14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom, announce the discovery of an interesting link between the SUMO molecule and kainate receptors, a series of proteins involved in a number of conditions. The work may lead to the creation of new drugs against epilepsy and stroke.
SUMOs (Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier) are small proteins that bind to other proteins in order to change their function. The process is called SUMOylation, and contributes significantly to a huge array of cellular phenomena.
But the research team found that these molecules also play a role in preventing neurons from getting damaged during a heart failure, stroke or epileptic seizure. Without this protective mechanism, important areas of the brain could be shut down.
The SUMO proteins act mainly by regulating inter-neural data transfer patterns. Details of how this occurs were published in the latest issues of both Nature Neuroscience and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
UB Medical School researcher, professor Jeremy Henley, and Dr. Jack Mellor, led the investigation team that discovered how SUMO enhances or reduces a series of neural protection mechanisms during adverse health events.
The molecules act on kainate receptors, proteins that are responsible for underlying communications between individual nerve cells. Scientists say that over-activating these receptors can lead to neuron death and epileptic seizures.
“Kainate receptors are a somewhat mysterious but clearly very important group of proteins that are known to be involved in a number of diseases including epilepsy. However, we currently know little about what makes kainate receptors so important,” Dr Mellor explains.
“Likewise, we also know that SUMO proteins play an important role in neuroprotection,” adds the expert, who holds an appointment as a senior lecturer in the UB School of Physiology and Pharmacology.
“These findings provide a link between SUMO and kainate receptors that increases our understanding of the processes that nerve cells use to protect themselves from excessive and abnormal activity,” he concludes.