luciferase-based CREB reporter construct (CRE-containing element from promoter of EVX-1). Dominant negative or phosphorylation-deficient mutant forms of CREB attenuated these stimulatory effects of miR-212 on CREB signaling. More importantly, we also found that miR-212 amplified CREB signaling in the striatum in vivo. Specifically, we found that rats with extended access to cocaine showed increased expression of the CREB-responsive gene Nurr1, and that expression levels were greatly increased by miR-212 overexpression in striatum (Hollander et al., 2010).
