This plant-derived compound can be administered intranasally, as reported in the study published in the journal Aging Cell. To date, it has been observed in aged animal models.

A multidisciplinary group of researchers from the fields of Physiology, Organic Chemistry, and Anatomy at the University of Cádiz the University of Seville, affiliated with the Institute for Research and Innovation in Biomedicine of Cádiz INIBICA) and coordinated by Professor Carmen Castro, has published an important finding in the prestigious international geriatrics journal Aging Cell. The study focuses on a new molecule that promotes the formation of new neurons in brain regions involved in learning and memory, improving these functions.

Neurogenesis, or the formation of new neurons from stem cells, is a phenomenon that occurs naturally in the adult brain and has been well observed in rodents. In a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for our spatial memory, new neurons are generated that facilitate this function.

This study takes as its starting point the fact that neural stem cells require growth factors for their activation prior to the generation of neurons. The compound found mediates the release of these growth factors, which participate in different stages of the neurogenic process, facilitating the formation and development of new neurons. In this work, researchers from the UCA and the US have observed that in the aging brains of mice (an aging model), cognitive capacity is reduced, as is the formation of new neurons. Furthermore, the neurons that are newly formed are not fully developed. The researchers extracted a chemical substance (a diterpene) from a plant of the Euphorbia genus and demonstrated that treating these mice with this substance promotes the formation of neurons in the hippocampus of adults, preventing the deterioration of spatial memory.

These beneficial effects have been obtained without any side effects being detected in animals, which opens up the possibility of its future use in regenerative therapy. In addition, this research has achieved neuronal replacement in brain injuries using an effective and non-invasive intranasal administration method, in which the compound crosses the blood-brain barrier, facilitating its testing in future studies addressing neuronal regeneration in adult brains.

Research groups led by UCA professors Carmen Castro, Rosario Hernández-Galán, and Mónica García-Alloza participated in this work, as well as the group led by Professor Pedro Núñez-Abades from the University of Seville.

Referencia bibliográfica: Gómez-Oliva, R., Martínez-Ortega, S., Atienza-Navarro, I., Domínguez-García, S., Bernal-Utrera, C., Geribaldi-Doldán, N., Verástegui, C., Ezzanad, A., Hernández-Galán, R., Nunez-Abades, P., Garcia-Alloza, M., & Castro, C. (2023): `Rescue of neurogenesis and age-associated cognitive decline in SAMP8 mouse: Role of transforming growth factor-alpha’. Aging Cell, 00, e013829. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13829.

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