The results of research on molecular biology might shine new light on potential cures for diseases such as dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and autism, Academia Sinica said yesterday.
The results were published in international journal Nature Communications on Thursday, the nation’s highest academic body said, adding that it is currently in the process of applying for a patent.
The research was conducted by Academia Sinica researchers Hsueh Yi-ping (薛一蘋) and Shih Yu-tzu (石育慈) over three-and-a-half years.
Photo: Wu Hsin-tien, Taipei Times
According to Hsueh, central nervous system diseases usually occur when the valosin-containing protein (VCP) undergoes pathological changes.
The researchers found that the efficiency of nervous impulses depended on the density of dendritic spines on nerve cells, Hsueh said, adding that after undergoing pathological changes, the cells usually had a decreased amount of synapses and suffered a decline in the amount of new protein synthesized.
The team hypothesized that the amount of synthesized protein might be directly tied to the density of dendritic spines on cells, Hsueh said.
The pathological changes to VCP decreased the endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomal RNA in nerve cells, which changed the amount of protein synthesized, Hsueh said, adding that the team chose the amino acid leucine on which to conduct their experiments.
Hsueh said research showed that leucine, or other types of branched-chain amino acids, could increase the rate of protein synthesis.
The team provided normal and pathologically changed nerve cells with three times the normal amount of leucine and successfully caused the cells to develop more dendritic spines on their surfaces, Hsueh said, adding that on average, every 20mm of nerve cells that underwent pathological changes would increase the amount of dendritic spines from six to eight when coming into contact with additional leucine.
The number of dendritic spines on normal cells would increase up to nine when in contact with additional leucine, Hsueh said.
The research team has begun live tests on mice and has achieved positive initial results, Hsueh said.
Marked improvement has been observed in mice with deficiencies in learning ability, memory or social interaction after the introduction of additional leucine, Hsueh said, adding that the team hopes to one day carry out experiments on human subjects.
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