Biological fat with a sugar attached essential to maintaining the brain's supply of stem cells

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Nov-2014

Contact: Toni Baker tbaker@gru.edu 706-721-4421 Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University @GRMedCenter

AUGUSTA, Ga. Fat and sugar aren't usually considered healthy staples, but scientists have found that a biological fat with a sugar attached is essential for maintaining the brain's store of stem cells.

Neural stem cells help the brain develop initially, then repopulate brain cells lost to usual cell turnover as well as to a trauma or malady, such as a head injury or stroke.

While the cell population and activity decrease as a natural part of aging, scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University are studying how neural stem cells are normally maintained with the long-term goal of helping the supply stay robust despite aging as well as infirmity.

They have discovered that in mice missing the sugar containing lipid ganglioside GD3, neural stem cells have a dramatically impaired ability to self-renew, said Dr. Robert K. Yu, MCG neuroscientist and corresponding author of the study in The Journal of Neuroscience.

The scientists focused on brain areas with typically the largest supply of neural stem cells: an area just below several midbrain cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid, called the subventricular zone, as well as the hippocampus, a major center for learning and memory.

Mice missing ganglioside GD3 on the membranes of neural stem cells had much smaller supplies of the cells in these key areas throughout life and expressed signs of lost hope with behaviors such as not actively seeking dry land when placed in water, Yu said. Additionally, the mice had impaired maintenance of the area of the brain involved in the sense of smell as well as the portion of the hippocampus that enables formation of new memories.

The changes, which correlate with aging or illness, were corrected when GD3 was restored.

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Biological fat with a sugar attached essential to maintaining the brain's supply of stem cells