Researchers have demonstrated the action of a protein in the development of schizophrenia.
This is a major advance in the understanding of schizophrenia. The psychiatric illness, which is characterized among other things by delusions and hallucinations, affects nearly 600,000 people in France. We know that the pathology is generally revealed during adolescence, between 15 and 25 years old, in an attenuated form, and that there is “a genetic vulnerability precipitated by environmental factors”, details theInserm. Genetic predispositions combined with exposure to stress or cannabis might thus trigger schizophrenia.
Towards more effective treatments?
However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms in the brain are still poorly understood. Researchers from the University of Southern California in the United States focused on a specific protein called SAP-97. Its role had already been highlighted in previous research.
“The function of SAP-97 has been a total mystery for decades, explains Bruce Herring, the lead author of the research published in Nature Commication. Our study reveals where SAP-97 acts in the brain and shows exactly what schizophrenia-associated mutations in this protein mean for neurons.” When SAP-97 function is reduced, receptors would be overexcited, producing alterations in contextual episodic memory, a symptom of schizophrenia.
This discovery might make it possible to better identify people at risk of developing schizophrenia and to improve existing treatments. Today, the taking of antipsychotic drugs associated with therapy makes it possible to obtain a lasting remission in a third of patients.
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