Zachariou Lab

of Cellular Neuropharmacology

Research

venetia_zachariouOur research focuses on the cellular mechanisms underlying CNS disorders and their treatment. We use advanced genetic mouse models, viral mediated gene transfer and optogenetics to understand the network and cell type specific mechanisms underlying chronic pain, addiction, and depression.   A large part of our work, concerns the study of RGS proteins (Regulators of G protein signaling) in the brain.  RGS proteins modulate a number of important functions in the CNS by regulating the activity of heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunits but also by various other interactions which affect receptor desentitization, ion channel function or transcriptional activity.  Our earlier work revealed a potent role of RGS9-2 in the striatum in drug addiction and identified RGS9-2 complexes associated with agonist biased signaling. More recently, we explored the role of RGS4 in antidepressant drug actions and its role in various forms of chronic pain.

We focus on five major research areas:

  1. Signal transduction complexes in the striatum in drug addiction
  2. Regulation of G protein signaling in stress and depression
  3. Novel intracellular targets for chronic pain treatment
  4. Epigenetic adaptations in chronic pain models
  5. Regulators of G protein signaling and obesity

Contact Us

Zachariou Laboratory
Venetia Zachariou, PhD
Professor, Neuroscience
Professor, Pharmacological Sciences
Location
Lab: ICAHN 10-02
Office: ICAHN L10-20B
Phone
Office: 212.659.8612
Email

Publications

Selected Publications

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the Mesolimbic Reward Circuitry Mediates Nociception in Chronic Neuropathic Pain.Zhang H, Qian YL, Li C, Liu D, Wang L, Wang XY, Liu MJ, Liu H, Zhang S, Guo XY, Yang JX, Ding HL, Koo JW, Mouzon E, Deisseroth K, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V, Han MH, Cao JL. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Mar 1. pii: S0006-3223(17)31353-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.02.1180. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:28390647

Neuropathic pain promotes adaptive changes in gene expression in brain networks involved in stress and depression.Descalzi G, Mitsi V, Purushothaman I, Gaspari S, Avrampou K, Loh YE, Shen L, Zachariou V.Sci Signal. 2017 Mar 21;10(471). pii: eaaj1549. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aaj1549.PMID:28325815

RGS9-2 Modulates Responses to Oxycodone in Pain-Free and Chronic Pain States. Gaspari S, Cogliani V, Manouras L, Anderson EM, Mitsi V, Avrampou K, Carr FB, Zachariou V.Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017 Jun;42(7):1548-1556. doi: 10.1038/npp.2017.4. Epub 2017 Jan 11.PMID:28074831

Modulation of pain, nociception, and analgesia by the brain reward center. Mitsi V, Zachariou V.Neuroscience. 2016 Dec 3;338:81-92. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.05.017. Epub 2016 May 14. Review. PMID:27189881

Microbiota-driven transcriptional changes in prefrontal cortex override genetic differences in social behavior.Gacias M, Gaspari S, Santos PM, Tamburini S, Andrade M, Zhang F, Shen N, Tolstikov V, Kiebish MA, Dupree JL, Zachariou V, Clemente JC, Casaccia P.Elife. 2016 Apr 20;5. pii: e13442. doi: 10.7554/eLife.13442.PMID:27097105

Mitsi V, Terzi D, Purushothaman I, Manouras L, Gaspari S, Neve RL, Stratinaki M, Feng J, Shen L, Zachariou V. RGS9-2–controlled adaptations in the striatum determine the onset of action and efficacy of antidepressants in neuropathic pain states. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Sep 8;112(36):E5088-97.

Descalzi G, Ikegami D, Ushijima T, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V, Narita M. Epigenetic mechanisms of chronic pain. Trends Neurosci. 2015 Apr;38(4):237-46.

Caldarone BJ, Zachariou V, King SL. Rodent models of treatment-resistant depression. Eur J Pharmacol. 2015 Apr 15;753:51-65.
Terzi D, Gaspari S, Manouras L, Descalzi G, Mitsi V, Zachariou V. RGS9-2 modulates sensory and mood related symptoms of neuropathic pain. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2014 Nov;115:43-8.

Carr FB, Zachariou V. Nociception and pain: lessons from optogenetics. Front Behav Neurosci. 2014 Mar 25;8:69

Gaspari S, Papachatzaki MM, Koo JW, Carr FB, Tsimpanouli ME, Stergiou E, Bagot RC, Ferguson D, Mouzon E, Chakravarty S, Deisseroth K, Lobo MK, Zachariou V. Nucleus accumbens-specific interventions in RGS9-2 activity modulate responses to morphine. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014 Jul;39(8):1968-77

Stratinaki M, Varidaki A, Mitsi V, Ghose S, Magida J, Dias C, Russo SJ, Vialou V, Caldarone BJ, Tamminga CA, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V. Regulator of G protein signaling 4 is a crucial modulator of antidepressant drug action in depression and neuropathic pain models. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 May 14;110(20):8254-9.

