MÁLAGA, 11 (EUROPE PRESS)
Researchers at the University of Malaga (UMA) have discovered that graphene oxide – a nanomaterial composed of an isolated layer of carbon atoms positioned in a hexagonal shape – could be the most efficient material for testing new drugs or developing cell replacement therapy constructs. for Parkinson’s disease.
Dopaminergic neurons, which produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, participate in biological processes such as movement so that their progressive degeneration and death cause Parkinson’s disease, a condition that affects the nervous system and causes a lack of motor coordination, tremors and muscle stiffness.
While it is true that the origin of this pathology is unknown, there are therapies to mitigate its effects and improve patients’ quality of life. In this way, having described in previous studies that graphene promoted the differentiation of these dopaminergic cells and prevented their loss, the new goal of the UMA research team was “to search for a cellular support that would allow future cells to grow and protect cells so that they could survive without generating tumor processes or abnormalities. “
This is pointed out by Noela Rodríguez Losada, lead scientist of the study, who adds that the work demonstrates that this material is “ the ideal material to generate cellular support, allowing for adequate growth of dopaminergic neurons and the production of replacement tissue. promoted. damaged neurons for Parkinson’s disease. “GRAPHENE DERIVATIVES
The UMA researcher assures that graphene is a potential material for generating neuroprostheses because of its qualities: it is highly conductive, flexible, biocompatible with cells, cheap to obtain and scalable at an industrial level. Thus, for this search, three subtypes of this nanomaterial were generated: oxidized graphene (GO), partially reduced oxidized graphene (PRGO), and fully reduced graphene (FRGO).
Subsequently, scientists from the Department of Human Physiology at the University of Málaga analyzed both the dust used to generate the different subtypes of graphenes and the films of this material. His intention was to investigate whether it had a toxic effect on cells and whether it was suitable for use as a neuroprosthesis.
“The results showed that the different subtypes of oxidized graphene showed high biocompatibility with dopaminergic cells. We specifically showed how the PRGO films promoted maturation and protected them when we mimicked the toxic conditions of Parkinson’s disease,” concluded Rodríguez. Losada.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, has had the collaboration of UMA’s Central Research Support Services (SCAI); the Biochemistry department of the AMV; Miguel Ángel Arráez, Director of the Neurosurgery Department of the Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga; Ernest Arenas, Director of the Biomedicum Laboratory of the Karolinska Institute (Sweden); Pedro González Alegre, professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania; from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Salamanca; and the Norwegian company Abalonyx SL, producer of graphene.