2023-11-28 12:00:01
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently shed light on the mechanism of a key protein regulating the plasticity and function of the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory and learning (Learning is the acquisition of know-how, that is to say the process…), which decreases with age in mice (The term mouse is an ambiguous vernacular name which can designate, for French speakers, before …).
The team’s findings, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, might pave the way for a better understanding of how the protein, called tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2), might be targeted in age-related disorders. , such as Alzheimer’s disease, in order to restore altered molecular processes in the brain. central nervous system of animals. The brain processes…).
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The study highlights the role of TIMP2 in the regulation of hippocampal plasticity, in particular its decrease with age. . The researchers explored the links between TIMP2, neuronal plasticity processes and the environment. surrounds us. It is all the natural and…) structural elements of the seahorse.
According to Dr. Joseph Castellano, assistant professor of neuroscience and neurology at the School of Medicine (from the Latin medicus, “which heals “) is the science and…) Icahn of Mount Sinai and lead author of the study, “TIMP2 control (The word control can have several meanings. It can be used as a synonym for examination,…) these processes by modifying the flexibility of the microenvironment through components of the extracellular matrix. Studying the pathways regulating the extracellular matrix might be crucial for designing new therapies for diseases affecting plasticity.”
The team’s work, using mutant mouse models mimicking age-related loss of TIMP2, combined with RNA analyses, behavioral studies and microscopies, made it possible to examine in detail the molecular regulation of plasticity. by TIMP2. The researchers, led by Ana Catarina Ferreira, discovered that deletion of TIMP2 leads to an accumulation of extracellular matrix components in the hippocampus, accompanied by a reduction in plasticity processes, including the generation of new neurons, the synaptic integrity and memory. This study therefore has major implications in understanding the mechanisms regulating plasticity at the structural level in brain regions involved in memory.
In sum, this research suggests that targeting processes regulating the extracellular matrix might represent an important direction for designing approaches improving brain plasticity. Dr. Castellano plans to explore other molecules beyond TIMP2 to regulate the extracellular matrix, thus opening new perspectives for alleviating various aging-related disorders. .
This major advance in understanding the role of TIMP2 in brain plasticity and memory offers new avenues for the development of innovative therapies aimed at countering the deleterious effects of aging on the brain and might represent hope for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. like Alzheimer’s disease.
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#protein #reverse #brain #aging #process
