Scientists may have a better understanding of how the brain can function differently in people with bipolar disorder. In a new study, researchers say they have found evidence that certain brain cells cause inflammation more readily in people with BPD, and that these wayward cells may be linked to decreased neural activity that can be detrimental to our mental health. The findings, published Thursday in stem cell reports could one day point to a new way to treat bipolar disorder, although more research is needed.
Scientists have been studying the link between inflammation and mental illness for quite some time, including bipolar disorderPeople with bipolar disorder experience uncontrollable mood swings that can make them severely depressed one moment manic the next. People with bipolar disorder are known to be more likely to have other conditions related to chronic inflammation, such as hypertension and diabetes. Some studies have also found that patients with bipolar disorder may have higher levels of proteins that cause the body to become inflamed, especially when they are in the middle of a manic episode. These proteins include interleukin 6 (IL-6), which plays many roles in the body, such as guiding the body’s acute response to infection.
In their new study, researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the University of California, San Diego, and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris decided to look at a specific type of brain cell, the astrocyte. These are star-shaped cells in the brain that perform a number of important functions that help support neurons. One of these functions includes being part of the chain of command that causes inflammation in the brain and surrounding nervous system, which is intended to help the brain respond to injury or infection. The researchers theorized this in general useful process in people with bipolar disorder, and that astrocytes may play a role in this dysfunctional inflammation.
“Due to a growing understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in psychiatric disorders, we asked whether altered inflammatory signaling in astrocytes was related to bipolar disorder,” said study author Fred Gage, president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, in an e -mail. .
Gage and his team used Strain cells derived of six people with bipolar disorder and four controls without bipolar disorder, after which they developed into astrocytes that were studied in the laboratory. (They figured out how to make these cells Previous research.) Compared to the control group, the astrocytes of patients with bipolar disorder were noticeably different. The cells had a higher expression of their IL-6 gene and as a result they secrete more IL-6 than the control astrocytes. When they exposed neurons to these astrocytes, the team saw reduced levels of neural activity, compared to the neurons astrocytes from the controls. And when the researchers introduced an antibody that suppressed IL-6 into the mix, the neurons were less bothered by the astrocytes, further implying IL-6. Finally, the blood of patients with bipolar disorder also contained more IL-6 than controls.
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“Our study suggests that normal astrocyte function is affected in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder, contributing to neuroinflammation,” said study co-author Renata Santos, a researcher at the Salk Institute and the Institute of Psychiatry. and Neuroscience of Paris.
The findings are certainly intriguing, but the researchers caution that there is still a long way to go before we can confirm a clear causal relationship between decreased astrocytes, IL-6 and bipolar disorder, let alone anything that could lead to meaningful new treatments. For example, lab-grown astrocytes can differ in important ways from those in our brains. (One difference is that these cells are less mature.) And since the brain is much more complicated, there are probably other aspects of our biology, including the brain, that can play important roles. role in causing bipolar disorder.
“Our findings clarify aspects of the little-studied role of astrocytes in neuroinflammation in psychiatric disorders, with relevance to altered IL-6 and inflammatory signaling in astrocytes in patients with bipolar disorder,” said lead author Krishna Vadodaria, a research associate at Salk. Institute.
If the researchers know about this, it is possible that astrocytes can help not only better understand bipolar disorder, but also other mental illnesses related to inflammation, such as schizophrenia, according to study author Carol Marchetto, now an anthropology researcher. UC San Diego. And they hope their work will spur future research on astrocytes and inflammation – research that could lead to the development of treatments that can reverse the harmful physical changes seen in people with bipolar disorder and similar conditions.