Lead investigator at the University of Auckland, Associate Professor Johanna Montgomery from the University’s Department of Physiology and Centre for Brain Research, spoke of a new study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience,
“This study looks at how zinc can alter brain cell communication that is altered at the cellular level and we are now taking that forward to look at the function of zinc at the dietary and behaviour level.
“We have shown that zinc can increase brain cell communication that was previously weakened by autism-associated changes in Shank3”.
“Disruption of how zinc is regulated in the body may not only impair how synapses work in the brain, but may lead to cognitive and behavioural abnormalities seen in patients with psychiatric disorders.”
“Together with our results, the data suggests that environmental/dietary factors such as changes in zinc levels could alter this protein’s signalling system and reduce its ability to regulate the nerve cell function in the brain,” she says.
Arons MH, Lee K, Thynne CJ, Kim SA, Schob C, Kindler S, Montgomery JM, Garner CC. Shank3 Is Part of a Zinc-Sensitive Signaling System That Regulates Excitatory Synaptic Strength. J Neurosci. 2016 Aug 31;36(35):9124-34. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0116-16.2016. PMID: 27581454; PMCID: PMC5005722.
“Shank3 Is Part of a Zinc-Sensitive Signaling System That Regulates Excitatory Synaptic Strength” by Magali H. Arons, Kevin Lee, Charlotte J. Thynne, Sally A. Kim, Claudia Schob, Stefan Kindler, Johanna M. Montgomery, and Craig C. Garner in Journal of Neuroscience. Published online August 31 2016 doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0116-16.2016