CREB serine 133 is necessary for spatial cognitive flexibility and long-term potentiation

The transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is widely regarded as orchestrating the genomic response that underpins a range of physiological functions in the central nervous system, including learning and memory. Of the means by which CREB can be regulated, emphasis has been placed on the phos-phorylation of a key serine residue, S133, in the CREB protein, which is required for CREB-mediated tran-scriptional activation in response to a variety of activity-dependent stimuli. Understanding the role of CREB S133 has been complicated by molecular genetic techniques relying on over-expression of either dominant negative or activating transgenes that may distort the physiological role of endogenous CREB. A more elegant recent approach targeting S133 in the endogenous CREB gene has yielded a mouse with constitutive replacement of this residue with alanine (S133A), but has generated results (no behavioural phenotype and no effect on gene transcription) at odds with contemporary views as to the role of CREB S133, and which may reflect compen-satory changes associated with the constitutive mutation. To avoid this potential complication, we generated a post-natal and forebrain-specific CREB S133A mutant in which the expression of the mutation was under the control of CaMKII alpha promoter. Using male and female mice we show that CREB S133 is necessary for spatial cognitive flexibility, the regulation of basal synaptic transmission, and for the expression of long-term potenti-ation (LTP) in hippocampal area CA1. These data point to the importance of CREB S133 in neuronal function, synaptic plasticity and cognition in the mammalian brain.

Automated summary

The transcription factor CREB plays a crucial role in regulating physiological functions in the central nervous system. Recent research has focused on the phosphorylation of the S133 residue in CREB, which is required for its transcriptional activation. Previous studies using molecular genetic techniques have resulted in conflicting results, possibly due to the manipulation of endogenous CREB. In this study, the researchers generated a postnatal and forebrain-specific mutant of CREB S133A to avoid potential complications. The findings show that CREB S133 is necessary for spatial cognitive flexibility, basal synaptic transmission, and long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, highlighting its importance in neuronal function, synaptic plasticity, and cognition.