Elucidation of Brain Protein Function... A New Chapter in Epilepsy Treatment

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Domestic researchers have uncovered the function of a protein that composes synapses in our brain. The research team anticipates that regulating this function could open new avenues for treating epilepsy.

DGIST announced on the 12th that a joint research team led by Professors Jiwon Eom and Jaewon Ko from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences discovered a new candidate target for treating epilepsy by regulating inhibitory synapse function.

IQSEC3 Involved in Development of Inhibitory Synapses

The researchers revealed that IQSEC3, an inhibitory synapse protein, is involved in the development of inhibitory synapses. This protein regulates neural circuit activity within the hippocampal dentate gyrus, which performs higher functions such as memory and learning in the brain, thereby contributing to the development of inhibitory synapses. The team also first discovered the inhibitory synapse protein IQSEC3 in 2016.

To verify this, the researchers conducted experiments by injecting a knockdown virus that eliminates IQSEC3 protein into the hippocampal dentate gyrus of laboratory mice. The mice exhibited severe seizure symptoms, a significant reduction in the number of inhibitory synapses, and decreased neurotransmission. This demonstrated that IQSEC3 protein is a key factor mediating the structure and function of inhibitory synapses.

Inhibitory synapses play a role in the brain by suppressing signal transmission from other nerve cells, enabling higher-order functions of the nervous system.

Additionally, the researchers found that the amount of somatostatin peptide, a hormone that transmits various signals within the hippocampal dentate gyrus of these mice, drastically decreased. When this peptide was reintroduced, the abnormalities in inhibitory synapse function and seizure symptoms caused by IQSEC3 deficiency were completely restored.

A New Chapter in Epilepsy Treatment

The research team expects that these findings will provide a new research direction for developing novel treatments for intractable brain diseases such as epilepsy.

Professor Jiwon Eom explained, "We found an important clue that somatostatin, which regulates neurotransmission in brain nerve cells, mediates the development of inhibitory synapses," adding, "This could be used as a new therapeutic strategy not only for epilepsy but also for various intractable brain diseases caused by the disruption of excitatory-inhibitory balance."

Meanwhile, epilepsy is one of the brain diseases with a high prevalence rate affecting 1% of the population in South Korea. It is an intractable disease where more than 30% of the central nervous system does not respond well to existing drug treatments. Particularly, epilepsy seizures accompanied by hypertension, diabetes, and cerebral hemorrhage affect 10-15% of the total population and occur due to various causes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.