J Neurosci: Key proteins regulate brain development.

September 27, 2020 /--- Normal brain development requires precise interaction between neurons and non-neuron (also known as glial) cells.
a new study by researchers at Tsukiji University in Tsukiji, California, sheds light on how the loss of the protein arginine methyl transferase (PRMT)1 causes glial cells to rupture and affect normal brain development.
prMT modifies specific amino acids from other proteins to regulate key functions of cells, such as survival, proliferation and development.
of the many members of the PRMT family identified to date, PRMT1 is one of the most common members, controlling tissue development and longevity, as well as stress response.
Because the complete knockout of PRMT1 (i.e., the loss of proteins in all tissues during development) leads to embryonic development failure, more rigorous research has recently been conducted on tissue specific knockout of PRMT1 to understand how PRMT1 promotes tissue development.
(Photo source: www.pixabay.com) "We have previously found that PRMT1 is critical to the function of a neuroglial cell's less protrusive glial cells during brain development," said study co-author Professor Suk shui Mingji.
"The purpose of this study is to understand how other glial cells we observed in PRMT1 conditional gene knock-out mice may cause myelin dysplate.
to achieve their goals, the researchers used the same mouse model as previous studies, in which PRMT1 was knocked out into neural stem cells (NSCs) and cells derived from NSCs.
these include less protrusive glial cells and asstary glial cells, but not small glial cells, which are important types of glial cells in the brain.
researchers sequenced RNA from the outer regions of the brain called the cortical layer, which are located in mice struck by the newborn PRMT1 gene.
by doing so, they were able to investigate changes in gene expression in the brains of mice lacking PRMT1.
interestingly, the researchers found an increase in gene expression that regulates inflammation, indicating the involvement of astrological glial cells and small glial cells.
looked closely at inflammatory markers, the researchers found that expression of IL-6 in a group of inflammatory markers, particularly IL-6, increased significantly in mice with the PRMT1 gene knock-out.
next, the researchers asked how inflammation increased in the brains of newborn mice that lacked PRMT1 and looked closely at asstary and small glial cells.
by analyzing the markers of astrological glial cells and small glial cells in the brain, they found signs of severe persistent inflammation: a large number of star-shaped glial growth, an increase in the number of astrological glial cells, and an increase in the number of small glial cells.
, lead author and assistant professor, said: "These results suggest that PRMT1 regulates important developmental processes in the brain.
results provide novel insights into molecular control of brain development.
.com Source: How a single protein in non-neuronal cells controls brain development Source: Misuzu Hashimoto et al. Ross of PRMT1 in the CN Inducs reactive astrocytes and microglia when postnatal brain development, Journal of Neurochemistry (2020). DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15149.