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New research suggests that the brain creates at least three copies of each memory. This also includes those encoded by early-formed neurons, which appear purple in a microscope cross-section of a mouse hippocampus. (Image credit: Biozentrum, University of Basel)

The brain stores at least three copies of each memory 

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New research in mice suggests that the brain creates multiple copies of memories, allowing it to regulate their change over time
Alzheimer's. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The combined vaccine for shingles: a breakthrough in reducing the risk of dementia

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While the live shingles vaccine has already shown signs of protection against dementia, the new combined vaccine offers even more promising results, with far-reaching public health implications
The molecule that carries with it a message of regeneration You are here Homepage > Publications > Science news in a friendly language > There is something new under the nerve Share tags Michael Feinzilbermike Feinzilber molecular neurobiology biomolecular sciences nervous system nerve cells communication between nerve cells Like geckos regrowing their tails, the nerve cell extensions in the peripheral nervous system also know how to regenerate after an injury. Unfortunately, the nerve cells of the central nervous system, i.e. the brain and spinal cord, have a much more limited ability to regenerate. Accordingly, diseases that lead to the degeneration and death of nerve cells in the brain, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS, are irreversible and incurable. What exactly gives the peripheral system - the one that connects the brain and the spinal cord to the body's organs - an increased capacity for regeneration? A new study by Weizmann Institute of Science scientists reveals that a protein, which until now has only been observed during embryonic development, has a key role in the regeneration of mature nerve cells of the peripheral nervous system. When embryonic cells differentiate into adult cells, the composition of the proteins they produce changes. In the case of nerve cells, it was common to think that a decrease in the levels of a protein called PTBP1 in embryonic cells is a key part of their transformation into mature cells of the nervous system. Previous studies have even shown that upon completion of the differentiation process and the transformation of the embryonic cells into mature nerve cells of the central nervous system, the production of the protein stops altogether. In recent years, these findings have led research groups to try to reproduce this process in the laboratory: to lower the PTBP1 protein levels in cells that are not nerve cells and thus produce mature nerve cells from them. The hope was that it would be possible to apply this method to patients with neurodegenerative diseases and to produce new nerve cells for them. From the right: Dr. Rinat Nebo, Dr. Natalya Okladnikov, Dr. Agustina Di Physio, Philip Freund, Dr. Ida Rischel, Prof. Michael (Mike) Feinzilber and Pierluigi Di Matteo However, in a new study, led by the researcher PhD candidate Dr. Stephanie Alber and doctoral student Pierluigi Di Matteo from the research group of Prof. Michael (Mike) Feinzylver in the Departments of Biomolecular Sciences and Molecular Neurobiology at the institute, it was surprisingly discovered that the PTBP1 protein is expressed not only in embryonic cells that have not yet undergone differentiation, but also in mature nerve cells - although not nerve cells of the central nervous system, but yes of the peripheral one. The researchers discovered this completely by accident, while studying processes in the sciatic nerve of mice, nerves that leave the spine and reach the foot. The original experiment carried out by the researchers was aimed at finding molecules that regulate the rate of production of another protein called KPNB1 - "postcarriage" - responsible for carrying most of the messages transmitted from the distant extensions of the nerve cells to the cell nucleus. Among its other functions, the KPNB1 protein is responsible for signaling to the cell nucleus that a nerve branch is injured, so that the cell can regenerate it. However, before the mail car can set off and carry messages from the branches to the nucleus, the cell is required to launch messenger RNA molecules that contain the "recipe" for the production of the mail car in the opposite path (from the nucleus to the branches). On the way or when arriving at the destination, other molecules may bind to the messenger, delaying or speeding it up and thus controlling the rate of production of the mail car. The surprising discovery in the new study was that not only was PTBP1 present in the mature cells, but it also bound tightly to the messenger RNA of the mail car. But does and how does it affect its production and the regeneration of nerve cells? "Tens of millions of people around the world suffer from diseases that lead to the degeneration and death of nerve cells in the brain. In order to understand why the central nervous system fails in its attempt to regenerate after an injury, we must first understand how the peripheral nervous system succeeds in doing so." To answer this question, the scientists followed the nerve cells' response to the injury and noticed that after three days the levels of PTBP1 in the cell began to rise and within A week they reached record levels. With the increase in PTBP1 levels, the researchers noticed that the nerve cell extensions begin to regenerate. Sequencing the messenger RNA molecules that bound to PTBP1 after the injury revealed that the protein binds not only to the messenger RNA molecules of the mail car, but also to other proteins that play a role in nerve regeneration. Dr. Stephanie Alber To continue investigating the activity of PTBP1 in adult cells, the researchers removed it from the cells through genetic engineering, and showed that as a result, the regeneration of nerve cells of the "alarm receptor" type - cells whose role is to transmit a sensation of pain in response to a harmful stimulus that could damage the tissue - was impaired. The scientists also examined whether silencing the gene had additional effects and discovered that it increased the sensitivity to mechanical stimuli and heat. In an attempt to deepen the understanding of how PTBP1 affects the regeneration of nerve cells, the researchers examined whether it also affects another protein, RHOA - an important "control switch" in the process of differentiation and regeneration of nerve cells. When the RHOA protein is produced at high levels, it acts as a sort of off switch that inhibits cell growth. The researchers discovered that PTBP1 suppresses the production of the control switch in the extensions of the nerve cells, thus enabling their growth and regeneration. These findings strengthen the possibility that the production of PTBP1 in peripheral nerve cells is what enables their efficient regeneration, unlike in the central nervous system. Sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system in culture.

