Cell Protein Can Help Defend Against Retardation, Schizophrenia, Researchers Say

When the brain is developed in the earliest stages of life, the way nerve cells migrate can determine the person's future. If there is abnormal migration, then there is a strong possibility of developing a variety of neuronal disorders such as epilepsy schizophrenia and lissencephaly, which is a form of mental retardation.

The latest research from the Mouse Biology Unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] in Italy, has lead to the discovery of a protein that helps organising the cells' skeleton is also an important player in preventing these defects.

The researchers showed that mice who are lacking the protein show symptoms of lissencephaly and they were able to trace to faulty development of the cerebral cortes, the surface layer of the brain.

The cerebral cortex is one of the most complex structures in the body in charge of many important functions. It is also comprised of a very unique structure, made up of different types of cells that are arranged in a very specific order of layers. During the phases of development of the embryo, the layers are created by neuronal progenitor cells. These cells travel a long distance before they reach their assigned place in a certain layer.

The cell layers must be spaced exactly right, in the right place, in the right order for the cortex to function properly. When the arrangement of the layers is disturbed, such as happens with lissencephaly- which is a condition in which entire layers are missing, the results are mental retardation, muscle spasms and seizures. The research shows that there is a molecule called n-cofilin that has been shown to play a key role in the development of the disease.

They genetically engineered mice so that they did not have n-cofilin and they showed the same defects as human patients who suffer from lissencephaly. The mouse brains were missing several of their cortical layers due to the fact that neurons do not migrate normally during the all important development stage.