Using its brain mapping platform, Inscopix will team up with researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to investigate how changes in brain activity alter the functioning of nerve cells. The goal is to identify new therapeutic targets for Parkinsons disease.

Thecollaboration will be led by Evan Macosko, MD, PhD, of the Broad Institutes Macosko Lab, an expert in single-cell transcriptomics a next-generation sequencing approach that assesses how gene activity changes in a single cell.

This research builds on a previous study that used Inscopixs miniature microscope, called nVoke, which allows simultaneous imaging and manipulation of nerve cells circuit dynamics in real time. The technology allows researchers to image cell activity for months with single-cell resolution in a living animal.

The previous study, Diametric neural ensemble dynamics in parkinsonian and dyskinetic states, published in Nature, used nVoke to identify alterations in neural activity patterns in brain circuits that regulate movement in a Parkinsons mouse model. This model mimics the human disease by gradually losing dopaminergic neurons a hallmark of Parkinsons.

Dopaminergic neurons release the neurotransmitter dopamine a chemical substance produced in response to nerve signals that allow nerve cells to communicate. In Parkinsons disease, dopamine-producing neurons are mainly lost in a brain region known as the substantia nigra, which plays a key role in reward and movement.

Now, the researchers will investigate whether the observed changes in neuronal activity in the Parkinsons mouse model can be correlated to changes in the expression of genes detected in single cells, which may have occurred as a result of the loss of dopamine. Gene expression is the process by which information in a gene is synthesized to create a working product, like a protein.

By analyzing neuronal activity and gene activity, the researchers hope to gain further insights into the mechanisms of Parkinsons disease. This may allow the identification of new, cell-type specific therapeutic targets.

According to Inscopix, real-time mapping of neural activity in brain circuits has been shown to more accurately predict the efficacy of a therapy to work on the brain, when compared with analyzing animal behavior.

Single-cell transcriptomics and brain mapping have each demonstrated the potential to increase our understanding of neurological conditions, such as Parkinsons disease, and bringing them together could help us make even greater strides forward, Kunal Ghosh, CEO of Inscopix, said in a press release.

We look forward to expanding our research into PD [Parkinsons disease] with the Macosko Lab, with the goal of paving the way for therapeutic programs that can be de-risked at earlier stages of development, Ghosh added.

Patricia holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from University Nova de Lisboa, and has served as an author on several research projects and fellowships, as well as major grant applications for European Agencies. She has also served as a PhD student research assistant at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, New York.

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Ana holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of Lisbon and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM) in Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated with a BSc in Genetics from the University of Newcastle and received a Masters in Biomolecular Archaeology from the University of Manchester, England. After leaving the lab to pursue a career in Science Communication, she served as the Director of Science Communication at iMM.

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Real-time Brain Mapping Used to Search for Therapeutic Targets in PD - Parkinson's News Today

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