More Signaling Molecule Info

More Signaling Molecule Info

Yesterday I reported on the study showing how the Smoothened protein molecule worked with Hedgehog molecules to provide instructions to embryonic cells. Now scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have isolated a molecule which controls adult stem cells in mouse brains.

The Newswise press release says that researchers have identified the molecule, Wnt3, which tells stem cells to become nerve cells—neurons—rather than other types of brain cells known as astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. The astrocytes around the stem cells secrete Wnt3 to instruct the stem cells to differentiate into neurons. When the scientist blocked the production of Wnt3, the amount of new neural cells decreased significantly, and when they added it, the number of neurons increased. The cues which tell the astrocytes to secrete Wnt3 are still unknown.

According to the press release,

Many investigators have begun to explore the potential use of neuronal stem cells for the repair of circuits damaged by traumatic injury or degenerative disease, such as Parkinson’s, stroke, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease and well as depression. Identifying the molecular instructions that push neuronal stem cells down a certain path of specialization is a first step towards generating exactly the cell types needed to replace lost brain cells.

A short UPI version of the story is available on the Monsters And Critics website. The original article appears in the journal Nature. Again, this does not lead to any new treatment options, but the more known, the better.