New research could pave a way for pharmacological interventions for a devastating brain abnormality, announces a recent press release by the University of Ottawa.
An international team led by Armen Saghatelyan, a newly appointed Canada Research Chair at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine has shed light on the underlying mechanisms of a mysterious brain abnormality that occurs during human fetal development called Perfiventricula Heterotopia (abbreviated PH). PH is a neurodevelopmental affliction that is characterized by an abnormal migration of neuronal cells. These cells end up clustering around ventricles, the cavities of the brain. The disorder typically becomes apparent with recurrent seizures.
The collaborative research team led by Dr. Armen Saghatelyan aimed to uncover the migratory mechanisms of grafted human neuronal progenitor cells derived from PH patients in the brains of an immunodeficient mouse model. They wanted to test the hypothesis that changes in autophagy – a kind of cellular recycling process – impact the neuronal cells’ abnormal migratory behaviours.
The team found that a drug called metformin restored the cells’ migratory properties by triggering autophagy.
This discovery could potentially lead to the design of new strategies to better understand Periventricular heterotopia (PH) and treat this devastating disorder.
The team’s findings were published recently in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. It was supported by a CIHR operating grant to Dr. Saghatelyan’s lab.
