MY10, a new compound that reduces alcohol consumption and associated brain damage in adolescent mice
The research group of Professor Gonzalo Herradón at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the CEU San Pablo University is studying the role of the pleiotrophin protein (PTN) and one of its main receptors, the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase (RPTP) b/z, in alcohol use disorders. In search of the pharmacological modulation of this receptor, they, together with the organic chemistry group of the same faculty, developed a molecule called MY10, capable of acting on RPTP b/z in the brain.
Aware of the serious problem of binge drinking among young people (known as botellón), Professor Herradón’s group has recently published a study in which they observed that MY10 reduces alcohol consumption in adolescent male animals using an intermittent consumption model that reproduces this pattern of drinking so common in adolescence. Strikingly, MY10 did not reduce alcohol consumption in females.
After observing these interesting effects on consumption, researchers at the CEU San Pablo University continued to study the effects of MY10 and alcohol on the important processes of brain development that occur during youth. In the article, they present results demonstrating that MY10 prevents the decrease in new neurons produced by alcohol through MY10’s ability to modulate neuroinflammation, especially in male animals.
In a very innovative approach, the authors propose the possible beneficial mechanism of MY10’s regulation of perineuronal networks, structures that surround neurons and whose effects on their protection and modulation are beginning to be studied by different international groups.
In conclusion, in this study published in the journal Neuropharmacology, Professor Herradón’s group demonstrates how MY10 reduces alcohol consumption in adolescence and protects development processes that occur in the brain during this stage, presenting interesting differences between sexes and proposing possible mechanisms causing these results that will be studied in greater depth in the future.
