It is not every day that scientists come across a phenomenon so fundamental that it is observed across fruit flies, rodents and humans.
Neuroscientists from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences discovered that a single protein — a glutamate transporter on the membrane of vesicles that carry dopamine in neurons — is key to regulating sex differences in the brain’s vulnerability to age-related neuron loss.
The protein — named VGLUT — was more abundant in dopamine neurons of female fruit flies, rodents and human beings than in males, correlating with females’ greater resilience to age-related neuron loss and mobility deficiencies, the researchers found. Excitingly, genetically reducing VGLUT levels in female flies diminished their protection from neurodegeneration associated with aging, suggesting that VGLUT could be a new target for prolonging dopamine neuron resilience and delaying the onset of symptoms of aging in the brain.
“From flies to rodents to human beings, we found that VGLUT levels distinguish males from females during healthy aging,” said senior author Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cell biology at Pitt. “The fact that this marker of dopamine neuron survival is conserved across the animal kingdom suggests that we are looking at a fundamental piece of biology. Understanding how this mechanism works can help prolong dopamine neuron resilience and delay aging.”
