Download Press Release GABA from reactive astrocytes in Alzheimer disease

News Release
KIST Public Relations / TEL. 82-2-958-6313 (82-10-2595-4385)
www.kist.re.kr
Contact : Deputy Director Dr. C. Justin Lee, ([email protected], +82-2-958-6940, 82-102825-7128)
Discovery of New Drug Targets for Memory Impairment in
Alzheimer’s Disease.
- KIST and KAIST Scientists investigate the cause of memory impairment
through GABA from reactive astrocytes
We are now a step closer to having a drug that can cure dementia and
memory loss. Research team in Korea has discovered that reactive
astrocytes, which have been commonly observed in Alzheimer’s patients,
aberrantly and abundantly produce the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter
GABA and release it through the Best1 channel. The released GABA
strongly inhibits neighboring neurons to cause impairment in synaptic
transmission, plasticity and memory. This discovery will open a new
chapter in the development of new drugs for treating such diseases.
The study led by Dr. C. Justin Lee at Korea Institute of Science and
Technology (KIST) and Dr. Daesoo Kim(KAIST) is published of Nature
Medicine on June 29 (Title: GABA from Reactive Astrocytes Impairs Memory in
Mouse Models of Alzheimer Disease)
Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia, is fatal and
currently, there is no cure. In Alzheimer’s disease, brain cells are damaged and
destroyed, leading to devastating memory loss. It is reported that 1 in 8 Americans
aged 65 or over have Alzheimer’s disease. In 2011, 7,600 elderly people with
dementia lost their way back home and became homeless in Korea. However, to
date, there has been no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying
dementia in Alzheimer’s disease. So far, neuronal death is the only proposed
mechanism available in scientific literature.
The research team discovered that reactive astrocytes* in the brains of
Alzheimer’s disease model mice produce the inhibitory transmitter GABA** by
the enzyme Monoamine oxidase B***(MAO-B) and release GABA through the
Bestrophin-1 channel to suppress normal information flow during synaptic
transmission. Based on this discovery, the team was able to reduce the production
and release of GABA by inhibiting MAO-B or Bestrophin-1, and successfully
ameliorate impairments in neuronal firing, synaptic transmission and memory in
Alzheimer’s disease model mice.
In the behavioral test, the team used the fact that mice tend to prefer dark places. If
a mouse experiences an electric shock in a dark place, it will remember this event
and avoid dark places from then on. However, a mouse with modeled
Alzheimer’s disease cannot remember if such shock is related to dark places and
keeps going back to dark places. The team demonstrated that treating these mice
with a MAO-B inhibitor fully recovered the mice’s memory. The selegiline****
is currently used in Parkinson’s disease as an adjunct therapy and considered as a
one of best promising medicine for MAO-B inhibitor. But it has been previously
shown to be less effective in Alzheimer’s disease.
The team proved that selegiline is effective for a short time, but when it is used in
long term, it loses its efficacy in Alzheimer’s disease model mice. When treated
for 1 week, selegiline brought the neuronal firing to a normal level. But when it
was treated for 2 and 4 weeks, neuronal firing came back to the levels of untreated
mice. From these results, the team proposed that there is a pressing need for a new
drug that has long lasting effects.
Dr. C. Justin Lee said, “From this study, we reveal the novel mechanism of how
Alzheimer’s patients might lose their memory. We also propose new therapeutic
targets, which include GABA production and release mechanisms in reactive
astrocytes for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, we provide a
stepping stone for the development of MAO-B inhibitors with long lasting
efficacy.”
This research has been conducted at the WCI Center for Functional
Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and
Technology (KIST) in collaboration with the domestic and international
research teams including KAIST. This research was funded by the Ministry
of Science ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) and the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) as part of the World Class Institute Project and the
KIST Brain Science Institute’s Flagship Project.
<Definitions>
*Astrocytes
Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type of the human brain. They perform many functions,
including biochemical support of endothelial cells that form the blood–brain barrier, provision of
nutrients to the nervous tissue, maintenance of extracellular ion balance and a role in the repair and
scarring process of the brain and spinal cord following traumatic injury.
** gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)
γ-Aminobutyric acid or GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central
nervous system. It plays a role in regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. In
humans, GABA is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone
*** Monoamine oxidase B (MAOB)
Monoamine oxidase B, also known as MAOB, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by
the MAOB gene. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the flavin monoamine oxidase
family. It is an enzyme located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. It catalyzes the
oxidative deamination of biogenic and xenobiotic amines and plays an important[citation
needed] role in the metabolism of neuroactive and vasoactive amines in the central nervous
system and peripheral tissues.
**** Selegiline
Selegiline is a drug used for the treatment of early-stage Parkinson's disease, depression and
dementia. In normal clinical doses it is a selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitor.
<Figures>
<Attached>