New therapeutic opportunities often emerge from research on simple organisms. For instance, the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier, Ph.D., and Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., for their CRISPR-based DNA editing discovery began with studies using bacteria just a decade prior. Today, CRISPR therapies are approved for several disorders, and more such treatments are in the offing.
Recognizing the translational potential of studies in simpler animal models, a team of scientists led by Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, have taken an important step that may lead to treatments for human neurodegenerative disorders. Their work begins with a tiny, inauspicious roundworm.
Formally known as Caenorhabditis elegans, the nematode is a favorite of neuroscientists seeking to identify and manipulate genes that impact neural signaling and health. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Blakely and colleagues link the function of the worm gene swip-10 to the control of copper. While known for its use in electrical wiring, pots, pans and jewelry, copper also is a vital micronutrient that plays several essential roles in all cells, including those of the human brain.
“Copper is required for the function of mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells, and its production of the energy-storing molecule ATP, which fuels hundreds of vital body functions such as muscle contraction, digestion and heart function as well as the signaling of brain neurons that allows us to think and feel,” said Blakely, senior author, and David J.S. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience at FAU.
Read more in: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-master-copper-discovery-alzheimer-clues.html