- Excessive inflammation and aberrant immune system activity in the brain can have severe consequences, including the development of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
- People with schizophrenia have higher levels of the immune protein C4 in their brains and C4 variations are linked to an increased risk of developing the condition.
- While therapies that reduce C4 levels and inflammation in the brain may benefit schizophrenia patients, none are currently available.
- Now, Harvard University researchers have developed a technique to produce large quantities of C4-secreting human astrocytes from stem cells, promising a new avenue for developing effective treatments.
In a new study, published in
These differences affect a protein called
To develop effective drugs for lowering C4 levels, the researchers devised a method to create large quantities of C4-secreting human
Astrocytes are cells in the brain that play an important role in connecting brain cells together and removing unnecessary connections. They are part of the brain’s immune system and secrete the C4 protein.
The brains of people with schizophrenia also tend to have fewer connections between certain brain cells. Some researchers think that C4 might be involved in removing these connections.
However, the exact way that C4 is related to schizophrenia is not fully understood.
In this new research, the team developed a way to make large volumes of astrocytes and tested different drugs to see if they could affect C4 production.
To study C4 and astrocytes, the researchers used a special technique to make human astrocytes from stem cells in the lab.
The team screened 464 drugs and identified a small group of approximately 20 that reduced C4 secretion from…
Read the full article here