Scientists have discovered a major role a protein plays in immune cells in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Treatments aimed at targeting and neutralizing this protein could make it possible to fight against mental disorders.
- Autoimmune disease research has identified a protein playing a role in OCD
- This opens up a path for new treatments for these obsessive and compulsive disorders.
A new therapeutic path for obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) seems to be opening up. Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Roehampton (UK) have found that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have increased levels of a protein called Immuno-moodulin (Imood) in their lymphocytes, a type of immune cell. The results of their study were published in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity.
A protein discovered by chance
The researchers conducted their study on mice with an antibody that neutralized the Imood protein and found that the animals’ anxiety levels decreased. “There is growing evidence that the immune system plays an important role in mental disordersexplains Professor Fulvio D’Acquisto, who led the research. People with autoimmune diseases are known to have higher than average rates of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.” The results led the researchers to file a patent application for the antibody. They are currently working with a pharmaceutical company to develop a potential treatment for human patients.
This discovery happened by accident. The researchers first identified another protein, called Annexin-A1, that plays a role in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. They created transgenic mice to overexpress this protein in the cells responsible for the development of autoimmune diseases. The mice then showed more anxiety than normal. The researchers then analyzed the genes expressed in these cells and discovered that one gene in particular was particularly active. This is how they named the protein produced from this gene Immuno-moodulin, or Imood. When the anxious mice were given an antibody that blocked this protein, their behavior returned to normal within days.
The role of protein in lightening
The researchers then tested the immune cells of 23 OCD patients and 20 healthy volunteers. They found that Imood protein expression is about six times higher in patients with OCD. Other recent research by scientists elsewhere has also revealed that the same protein may also play a role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The exact role of the Imood protein is not yet fully known. “This is work that we still need to do to understand the role of Imoodagreed Fulvio D’Acquisto. We also want to do more work with larger patient samples to see if we can replicate what we saw in the small number we looked at in our study..” This protein would not directly regulate brain functions in the classical way, for example by modifying the levels of chemical signals in neurons. Instead, it could influence genes in brain cells that have been linked to mental disorders like OCD.
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