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Primary Contract Specialist
Secondary Contracting Officer
Rochester, MN 55901
The purpose is to measure copeptin levels in 210 clinical plasma samples to study its association with suicidal thoughts and antisuicidal response to ketamine.
Our lab has been doing basic and clinical studies with mood disorders to investigate the biomarkers and mechanisms underlying ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects. Vasopressin (AVP) is a neuropeptide molecule classically known as an antidiuretic hormone, secreted by the posterior pituitary in response to changes in plasma osmolality or blood pressure. It also plays a role in regulating HPA axis activity under acute and chronic stress conditions. Copeptin is a byproduct of the cleaving of AVP precursor peptide. Our collaborators at the Mayo Clinic are specialized at measuring copeptin levels using the BRAHMS-Kryptor Copeptin Assay.
Project Background. The NIMH Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch has been doing basic and clinical studies related to depression and treatment outcomes with rapid antidepressant agents. Under chronic stress, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release is stimulated primarily by AVP to maintain physiological homeostasis even after corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) release is suppressed via negative feedback from hypercortisolemia. Multiple studies found social stress-induced increases in AVP, suggesting a role for AVP-driven ACTH release and HPA axis activation in social stress. Genome-wide association studies also revealed that genetic polymorphisms in V1b receptors were associated with childhood-onset mood disorders. Findings to date have been mixed, partly owing to methodological barriers associated with AVP’s pulsatile secretion and rapid plasma secretion. Copeptin is a byproduct of the cleaving of AVP precursor peptide. Owing to its stability at room temperature, plasma copeptin has been increasingly researched as a surrogate biomarker for plasma AVP. To better understand the role of AVP in mood disorders and stress-related pathophysiology, studies with reliable copeptin measurement are needed.
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