Posted on October 25, 2001 at 10:20 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Research findings from UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) give new insight into how the embryonic brain develops and might have applications in preventing developmental disorders such as mental retardation and epilepsy. The findings, published in the October 19th issue of Cell, identify a enzyme that controls how brain cells called neurons migrate through the brain during its formation.
In the embryo, neurons form at the central core of the brain, and then travel to their proper position within the brain. This neuronal migration is necessary for normal brain development as each neuron must reach its assigned position to facilitate learning and memory, motor control and most other brain functions.UAB researchers led Dr. Wen-Cheng Xiong, assistant professor of pathology, found a family of enzymes that regulate the process of neuronal migration by controlling the proteins that push or pull the neurons into place.
“A protein known as Slit has long been known to repulse, or push, neurons in the proper direction,” says Xiong. “What has been unclear is the mechanism that promotes this attraction and/or repulsion.”
Xiong’s team, including Dr. Lin Mei, assistant professor of neurobiology, and post-doctoral fellows Dr. Yang-Zhong Huang and Dr. Xiu-Rong Ren, found that an enzyme known as srGAP interacts with a Slit receptor called Robo. This interaction plays a key role in stimulating neurons to migrate to their proper positions.
“These results provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating how neurons migrate,” says Xiong. “But these findings may also assist us in understanding and preventing neurological disorders such as mental retardation and epilepsy.”
Xiong says these findings could also be the foundation of new strategies to promote the repair and regeneration of brain tissue damaged by traumatic injury or stroke.