Protein found in brain that may cure schizophrenia, here's how

Researchers have found for the first time that in patients with schizophrenia, the brain releases an increased amount of immune protein C4. Now, scientists are working to develop an effective method to make a large number of C4-secreting human astrocytes from stem cells. 

In a paper recently published in Stem Cell Reports, the researchers followed up with a screen of 464 drugs and identified a small group of about 20 that reduced C4 secretion from astrocytes. These drugs were effective in both healthy astrocytes and in astrocytes made from Schizophrenia patients' stem cells.

To identify effective drugs, Francesca Rapino, Lee Rubin, and colleagues from Harvard University, US have developed an efficient method to make large numbers of C4-secreting human astrocytes from stem cells.

Brain cells called astrocytes help in the proper functioning of immune responses and regulate an inflammatory environment in the brain by secreting immune proteins like C4.  Therapies lowering C4 levels in the brain and reducing inflammation may benefit Schizophrenia patients but are currently not available.

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In Schizophrenia, increased levels of the immune protein C4 have been measured in patients' brains and increasing C4 levels due to variations in copy number are associated with an increased risk of developing Schizophrenia.

Inflammation and overactivation of the immune system in the brain can cause loss of synapses and the death of neurons, leading to neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. This research opens up new avenues for studying inflammatory responses and their regulation in human astrocytes and serves as a platform to identify therapeutic drugs in large-scale screening approaches. 

(With inputs from PTI)