Researchers discover a mechanism used by neurons to repair damage that occurs during neuronal activity. PiN student Daniel Gilliam is co-first author of paper appearing in Nature.
“Use it or lose it” goes the adage, applied liberally to everything from our muscles to our minds, especially as we age.
Yet when it comes to the brain, such usage is not entirely a good thing: While using brain cells may indeed help maintain memory and other cognitive functions throughout life, scientists have found that the associated activity also damages neurons by inviting more breaks into their DNA.
Which raises the question: How do neurons remain healthy and functional over a lifetime of carrying out their vital work in the brain
Now, a team at Harvard Medical School has identified a novel mechanism of DNA repair that occurs exclusively in neurons, some of the longest-lived cells in the body. The research, conducted in mice and published Feb. 15 in Nature, helps explain why neurons continue to function over time despite their intense repetitive work.
Specifically, the findings show that a protein complex called NPAS4–NuA4 initiates a pathway to repair DNA breaks induced by activity in neurons.
READ MORE: https://hms.harvard.edu/news/new-strategy-repairing-dna-damage-neurons