What is CREB?

What is CREB?

• A. A transcription factor that translates intracellular signals into changes in gene expression.
• B. A membrane receptor that activates ion channels.
• C. A catalytic enzyme that degrades cAMP.
• D. A structural protein in the cytoskeleton.

Answer: (A)

CREB is a transcription factor that translates intracellular signals into changes in gene expression. In neurons, signaling pathways that raise cAMP activate PKA, which phosphorylates CREB at a key site (Ser133). This phosphorylation enables CREB to recruit the coactivator CBP/p300 and drive transcription of target genes that have CRE sites in their promoters. This mechanism links external signals, like synaptic activity, to long-term changes in gene expression that support synaptic plasticity and memory formation. It is not a membrane receptor that opens ion channels, not an enzyme that degrades cAMP, and not a structural cytoskeletal protein.

CREB is a transcription factor that translates intracellular signals into changes in gene expression. In neurons, signaling pathways that raise cAMP activate PKA, which phosphorylates CREB at a key site (Ser133). This phosphorylation enables CREB to recruit the coactivator CBP/p300 and drive transcription of target genes that have CRE sites in their promoters. This mechanism links external signals, like synaptic activity, to long-term changes in gene expression that support synaptic plasticity and memory formation. It is not a membrane receptor that opens ion channels, not an enzyme that degrades cAMP, and not a structural cytoskeletal protein.