A new study proposes potential treatment for autism, a neurological condition of development, which affects approximately 1% of the world’s population.
In the research, Posted in PLOS BIOLOGY magazineresearchers have a possible therapeutic approach to certain aspects or characteristics of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), focusing on how neurons communicate with each other at the molecular level.
In the study, done with mice, scientists at the Medical University of Wenzhou and the University of Xiamen, both in China, noted that the symptoms of autism occurred when a pair of rival brain proteins came out of balance.
This approach is compatible with the idea of many experts, who see ASD not as a disease that needs to be healed, but as a neurological imbalance.
In this sense, autism presents itself as a spectrum because it manifests itself in very different ways in each person. In addition to variations in communication and social interaction, standards include restricted and repetitive behaviors, and different forms of sensory perception.
Although previous studies have linked certain genetic factors to ASD, some of them associated with neuronal activity, it has not yet been possible to describe how these factors are related at the molecular level.
Investigating protein imbalance in the brain of mice
According to the study, symptoms similar to autism appear on mice when the balance between two brain proteins (MDGA2 and BDNF) is changed, impacting neural function. This process integrates information to coordinate behaviors, learning, memory and responses to the environment.
MDGA2 protein, usually associated with human mutations with ASD, regulates communication between neurons. Low MDGA2 levels had repetitive behaviors and social changes, as well as high synaptic activity (communication between neurons).
The mice also demonstrated an increase in BDNF, a team -related protein that interacts with the TRKB receiver. Although BDNF is fundamental to the survival and plasticity of neurons, its excess can generate synaptic hyperexcitation, which alters the stability of neural connections.
In the context of the ASD, an imbalance in the BDNF and the MDGA2 can alter synaptic regulation, trigger an abnormal formation of neural circuits or interfere with the transmission of signals via TRKB, mediator of BDNF action in the brain. Unregulated signaling generates excessive or inefficient connections.
When the authors treated mice with a synthetic peptide that mimics MDGA2 and blocks BDNF/TRKB signaling, abnormal behaviors were reduced. This indicates that modulation of this protein way can partially revert behavioral changes .
In this sense, research opens the way to research therapies that restore protein balance, aiming to treat symptoms related to autism. Future studies should explore as pharmacological or genetic interventions can modulate these pathways in human models as well.
How to restore neuronal balance with synthetic peptides
Based on the combination of current research results with previous studies data, “authors suggest that MDGA2 and BDNF maintain a natural balance competing with each other by TRKB protein binding sites,” a press release.
As an interruption of this protein system can lead to changes in the way neurons communicate and organize themselves, correct modulation (adjustment in BDNF levels or TRKB function balance) could theoretically develop therapies to improve the symptoms of ASD.
For article co-author, Yun-Wu Zhang of the University of Xiamen, “mutations in the MDGA2Causam Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but the underlying mechanism is still unknown.”
The current study presents The role of MDGA2 as a “brake” to prevent BDNF/TRKB signaling and neuronal activity from becoming excessive . Without it, the system is deregulated, “leading to tea -like phenotypes in mice,” concludes Zhang.
Future applications may include the development of drugs that imitate MDGA2 action or inhibit excessive BDNF/TRKB signaling, such as the tested peptide. In addition, the discovery reinforces the importance of personalized research, considering individual genetic profiles for more accurate therapies in ASD patients.
Autism: Understand the different levels, subtypes and treatments
This content was originally published in a new study relates autism to protein imbalance in the brain on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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