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    Home > Biochemistry News > Biotechnology News > The role of zinc chelation: recovery of optic nerve damage.

    The role of zinc chelation: recovery of optic nerve damage.

    • Last Update: 2020-09-13
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    For more than two decades, researchers have tried to regenerate damaged optic nerves using different growth factors and drugs that overcome natural growth inhibition.
    , however, only about 1% of the damaged nerve fibers regenerate and reconnect to the brain;
    recently, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital showed that a new method - zinc chelating, released due to damage - makes cells live longer and may lead to the regeneration of large numbers of neuron axons in mouse models.
    the treatment could benefit patients with optic nerve damage if it is shown to be as effective in humans.
    include glare, and other types of nerve fibers (axons) that may be damaged within the central nervous system, such as spinal cord injury.
    zinc chelate has long been present and may be injected into the eye systematically or by injection, the researchers said.
    their findings were published January 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
    optic nerve, which carries visual information from the eye to the brain, is the most sectional cell projected by axons from known retinal neurons.
    , these cells die when the optic nerve is damaged, but it is not known how the cells were killed.
    At least 200 studies, including some conducted here, are trying to understand the causes of these cell deaths," said Dr. Larry Benowitz of the Department of Neurosurgery at the FM Kirby Center for Neurobiology at Boston Children's Hospital.
    cells survive, they usually cannot refore grow and connect to the brain.
    " co-author Dr Paul Rosenberg has been studying the role of zinc in the death of optic nerve cells.
    suggests studying zinc in the retina, which is responsible for receiving visual signals from the eye, processing them and sending them to the brain.
    his lab and Benowitz Labs began working together in 2010.
    1. Zinc soars Many people are familiar with zinc because "children don't eat, taste bad", but little is known about the role of zinc.
    it is understood that zinc is necessary in many cellular functions.
    in many neurons, zinc is packaged in synapses of small vesicles, as well as neurotransmitters that these cells use to communicate with other cells.
    release is usually tightly controlled because high levels are toxic to cells.
    In mouse experiments, researchers saw a sharp rise in zinc levels after optic nerve damage - surprisingly, the increase occurred not in the damaged retinal nerve cells themselves, but in cells that communicated with them, an intermediate neuron called a protrusion-free cell.
    surge in zinc occurs within an hour of injury.
    two or three days, zinc is transferred to retinal nerve cells - and then begins to die.
    2. Promoting survival and regeneration Although zinc has been associated with cell death in previous studies, this study is the first to demonstrate that targeted zinc protects damaged neurons in the eye and helps to regenerate axons through optic nerves, and the first to show the effectiveness of targeting zinc in living animal models.
    when we use zinc chelating agents, we make it possible for about 40 percent of injured cells to survive for months and possibly indefinitely," Benowitz said.
    " growth factors and survival factors have only a short-lived effect, they do not really stop the cell death process, if given zinc chelating agent in the right dose, more than half of the retinal nerve cells may survive.
    also saw a large amount of regeneration of axons in neurons.
    hundreds of axons extend far beyond the nerve damage, compared with only one axon that is not treated.
    regeneration is further enhanced when the chelating agent binds to the missing pten gene to reduce natural growth inhibition.
    For these studies, the authors used a variety of reagents to visualize the increase in free zinc in retinal cells and to chelate zinc, including some of Dr. Stephen Lippard's newly developed drugs, Dr. Stephen Lippard, Ph.D., of MIT's Department of Chemistry and a co-author of the study.
    addition to chelation, Benowitz, Rosenberg and Li tested several other genetic and pharmacological methods that prevent zinc from being produced to entering retinal nerve cells.
    these methods can also increase cell survival.
    all you have to do is stop zinc from producing a path that crosses synapses into nerve cells, " Li said.
    3. Possibilities of treatment Researchers point out that it takes a while for zinc to soar into retinal nerve cells, meaning that the chelating agent will take effect even if it is not delivered immediately after the injury.
    they observed strong cell survival and axon regeneration, even though treatment was five days late.
    several previous research teams have found ways to induce regeneration, this usually involves changing gene expression before or after injury," Rosenberg said.
    understanding that zinc is an obstacle to nerve regeneration allows us to design methods that can be used after an injury.
    hope to receive further funding to develop a slow-release agent that will chelate zinc over time and may allow patients to receive only a single injection in their eyes.
    Benowitz, Rosenberg and Li are also interested in exploring how zinc causes cell death and blocks regeneration.
    "The next step is to find these mechanisms," Rosenberg said.
    "We think more new treatments may stem from these studies."
    " 4. Zinc: New Calcium?This study is the first to demonstrate the role of zinc in optic nerve damage, but zinc has also been shown to play a role in stroke damage and has been involved in Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophy lateral sclerosis.
    , zinc levels in neurons in the rest of the brain are higher than those found in the normal retina.
    Little is known about the role of zinc in the healthy nervous system or in brain damage, and through the work of our global research team, we are beginning to realize its significance," said Rosenberg.
    that calcium is the primary regulator of health and disease, and we think zinc will share this role in the 21st century.
    " References: Mobile zinc increases rapidly in the role of retina after optic nerve injury and regulations ganglion cell survival and optic nerve regeneration, PNAS, related article: the role of enzymes and efficacy of Reishi's role in the role of shell polysaccharide adjulycation mechanism.
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