MSGID: 1:317/3 64002677   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    How to generate new neurons in the brain    
      
     Date:   
         March 1, 2023   
     Source:   
         Universite' de Gene`ve   
     Summary:   
         Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant,   
         neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new   
         neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation   
         is still poorly understood. A team has discovered the importance   
         of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up   
         these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded   
         in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and   
         even elderly mice.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem   
   cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However,   
   the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly   
   understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva   
   (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell   
   metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural   
   stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the   
   number of new neurons in the brain of adult and even elderly mice. These   
   results, promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases,   
   are to be discovered in the journal Science Advances.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Stem cells have the unique ability to continuously produce copies of   
   themselves and give rise to differentiated cells with more specialized   
   functions. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are responsible for building the   
   brain during embryonic development, generating all the cells of the   
   central nervous system, including neurons.   
      
   Neurogenesis capacity decreases with age Surprisingly, NSCs persist in   
   certain brain regions even after the brain is fully formed and can make   
   new neurons throughout life. This biological phenomenon, called adult   
   neurogenesis, is important for specific functions such as learning and   
   memory processes. However, in the adult brain, these stem cells become   
   more silent or ''dormant'' and reduce their capacity for renewal and   
   differentiation. As a result, neurogenesis decreases significantly with   
   age.The laboratories of Jean-Claude Martinou, Emeritus Professor in the   
   Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the UNIGE Faculty of   
   Science, and Marlen Knobloch, Associate Professor in the Department of   
   Biomedical Sciences at the UNIL Faculty of Biology and Medicine, have   
   uncovered a metabolic mechanism by which adult NSCs can emerge from   
   their dormant state and become active.   
      
   ''We found that mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles within   
   cells, are involved in regulating the level of activation of adult   
   NSCs,'' explains Francesco Petrelli, research fellow at UNIL and   
   co-first author of the study with Valentina Scandella. The mitochondrial   
   pyruvate transporter (MPC), a protein complex discovered eleven years   
   ago in Professor Martinou's group, plays a particular role in this   
   regulation. Its activity influences the metabolic options a cell can   
   use. By knowing the metabolic pathways that distinguish active cells   
   from dormant cells, scientists can wake up dormant cells by modifying   
   their mitochondrial metabolism.   
      
   New perspectives Biologists have blocked MPC activity by using chemical   
   inhibitors or by generating mutant mice for the Mpc1gene. Using these   
   pharmacological and genetic approaches, the scientists were able to   
   activate dormant NSCs and thus generate new neurons in the brains of   
   adult and even aged mice. ''With this work, we show that redirection of   
   metabolic pathways can directly influence the activity state of adult   
   NSCs and consequently the number of new neurons generated,'' summarizes   
   Professor Knobloch, co-lead author of the study.   
      
   ''These results shed new light on the role of cell metabolism in the   
   regulation of neurogenesis. In the long term, these results could   
   lead to potential treatments for conditions such as depression or   
   neurodegenerative diseases'', concludes Jean-Claude Martinou, co-lead   
   author of the study.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Stem_Cells # Nervous_System # Brain_Tumor #   
                   Immune_System   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Neuroscience # Brain_Injury # Intelligence #   
                   Brain-Computer_Interfaces   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Adult_stem_cell o Stem_cell o Embryonic_stem_cell o   
             Neural_network o Chemical_synapse o Neuron o Neurobiology   
             o Retina   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Universite'_de_Gene`ve. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Francesco Petrelli, Valentina Scandella, Sylvie Montessuit, Nicola   
         Zamboni, Jean-Claude Martinou, Marlen Knobloch. Mitochondrial   
         pyruvate metabolism regulates the activation of quiescent adult   
         neural stem cells.   
      
         Science Advances, 2023; 9 (9) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add5220   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230301141432.htm   
      
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