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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the save-the-synapses dept.

Synapse-saving proteins discovered, opening possibilities in Alzheimer's, schizophrenia:

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have discovered a new class of proteins that protect synapses from being destroyed. Synapses are the structures where electrical impulses pass from one neuron to another.

The discovery, published July 13 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, has implications for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. If proven, increasing the number of these protective proteins could be a novel therapy for the management of those diseases, researchers said.

In Alzheimer's disease, loss of synapses leads to memory problems and other clinical symptoms. In schizophrenia, synapse losses during development predispose an individual to the disorder.

"We are studying an immune system pathway in the brain that is responsible for eliminating excess synapses; this is called the complement system," said Gek-Ming Sia, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology in UT Health San Antonio's Long School of Medicine and senior author of the research.

"Complement system proteins are deposited onto synapses," Dr. Sia explained. "They act as signals that invite immune cells called macrophages to come and eat excess synapses during development. We discovered proteins that inhibit this function and essentially act as 'don't eat me' signals to protect synapses from elimination."

Journal Reference:
Qifei Cong, Breeanne M. Soteros, Mackenna Wollet, et al. The endogenous neuronal complement inhibitor SRPX2 protects against complement-mediated synapse elimination during development, Nature Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0672-0)


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:39AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:39AM (#1024473)

    What the fuck is there going to be left to die of if all the diseases get cured? STOP the TESTING madness.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:57AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:57AM (#1024476)

    COVID-45

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:20AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:20AM (#1024490)

      Ebola-32

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:38AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:38AM (#1024535)

        Runaway-56?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:06PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:06PM (#1024709)

          Stupidity.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:44AM (#1024496)

    Motorcycle riders have that covered.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @04:25PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @04:25PM (#1024625)

    All diseases aren't going to be cured, some other form of death will show up to ensure that entropy still has a say.

    In all likelihood if we truly manage to cure all fatal illnesses and conditions, deaths will be the result of either accident or suicide. Assuming that we've also managed to figure out how to prevent all murders which seems about as likely as the rest of it.