Showing posts with label dopamine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dopamine. Show all posts
Sunday, May 18, 2014
New treatment targeting versatile protein may protect brain cells in Parkinson's disease
Madhuri Raman
May 17, 2014
No author given
Published: May 16, 2014
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140516092046.htm
Summary:
Researchers from Lund University have recently discovered a possible solution to the extreme decrease in dopamine in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced in specific neurons and helps control the body's movement. In PD, these cells are unable to produce dopamine, leading to a patient acquiring some type of movement disorder. The researchers have decided to approach this issue by looking at a protein in the brain called Sigma-1, "that improves the brain's capacity to cope with a host of harmful processes." By activating this protein in mice, they found that inflammation decreased, dopamine levels increased, and a noticeable improvement of motor symptoms was shown in mice with a Parkinson-like condition. Although this method has never been tested on humans with PD, it has, however, worked successfully on mice and humans suffering from motor neuron disease or stroke. Professor Cenci Nilsson said, "...The Sigma-1 receptor is widely expressed in many cell types, [so] the treatment could intervene in many of these damaging processes ." Scientists believe that this treatment will become a potential therapy for Parkinson's Disease in the future
Connection:
This article directly relates to our classes studies of the Nervous System. Parkinson's Disease, itself, is involved with the nonproduction of dopamine. Since dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in synapses, a loss of it causes signals to not be sent to other neurons in the brain. In class, we learned about the structure of a neuron and the important role of neurotransmitters to send message to and from neurons. We also discussed the term "homeostatic imbalance." In PD, the body is faced with a homeostatic imbalance when it cannot produce a sufficient amount of dopamine. However, with the discovery of the new protein, Sigma-1, a body suffering from PD will be able to overcome this homeostatic imbalance by producing more dopamine. Furthermore, we learned about the different types of neurons in the body; mainly sensory and motor neurons. In PD, motor neurons play a major role because they are the neurons carrying signals to the brain regarding movement. With more dopamine available, patients' motor symptoms will also increasingly improve.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
G Protein-Coupled Receptors and the Nobel Prize
Ashutosh Jogalekar
Published October 10, 2012
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2012/10/10/g-protein-coupled-receptors-gpcrs-win-2012-nobel-prize-in-chemistry/
Summary: Up until the late 20th century how cells can sense their environment was a mystery. Scientists theorized that our cells had some sort of sensors on their surfaces. Since then, many important discoveries regarding cell sensors have been made. Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka have been studying these cell sensors for over 40 years. Lefkowitz started off using radioactive isotopes to trace cell receptors in the early late 60's and then again in the 80's, but his most important discovery happened earlier this year. This specific discovery deals with G-protein coupled receptors, receptors that sense hormones and other substances. Similar to the light, odor, and flavor sensors we have in our eyes, nose and mouths, our bodies have internal protein sensors that help our body recognize chemicals like dopamine, adrenalin, serotonin and histamine. Roughly half of all medications affect these G protein receptors. Of course, scientists knew that our body reacts to these substances, but they didn't fully understand how the receptors in our brain recognize them and convey signals. Lefkowitz and Kobilka discovered that these receptors function in the same manner as light receptors in our eyes. Their most recent breakthrough came when they took a picture of the exact moment one of the adrenalin receptors was activated and sent signals into the cell.
Connection: This directly connects to our unit about cells, specifically about proteins. We discussed how protein receptors in cells send signals, exactly what this article is about. We've also been learning about how proteins contribute to chemical reactions within our cells. The protein receptors discussed in this article enable our bodies to function and carry out extremely complex chemical reactions.
Published October 10, 2012
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2012/10/10/g-protein-coupled-receptors-gpcrs-win-2012-nobel-prize-in-chemistry/
Summary: Up until the late 20th century how cells can sense their environment was a mystery. Scientists theorized that our cells had some sort of sensors on their surfaces. Since then, many important discoveries regarding cell sensors have been made. Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka have been studying these cell sensors for over 40 years. Lefkowitz started off using radioactive isotopes to trace cell receptors in the early late 60's and then again in the 80's, but his most important discovery happened earlier this year. This specific discovery deals with G-protein coupled receptors, receptors that sense hormones and other substances. Similar to the light, odor, and flavor sensors we have in our eyes, nose and mouths, our bodies have internal protein sensors that help our body recognize chemicals like dopamine, adrenalin, serotonin and histamine. Roughly half of all medications affect these G protein receptors. Of course, scientists knew that our body reacts to these substances, but they didn't fully understand how the receptors in our brain recognize them and convey signals. Lefkowitz and Kobilka discovered that these receptors function in the same manner as light receptors in our eyes. Their most recent breakthrough came when they took a picture of the exact moment one of the adrenalin receptors was activated and sent signals into the cell.
Connection: This directly connects to our unit about cells, specifically about proteins. We discussed how protein receptors in cells send signals, exactly what this article is about. We've also been learning about how proteins contribute to chemical reactions within our cells. The protein receptors discussed in this article enable our bodies to function and carry out extremely complex chemical reactions.
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