Sprouting
connections in the brain: Adding GDF10 to neurons in a dish results
in the formation
of new connections between brain cells. This process may lead
to recovery after
stroke. Image courtesy of S. Thomas Carmichael, M.D., Ph.D.,
David Geffen
School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles.
(October 28, 2015) NIH-funded
research pinpoints protein that sprouts into action, activating stroke repair
Looking at brain tissue from mice, monkeys and humans, scientists
have found that a molecule known as growth and differentiation factor 10
(GDF10) is a key player in repair mechanisms following stroke. The findings
suggest that GDF10 may be a potential therapy for recovery after stroke. The
study, published in Nature Neuroscience, was supported by the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National
Institutes of Health.
“These findings help to elucidate the mechanisms of repair
following stroke. Identifying this key protein further advances our knowledge
of how the brain heals itself from the devastating effects of stroke, and may
help to develop new therapeutic strategies to promote recovery,” said Francesca
Bosetti, Ph.D., stroke program director at NINDS.
Stroke can occur when a brain blood vessel becomes blocked,
preventing nearby tissue from getting essential nutrients. When brain tissue is
deprived of oxygen and nutrients, it begins to die. Once this occurs, repair
mechanisms, such as axonal sprouting, are activated as the brain attempts to
overcome the damage. During axonal sprouting, healthy neurons send out new
projections (“sprouts”) that re-establish some of the connections lost or
damaged during the stroke and form new ones, resulting in partial recovery.
Before this study, it was unknown what triggered axonal sprouting.