Hallan el " Interruptor " que Mata las Neuronas en el Cerebro con Alzheimer .
Study finds a modification to the transcriptional protein MEF2 that inhibits the growth of new brain cells and survival of existing cells. The findings show promise for therapeutic intervention for a variety of neurodegenerative disorders.
Released: 7/3/2014 . Source Newsroom: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute .
Newswise — La Jolla, Calif., July 3, 2014 .
A new study by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) has identified a chemical “switch” that controls both the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells and the survival of existing nerve cells in the brain. The switch that shuts off the signals that promote neuron production and survival is in abundance in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and stroke victims. The study, published July 3 in Cell Reports, suggests that chemical switch, MEF2, may be a potential therapeutic target to protect against neuronal loss in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and autism.
“We have shown that when nitric oxide (NO)—a highly reactive free radical—reacts with MEF2, MEF2 can no longer bind to and activate the genes that drive neurogenesis and neuronal survival,” said Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., director and professor in the Neuroscience and Aging Research Center at Sanford-Burnham, and a practicing clinical neurologist. “What’s unique here is that a single alteration to MEF2 controls two distinct events—the generation of new neurons and the survival of existing neurons,” added Lipton, who is senior author of the study.
...