Newly printed analysis within the journal Glia has recognized essential hyperlinks between dietary decisions and the development of a number of sclerosis (MS). The research, led by Patrizia Casaccia, founding director of the Superior Science Analysis Middle on the CUNY Graduate Middle’s (CUNY ASRC) Neuroscience Initiative and Einstein Professor of Biology and Biochemistry on the CUNY Graduate Middle, explored how enzymes referred to as ceramide synthase 5 and 6 are accountable for the poisonous impact of a palm oil-rich food plan on neurons within the central nervous system, which causes a subsequent improve within the severity of MS signs.
MS is an inflammatory autoimmune illness marked by intensive injury to the insulating myelin sheath that protects nerves all through the physique. Present remedies deal with controlling the immune system’s response, however the exact mechanisms contributing to neurodegeneration in MS stay poorly understood. Earlier work from the Casaccia lab and others had reported on the poisonous impact of high-fat food plan on the severity of MS signs. Of their research, researchers explored potential mechanisms by which a food plan wealthy in palm oil could hijack neuronal well being.
Neuroprotection from palm oil-induced toxicity
Utilizing the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mannequin of inflammatory demyelination, the analysis workforce discovered that diets excessive in palm oil led to a extra extreme illness course in mice.
We reasoned that inside neuronal cells, palm oil is transformed right into a poisonous substance referred to as C16 ceramide by particular enzymes referred to as CerS5 and CerS6. This ceramide is accountable for inflicting mitochondrial injury, which deprives neurons of the vitality they should counteract irritation within the mind. We subsequently requested whether or not inactivation of those enzymes would confer neuroprotection.”
Patrizia Casaccia, principal investigator, founding director of the Superior Science Analysis Middle on the CUNY Graduate Middle
The researchers discovered that after they genetically deleted the enzymes CerS6 and CerS5 in neurons they might stop neurodegeneration within the experimental mannequin of MS.
“This held true even when mice have been fed a food plan wealthy in palmitic acid,” mentioned the paper’s co-first writer Damien Marechal, a analysis affiliate with the Casaccia Lab. “This new info factors to a particular metabolic pathway by way of which dietary fat can worsen MS signs.”
Significance for MS sufferers and clinicians
The paper’s findings have vital implications for people identified with MS in addition to for clinicians treating sufferers and neuroscientists researching the illness. The work reinforces that life-style decisions, equivalent to food plan, can have a profound influence on the course of the illness. The research’s outcomes construct on earlier ideas about cautious dietary decisions in managing the signs of MS. The findings additionally determine potential molecules that would assist gradual diet-induced symptom severity.
“Our analysis supplies a molecular clarification for find out how to shield neurons from the palm-oil-dependent creation of molecules that hurt them,” mentioned Casaccia. “We hope this info can empower sufferers to make knowledgeable dietary selections that would positively influence the course of the illness, whereas figuring out methods to counteract the impact of cerS5 and CerS6 in a neuron-specific style.”
The analysis was funded by the Nationwide Institute of Neurological Issues and Stroke of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH).
