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Right Combination of Sugars Regulates Brain Development, Says Study

by Sheela Philomena on Sep 20 2013 2:16 PM

 Right Combination of Sugars Regulates Brain Development, Says Study
Mir-79 - a tiny molecule regulates neural development in roundworms, say researchers. The molecule is required for correct migration of specific nerve cells during development and malfunction causes defects in the nervous system of the worm. The research has just been published in the journal Science.
Hundreds of worms lie in a small plastic plate under the laboratory microscope. Over the last three years, the group of Associate Professor Roger Pocock has used the roundworm C. elegans to study the development of the nervous system. They have just made an important discovery.

"Our new results show that a small molecule called mir-79 is indispensable for development of the worm's nervous system. mir-79 acts by equipping special signal molecules with a transmitter, which tells the nerve cells how they should migrate during development of the worm. If we remove mir-79 with gene technology, development of the worm nervous system goes awry," says postdoc Mikael Egebjerg Pedersen, who is responsible for the experimental studies.

Mir-79 adds just the right combination of sugar

The research shows that mir-79 acts by controlling the addition of certain groups of sugars to selected signaling molecules. In the world of cells, sugar molecules act as transmitters.

When the nerve cells come into contact with the sugar-transmitters, they are informed where to locate themselves during neural development. If the researchers remove mir-79, the migration of the nerve cells is misguided causing neuronal defects in the worms.

Source-Eurekalert


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