic studies of humans have shown a lack of Homer1 is associated with psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and depression. The protein is activated by electrical stimulation, including when new connections are made in the brain.

“When you learn something new, this induces expression of Homer1 in specific brain cells,” Penzes said.

However, until now, Homer1’s function was largely unknown, partly because scientists knew little about its protein-protein interactions.

“In the past, these interactions were identified one by one, but now the technology has changed and allows the identification of large networks of interactions,” Penzes said. “It puts these things in a very different context.”

The investigators used a computational neurology approach to search for protein partners of Homer1, finding a large network of interactions with another protein, ankyrin-G, at the center. Overexpression of ankyrin-G is known to be a major genetic risk factor for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism, suggesting a direct link between Homer1 and these psychiatric disorders.

In collaboration with Jeffrey Savas, PhD, assistant professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology Division of Behavioral Neurology and a co-author of the study, the team analyzed synaptic proteins in genetically modified mice that were lacking Homer1. They were surprised to find in these mice that much of the associated protein interaction network was upregulated, instead of downregulated.

“This shows that an important role for Homer1 in the brain is to keep levels of disease risk proteins such as ankyrin-G in check,” Penzes said.

The discovery of this network may be a boon to scientists searching for drug therapies for psychiatric disorders. Instead of having just a single pathway to test druggable targets upon, investigators can take advantage of the interconnectivity to possibly produce large-scale changes with a single drug.

“This shows that things are changing globally, and by altering one thing you might be able to alter the entire network,” Penzes said.

This work was supported by The National Institutes of Health grant R01MH107182 and an Individual Biomedical Research Award from The Hartwell Foundation.

This article was originally published in the Feinberg School of Medicine News Center on January 26, 2021. 
Peter Penzes PhD headshot
Peter Penzes, PhD, the Ruth and Evelyn Dunbar Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, and director of the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, was the senior author of the study

Refer a Patient

Northwestern Medicine welcomes the opportunity to partner with you in caring for your patients. ​
Call 844.344.6663
Find an NM Psychiatrist

You May Also Like

Michael Brook, PhD headshot

December 2020

PSYCHIATRY
Championing Research at the Intersection of Behavioral Science and the Law
Hippocampus x-ray

November 2020

PSYCHIATRY
Cilia Defects Linked to Schizophrenia
Emily Rogalski, PhD headshot

June 2018

PSYCHIATRY
What Makes Someone a SuperAger? with Emily Rogalski, PhD

Northwestern Medicine Breakthroughs for Physicians

About Us     Terms of Use     Privacy Policy     How to Vote for U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals
© 2025 Northwestern Medicine® and Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. 
Northwestern Medicine® is a trademark of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, used by Northwestern University
Connect with us
[email protected]
International physicians, contact [email protected]
  • Home
  • Specialties
    • Cardiovascular >
      • Research
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • News
    • Endocrinology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs In Endocrinology
      • Research In Endocrinology
      • News
    • ENT (Otolaryngology) >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Gastroenterology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Geriatrics >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Neurosciences >
      • Rare and Complex Brain Tumors
      • Research
      • COVID-19 and Neurosciences
      • News
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • OB-GYN >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Oncology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Ophthalmology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Organ Transplant >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Orthopaedics >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Psychiatry >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Pulmonary >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Rehabilitation >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • News
    • Rheumatology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
    • Urology >
      • Clinical Breakthroughs
      • Research
      • News
  • CME
  • REFERRALS
    • Refer to NM Cardiovascular
    • Refer to NM Neurosciences
    • Refer to Other Specialties