This article discusses a study by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Yale university, published in Nature Communications, which suggests that the origins of several neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, including autism, bipolar disorder, depression, alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, can be traced back to very early stages of fetal brain development.
The research focused on the role of genes linked to these diseases in fetal brain stem cells.By simulating the effects of alterations in nearly 3,000 genes associated with these conditions, the study found that many of these genes are already active during the initial phases of fetal development when stem cells are forming the brain.
The researchers combined data from human and mouse brains, as well as in vitro cellular models, to overcome the difficulty of studying this early developmental period. They discovered that genes implicated in mental illnesses often act during the early stages of fetal brain formation, and their alterations can lead to developmental issues and later-onset mental disorders.
The study simulated regulatory networks for different cell types involved in brain development to understand how gene activation or deactivation affected progenitor cells.This revealed the significance of specific genes in the development of various conditions, ranging from microcephaly and hydrocephaly to autism, depression, bipolar disorder, anorexia, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.Crucially, the research identified that genes involved in the earliest phases of brain development, when neural stem cells are functional, are implicated in all these pathologies. The study pinpoints specific temporal windows and cell types where these genes are most relevant, offering insights into when and where interventions might be most effective.this understanding of the origin of these diseases and the role of specific genes can pave the way for developing targeted therapies, including gene therapy and personalized treatments, to address these conditions.
