基因发现网太阳城娱乐研究人员治疗成瘾的美国专利
兰迪·d·布莱克利博士和莫林·k·哈恩博士已经从美国专利商标局获得了一项专利，该专利是一种识别治疗成瘾药物的新方法。
根据美国药物滥用和精神健康服务管理局的数据，到2020年，美国约有4000万人患有药物使用障碍。 此外，在过去十年中，阿片类药物添加的流行率已上升至流行病水平。 不幸的是，治疗成瘾的治疗干预措施仍然有限。
太阳城娱乐’s 兰迪·d·布莱克利, Ph.D., and 莫林·k·哈恩, Ph.D., have received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a novel method to identify therapeutic agents to treat addiction. 这项发明涉及药理学、医学、神经病学和精神病学领域，其目标是蛋白质MBLAC1， Blakely实验室将其确定为该小组首次在蠕虫中发现的一种基因的哺乳动物形式，该基因是神经递质多巴胺信号的修饰因子。
“The majority of drug addiction 研究 has focused on dopamine signaling and how changes downstream of dopamine action eventually lead to compulsive drug seeking,” said Blakely, executive director of the 斯泰尔斯-尼科尔森大脑研究所, the David J.S. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience, and a professor of biomedical science in 太阳城娱乐’s 施密特医学院. “However, we found evidence in the worm model 秀丽隐杆线虫 that a gene expressed in glial cells supports the health and function of dopamine neurons and suspected its actions in humans might also relate to addiction.”
神经胶质细胞是大脑和周围神经系统中的非神经元细胞，以支持神经元代谢和脉冲的快速传递而闻名。
“我们现在知道，神经胶质细胞在许多方面支持大脑功能，包括附近神经元的可塑性和药物反应。 多巴胺神经元也不例外，”布莱克利说。
在过去的二十年里，布莱克利实验室利用简单但功能强大的蠕虫模型，深入了解了调节多巴胺信号的基因和蛋白质。 In 2012, the group identified a new gene they named swip-10, as the loss of this gene produces “Swimming-induced paralysis” or Swip. DNA analysis of swip-10 revealed conserved sequences that comprise a Metallo-b-lactamase Domain (MBD), an element that was also found in an uncharacterized human gene termed MBLAC1.
布莱克利说：“微生物学家众所周知，金属-b-内酰胺酶是细菌降解青霉素等抗生素的能力，从而导致抗生素耐药性。” “然而，在更复杂的生物体中，MBD已被重新用于消化许多其他分子。 因此，我们怀疑针对含有mbd的人类蛋白质的药物可能具有非微生物作用，甚至可能具有医学相关作用。”
Indeed, prior to the Blakely lab identifying swip-10, scientists studying addiction were learning that the beta-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone could diminish several brain changes that arise with chronic use of addictive drugs. 他们不知道的是头孢曲松在大脑中与什么蛋白质结合。 In 2018, the Blakely lab reported that the protein made by the MBLAC1 gene is a major, if not exclusive, target for ceftriaxone. 最近，通过基因工程消除MBLAC1蛋白表达的小鼠的数据表明，在可卡因的作用下，这种蛋白需要建立长期的行为改变，这种行为改变反映了大脑的变化，科学家认为这是导致药物滥用的原因。
Remarkably, the Blakely lab has discovered that loss of swip-10 also causes age-dependent neurodegeneration.
“We think these findings link to recent studies implicating MBLAC1 as a contributor to risk for certain forms of Alzheimer’s disease as well as the ability of ceftriaxone to display neuroprotection in animal models,” said Hahn, co-inventor on the patent and a 研究 associate professor of biomedical science in 太阳城娱乐’s 施密特医学院. “我们非常兴奋，最初使用蠕虫进行的简单基因筛选可能会让我们深入了解许多不同的脑部疾病。”
能力,