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Diabetes drug promotes brain regeneration in multiple ways
January 6, 2016
Like many other adult tissues, the brain has the ability to repair itself, but this ability is not strong enough to overcome the massive cell death that occurs in diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Several years ago, Dr.
Jing Wang
discovered that metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes, can also enhance the adult brain’s ability to produce new neurons, thus serving as a potential regenerative agent for brain repair.
Now, Dr. Wang and her team have made important new progress in deciphering how this happens. They found that metformin promotes brain regeneration through two distinct molecular pathways. One pathway causes brain stem cells to produce more brain stem cells and is controlled through a protein called TAp73. The other causes brain stem cells to give rise to mature neurons and is controlled through the activation of the epigenetic AMPK-aPKC-CBP pathway.
Metformin is currently being tested in clinical trials for brain regeneration. This new research, published in
Stem Cell Reports
, could help further refine this experimental therapy.
Authors:
Michael Fatt, Karolynn Hsu, Ling He, Fredric Wondisford, Freda D. Miller, David R. Kaplan, Jing Wang
Funders:
J.P. Bickell Foundation, The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
About The Ottawa Hospital
The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s largest learning and research hospitals with over 1,100 beds, approximately 12,000 staff and an annual budget of over $1.2 billion. Our focus on research and learning helps us develop new and innovative ways to treat patients and improve care. As a multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, we deliver specialized care to the Eastern Ontario region, but our techniques and research discoveries are adopted around the world. We engage the community at all levels to support our vision for better patient care.
For further information, please contact
Jennifer Ganton
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Office: 613-798-5555 x 73325
Cell: 613-614-5253
jganton@ohri.ca