Wednesday, August 10, 2022
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Medicine & Health

Study: Researchers use eel-like protein to control brain

May 11, 2021
in Medicine & Health
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Bruchas Lab uses protein called parapinopsin found in lamprey to turn brain neurons on and off

Researchers looking to help people suffering from addiction, depression, and pain are studying how certain brain neurons operate to see if they can be controlled.

In a paper published May 11 in Neuron, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Washington University in St. Louis, along with several other universities, successfully used a protein called parapinopsin to turn off brain circuits. This protein is found in lamprey – an ancient lineage of jawless fish similar to eel. Reserachers said the ability to inhibit neurons could eventually lead to turning off mood disorders and unwanted behaviors like depression and addiction.

“We found a particular protein that comes from lamprey that has been around for hundreds of millions of years. We took the gene from that protein and found we can control the way neurons talk to each other, which is how chemicals are transmitted into the brain,” said lead corresponding author Michael Bruchas, professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and co-director of the Imaging and Neural Circuits core of the Center for Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion.

For decades, neuroscientists have been using different types of light-sensitive proteins that are expressed in plants and bacteria to experiment with brain circuitry, said Bruchas. But this is the first time a protein was taken from lamprey to control brain circuits.

Parapinopsin is a type of protein called a “g protein coupled receptor” or GPCR. These GPCRs emerged early on in evolution and can be found in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. Bruchas said there at least 850 of these kinds of proteins in mammals. These proteins control everything from heart rate to fat storage, to reward and stress responses. GPCRs also respond well to chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin, which make people feel good.

“Some of these GPCR pathways are highly conserved across millions of years of evolution, and that allowed us to hack into them using parapinopsin,” said Bryan Copits, lead author and co-corresponding author, assistant professor of anesthesiology in the Pain Center at Washington University School of Medicine, where Dr. Bruchas was formerly located. Researchers from University of California (UC), Los Angeles, UC Davis, UC San Diego, and University of Zurich were also involved.

The Bruchas Lab focuses on GPCRs. But finding a way to inhibit neurons had been hard to come by until the parapinopsin discovery, Bruchas said.

The researchers found that the protein in lamprey respond to light not chemicals – another approach for targeted delivery. For example, if a part of the brain was having seizures from Parkinson’s, it might be possible to isolate the effect with an electrode, dampen it with adjustments to neurotransmission, or to inhibit specific pathways to improve mood.

Bruchas said the original discovery of parapinopsin was made by researchers in Japan in the Terakita lab, who have been discovering different light-sensitive GPCRs across species.

“This is a perfect rationale for why basic science is so incredibly important,” said Bruchas. “Because of someone’s hard work of basic biological discovery, we have a new tool for medical research. “

Bruchas said his team is planning to use the discovery for research into expanding their knowledge of the inner workings of the brain and to identify treatments for stress, depression, addiction, and pain.

###

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health Brain Initiative, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute of Drug Abuse. Grant numbers: R01 MH111520; NIH R21 DA049569, K01 DA042219, K01 DK115634, T32DA007278, P30DA048736, and R35 GM122577.

Study in brief:

Optical approaches to inhibit neuronal projections rapidly and reversibly have lagged behind those for activation. Copits and others. identify a photoswitchable GPCR-based opsin that couples to inhibitory effectors. This opsin leverages the natural ability of presynaptic GPCRs to inhibit transmitter release to provide an alternative strategy to manipulate distinct synaptic projections.

Media Contact
Bobbi Nodell
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

https://newsroom.uw.edu/news/study-researchers-use-eel-protein-control-brain
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.026

Tags: AddictionMedicine/HealthMental HealthPain
Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • A role for cell ‘antennae’ in managing dopamine signals in the brain

    99 shares
    Share 40 Tweet 25
  • Order up: new study reveals importance of liquid structural ordering in crystallization

    79 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20
  • Study finds second primary lung cancer is 4 percent and as high as 8 percent among surgery patients

    78 shares
    Share 31 Tweet 20
  • United Kingdom-based smoking cessation program reports that 30 percent of support in a lung cancer screening program: the Yorkshire Enhanced Stop Smoking Study (YESS)

    77 shares
    Share 31 Tweet 19
  • NELSON trial protocol more sensitive than NLST and may increase the benefits of lung cancer screening, while reducing unnecessary follow-up procedures

    77 shares
    Share 31 Tweet 19
  • Sub-lobar surgery for peripheral non-small cell lung cancer non-inferior to lobectomy

    76 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

A role for cell ‘antennae’ in managing dopamine signals in the brain

Experts optimistic about converting coal plants to production of clean geothermal energy

The walk of Japanese children develops differently from children in other countries

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 193 other subscribers

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In