There is a new one under the sadness

The molecule that carries with it a message of regeneration
Prof. Hermona Sorek (right). Photo: Yosef Edst, courtesy of the Hebrew University

Breakthrough in Alzheimer's research among women

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Professor Hermona Sorek, one of the world's leading researchers of gene expression in the brain, was able to find, in collaboration with her research colleagues, a molecular mechanism that occurs in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, which does not occur in men and which explains the acceleration
John McCarthy, Head of Life Sciences and Health at Dassault Systèmes. Photo: Avi Blizovsky

The target is the brain

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The living brain project of Dassault Systèmes makes it possible to develop treatments for epilepsy patients who do not respond to drugs, says John McCarthy, head of life sciences and health at Dassault Systèmes in an interview with the science website at the CES conference
The beta amyloid protein. Image: depositphotos.com

Alzheimer's theory undermined by allegations of manipulated data - but does not bring dementia research to its knees

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A seminal 2006 article in Nature claiming that beta-amyloid protein was primarily responsible for Alzheimer's was found to be partially fabricated. Long years of attempts to develop medicines were lost in vain * Twenty more articles are now being examined
An eye of a fruit fly engineered to develop an ALS-like disease. Left: Defective protein aggregates leading to ALS-like degeneration. Right: the eye returned to normal following the expression of one of the "sumo" proteins

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Weizmann Institute of Science scientists deciphered the molecular mechanism of "return to normal" and discovered that it is based on labeling proteins for destruction with a special code known as "SUMO"
The cover image in Small magazine, dedicated to research. The silicon chips are inserted into the mouse's brain by safe implantation or by means of a gene gun. The chips break down while releasing nerve growth factor, a protein that prevents the death of nerve cells in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the Technion and Bar Ilan University have developed a new technology for transporting drugs to the brain inside silicon chips with a nanometer structure

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Illustration of a pressure chamber at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. Credit: Tamir Noi, courtesy of Tel Aviv University.

Pressure chamber treatment resulted in significant improvement in mice with Alzheimer's

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Bottles of insulin for injection. Source: Alan Levine.

Research: Insulin resistance is associated with an accelerated decline in cognitive functions

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An elderly couple. Illustration: shutterstock

Call for recruitment of participants for research on offspring of Alzheimer's patients

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dementia. Illustration: shutterstock

Israeli researchers have developed a substance that reduces the increased risk of Alzheimer's and dementia among diabetics

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The violinist Hines Anders by Anders Zorn, 1904. From Wikipedia

The music of the mind

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fat person. "The Tuscan General", painting by Alessandro del Boro, 17th century. From Wikipedia

Obesity in adults increases the risk of developing dementia by 300%

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