Hippocampal vitamin D binding protein identified as driver of stress-induced depression
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A study published in Science Advances on October 22, 2026, identifies vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) as a driver of stress-induced depression. Working with a mouse model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), the researchers found that VDBP expression was up-regulated in CaMKIIalpha excitatory neurons of the ventral CA3 region of the hippocampus in mice susceptible to the stress protocol. Crucially, the level of VDBP expression correlated with the severity of depression-like behaviors, linking this molecular change directly to the behavioral phenotype. The work points to ventral CA3 excitatory neurons and VDBP as a specific neural and molecular substrate of stress-induced depression. How this mechanism translates to human depression, and whether VDBP or its pathway could serve as a therapeutic target, is not addressed in the findings reported so far.
Written by a model from the reports · updated 3 hours ago
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- Science AdvancesPickVitamin D binding protein in ventral CA3 of the hippocampus drives stress-induced depression.
Researchers found up-regulated expression of vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) in CaMKIIα excitatory neurons of the ventral CA3 region of the hippocampus in mice susceptible to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and this up-regulation correlated with the severity of depression-like behaviors.
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