Sun H, Maze I, Dietz DM, Scobie KN, Kennedy PJ, Damez-Werno D, Neve RL, Zachariou V, Shen L, Nestler EJ. Morphine epigenomically regulates behavior through alterations in histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation in the nucleus accumbens. J Neurosci. 2012 Nov 28;32(48):17454-64.

Waugh JL, Celver J, Sharma M, Dufresne RL, Terzi D, Risch SC, Fairbrother WG, Neve RL, Kane JP, Malloy MJ, Pullinger CR, Gu HF, Tsatsanis C, Hamilton SP, Gold SJ, Zachariou V, Kovoor A. Association between regulator of G protein signaling 9-2 and body weight. PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27984.

Terzi D, Cao Y, Agrimaki I, Martemyanov KA, Zachariou V. R7BP modulates opiate analgesia and tolerance but not withdrawal. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2012 Mar;37(4):1005-12.

Psifogeorgou K, Terzi D, Papachatzaki MM, Varidaki A, Ferguson D, Gold SJ, Zachariou V. A unique role of RGS9-2 in the striatum as a positive or negative regulator of opiate analgesia. J Neurosci. 2011 Apr 13;31(15):5617-24.

Han MH, Renthal W, Ring RH, Rahman Z, Psifogeorgou K, Howland D, Birnbaum S, Young K, Neve R, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V. Brain region specific actions of regulator of G protein signaling 4 oppose morphine reward and dependence but promote analgesia. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr 15;67(8):761-9.

Traynor JR, Terzi D, Caldarone BJ, Zachariou V. RGS9-2: probing an intracellular modulator of behavior as a drug target. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2009 Mar;30(3):105-11.

Terzi D, Stergiou E, King SL, Zachariou V. Regulators of G protein signaling in neuropsychiatric disorders. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2009;86:299-333.

Krishnan V, Graham A, Mazei-Robison MS, Lagace DC, Kim KS, Birnbaum S, Eisch AJ, Han PL, Storm DR, Zachariou V, Nestler EJ. Calcium-sensitive adenylyl cyclases in depression and anxiety: behavioral and biochemical consequences of isoform targeting. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Aug 15;64(4):336-43.

Multiple actions of spinophilin regulate mu opioid receptor function. Charlton JJ, Allen PB, Psifogeorgou K, Chakravarty S, Gomes I, Neve RL, Devi LA, Greengard P, Nestler EJ, Zachariou V. Neuron. 2008 Apr 24;58(2):238-47.

Meet the Team

Cleopatra Avrampou

Cleopatra Avrampou

Graduate Student

Valeria Cogliani

Valeria Cogliani

Research Associate

Sevi Gaspari

Sevi Gaspari

Graduate Student

Claire Polizu

Claire Polizu

Volunteer

Vicky Mitsi

Vicky Mitsi

Graduate Student

Miriam Stock

Miriam Stock

Volunteer

Aleksandar Obradovic

Aleksandar Obradovic

Postdoctoral Fellow

Former Members

Giannina Descalzi PhD

Giannina Descalzi PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Fiona Carr

Fiona Carr

Media

CUNY TV - Science and Pain

This month Science & U! deals with pain.
Guest List: Dr. Venetia Zachariou Icahn School of Medicine.

Antidepressants fine-tune brain reward pathway

Commonly used antidepressant drugs change levels of a key signaling protein in the brain region that processes both pain and mood, according to a new study. “Our data reveals that antidepressants that target specific neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly TCAs and SNRIs, regulate chronic pain and depression-related symptoms through actions in the nucleus accumbens,” said Venetia Zachariou, PhD, Associate Professor in the Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Antidepressants Use The Brain's Reward Center

Researchers today may have shined further light on a curious quirk of certain antidepressants: their ability to not only help balance out a person’s mood but alleviate their chronic nerve pain as well. “Our data reveals that antidepressants that target specific neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly TCAs and SNRIs, regulate chronic pain and depression-related symptoms through actions in the nucleus accumbens,” said study senior author Dr. Venetia Zachariou, an Associate Professor in the Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in a statement.

Prescription Drug Abuse Explained

Prescription Drug Abuse Explained: Painkiller Addiction May Stem From How Opiates Affect Brain’s Reward System. What exactly happens in your body when you take an opiate such as the painkiller oxycodone? For the current study, senior researcher Dr. Venetia Zachariou, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, designed an experiment using mice.

Opioid abuse initiates specific protein interactions

Opiate use triggers changes in the protein RGS9-2 in neurons in the brain’s reward center, new research confirms. “We were able to block addiction-related behaviors, but increasing the activity of the protein also lowered the pain relief response to morphine, and mice developed morphine tolerance much more quickly,” said the study’s senior researcher, Venetia Zachariou, PhD, Associate Professor, Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai Researchers Identify New Drug Target for Depression and Neuropathic Pain

Increased levels of brain protein in response to antidepressants may lead to new therapies. Led by Venetia Zachariou, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai, and in collaboration with Carol A. Tamminga, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, the research team evaluated postmortem human brains from subjects that had been treated with antidepressants before death and some that had not.