Science has identified the target protein for autism treatment

Researchers have found a new protein that plays a role in controlling autism.

Accordingly, Hongbing Wang, a physiologist from Michigan State University, and a team of colleagues found a new protein that governs the genes responsible for Fragile X syndrome of autism. And the group thinks it may be the goal to treat this condition.

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Previously, Fragile X syndrome is an inherited disease that causes a range of cognitive development problems and has been identified as one of the most common causes of autism. Although the genes responsible for this syndrome were discovered in 1991, however, MSU researchers are still on the way to finding new therapeutic targets.

' Initially, we delineated with about 600- 800 potential proteins, actually this work is extremely difficult like finding needles in haystacks '. - Hongbing Wang said in a press release.

After the screening period and the successful method of elimination, the protein that we identified was ADCY1.

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The researchers used the Fragile X model on mice to see how the expression and ability to cause autism behavior in mice is. The results show that this protein causes certain signal effects in mouse neurons.

Reducing the ADCY1 protein will reduce the negative conduction effects on nerve cells, helping to improve neuronal function. This in the long run will make patients with autism become healthier.

'Our latest research has identified an important goal of autism, and this may be a new approach for pharmaceutical companies to create new, more specific drugs ' - Wang said.

We have sought to inhibit the effect of this protein through NB001 inhibitor however, the next step we have to study is the toxicity, the side effect that this method makes from which to seek to optimize.

It is known that NB001 is a test compound for positive preliminary toxicity testing and is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. The results from this study will be money to develop the development of autism potential medicine but Wang also said that it will take another five years before the method is tested in humans.

This research has just been published in Nature Communications.