A new protein has been discovered that helps the growth and development of nerve cell projections. Neuronal projections that connect neural circuits reorganize neural circuits through growth and reorganization when learning a new language or when a specific area of the brain is injured.
On the 26th, a team led by Professor Jaeik Kim and Jeonghoon Lim of the Department of Life Sciences at UNIST announced that the ‘mtIF3’ protein is involved in the development of brain neurons (neurons). This protein plays a role in facilitating the enormous supply of energy required for the development of the growth cone of nerve cells. The growth cone is a tissue that guides the growth direction of the axon of the nerve cell.
The mtIF3 protein performs this function through the regulation of mitochondrial translation. Mitochondrial translation refers to the process by which self-encoded proteins are synthesized in mitochondria. These translated proteins are used in the energy synthesis process.
The research team said, “Through this study, we discovered a molecular mechanism that immediately regulates mitochondria at the end of nerve cells.”
In this study, a self-developed fluorescent sensor technology was used. When two substances required for mitochondrial translation meet, fluorescence is emitted, and as mitochondrial translation is activated, the intensity of fluorescence increases. As a result of the study, when mtIF3 protein was synthesized at the nerve cell terminal, the intensity of the fluorescence light detected by the fluorescent sensor was strengthened. In addition, when this protein was inhibited, neuronal development was also inhibited.
The research team explained, “The fluorescence sensor technology can be applied to various studies that reveal how nuclear protein synthesis and mitochondrial protein synthesis regulate cell functions according to changes in the environment and energy demand.”
A research team led by Professor Min Kyung-tae of the Department of Life Sciences at UNIST, who passed away last year, designed the experiment. The research result, which Professor Min was named as a co-corresponding author, was published on the 7th in BMC Biology, a major academic journal in the life sciences.
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