Drug target could block brain inflammation linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Blocking a receptor called P2X7 significantly reduced inflammation in human brain tissue, revealing a potential new treatment strategy for neurological and psychiatric disorders. The discovery could help researchers repurpose existing drugs for conditions including traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, and schizophrenia.
Key points
- Researchers at the University of Birmingham identified the P2X7 receptor as a driver of neuroinflammation and found that blocking it significantly reduced inflammation in human brain tissue.
- The findings could have implications for conditions including traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression and psychosis.
- The team used live cultures of human brain cells and brain tissue from neurosurgery, and developed monocyte-derived microglia to study the cells' inflammatory responses.
Scientists led by Professor Nicholas Barnes at the University of Birmingham have identified the P2X7 receptor as an important driver of neuroinflammation, according to research published in Brain. When researchers blocked the receptor, inflammation in human brain tissue was significantly reduced.
The findings could eventually have implications for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions in which inflammation is thought to play a role, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression and psychosis.
How the research was done
The researchers used live cultures of human brain cells along with slices of brain tissue collected during neurosurgery. They found that P2X7 receptors promote the release of cytokines, proteins that help regulate inflammatory responses, and that blocking the receptor with a specific antagonist significantly lowered the inflammatory response in human brain tissue.
A major part of the work involved microglia, immune cells that help coordinate the brain's response to injury and inflammation. The team developed a method for converting a type of white blood cell into microglia, starting with human peripheral monocytes collected from blood samples.
This exciting discovery marks a major step toward repurposing existing therapeutics to combat neuroinflammation at its source.
— Professor Nicholas Barnes
What Barnes said
Professor Barnes, from the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham and corresponding author of the paper, said the discovery marks a major step toward repurposing existing therapeutics to combat neuroinflammation at its source.
He said the next stage for the research is the development of clinical trials in patients with neurodegenerative conditions and patients with TBI, where there are no effective pharmacological treatments to reduce the neuroinflammation and arising damage.
