A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

JNK-regulated phosphoproteome links synaptic and metabolic pathways to mood regulation




AuthorsHong, Ye; Siino, Valentina; Flinkman, Dani; Deshpande, Prasannakumar; Martinez, Sylvia Ortega; Fagerholm, Veronica; Varidaki, Artemis; Heemeryck, Pierre; Sourander, Christel; James, Peter; Coffey, Eleanor

PublisherElsevier BV

Publication year2026

Journal: Neurobiology of Disease

Article number107207

Volume218

ISSN0969-9961

eISSN1095-953X

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2025.107207

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingOpen Access

Publication channel's open availability Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2025.107207

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/505850629

Preprint addresshttps://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.06.636849

Self-archived copy's licenceCC BY

Self-archived copy's versionPublisher`s PDF


Abstract

c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are implicated in both neurodegeneration and mood regulation, including anxiety and depressive-like behaviours. Yet the consequences of JNK inhibition in vivo on protein phosphorylation in the brain remain largely unknown. This study aimed to (1) determine how chronic JNK inhibition altered proteome-wide phosphorylation in hippocampus and nucleus accumbens, regions central to affective processing, and (2) determine which JNK-regulated phosphoproteins were associated with the anxiolytic response, representing potential drivers. Mice underwent intracerebral (ICV) infusion with DJNKI-1 or control TAT peptide for six weeks, after which behaviours were assessed and phosphoproteomic profiling performed. JNK inhibition reduced anxiety-like behaviour and significantly altered 163 and 97 phosphosites in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens, respectively. JNK-regulated phosphoproteins were enriched for regulators of cytoskeleton organization and synaptic function. GSK3 signalling was inhibited by DJNKI-1, leading to extensive depletion of phosphorylation on GSK3 motifs within the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens. These affected proteins involved in adhesion, cytoskeleton, proteostasis and synaptic activity. Moreover, several energy metabolism proteins exhibited phosphorylation changes on sites that control their enzymatic activity. The predicted net effect is a metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to anaerobic glycolysis. Network analysis revealed enhanced phosphoproteome connectivity in mice displaying low anxiety-like behaviour, with spectrin-α/β, syntaxin-1b, CRMP2 and MAPT emerging as central hubs. Notably, claudin-11, an oligodendrocyte-specific, tight junction protein, was identified as a novel phospho-target that was highly reduced upon DJNKI-1 treatment. Together, these findings highlight potential molecular markers of anxiolytic response and suggest synaptic and metabolic interplay in mood regulation.


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Funding information in the publication
This project was funded by grants from the Marie Slodowska Curie Actions r'BIRTH Initial Training Network grant #608346 and the Research Council of Finland grant #310583 to E.C.


Last updated on 20/01/2026 01:14:31 PM