Researchers identify enzyme to help protect against degenerative brain diseases
Q. Scientists have found Alzheimer’s could be treated through an enzyme called ______.- Published on 08 Jun 16a. NMMAT 2
b. NMNAT 3
c. NMNAT 2
d. None of the above
ANSWER: NMNAT 2
Researchers have identified an enzyme that may help protect against the debilitating effects of certain degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, an advance which could assist in the development of new drugs.
- This study found that NMNAT2, or nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 2, is a key neuronal maintenance factor
- It exerts both an enzyme function to protect neurons from stress caused by over-excitation, and a 'chaperone' function, shown for the first time in this study, to combat the misfolded proteins encountered by the brain during ageing
- Many neurodegenerative disorders are caused by accumulation of proteins in the brain called proteinopathies, which occur when proteins "misfold," causing them to grow "sticky" and clump up in the brain in a form often referred to as "plaques," or "tangles," researchers said.
- As a molecular chaperone, NMNAT2 binds to misfolded proteins to prevent or repair the errors that cause these clumps, they said.
- Common proteinopathies are Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers said.
