UCC researchers investigate why some can resist stress

From left: Dr. Olivia O'Leary, Dr. Daniela Felice & Prof. John F. Cryan

Why on the rollercoaster of life are some people more resilient to the negative effects of stress than others?

Now University College Cork neuroscientists show that certain receptors in the brain play an important role in determining how we respond to different types of stress.  Their research is being published today in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 

Scientists based at the Dept of Anatomy & Neuroscience and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in University College Cork, Cork, Ireland have identified a novel molecular mechanism that determines how the brain responds to chronic stress.  Prof John Cryan and Dr Olivia O’Leary, together with their PhD student Daniela Felice and their colleagues have shown that different subtypes of a given receptor (the GABAB receptor) can confer vulnerability to stress (both in early-life and in adulthood).  

Dr O’Leary says “although it is early days, these data show that these receptors could be important targets for the development of new drugs in the treatment of depression, where there is still such an unmet medical need”.  Indeed, Prof Cryan says that “understanding the molecular factors that enable the brain to be stress resilient is one of the most exciting areas in neuroscience research currently and these data position the GABAB receptor at the heart of such efforts”, “we still have some way to go to translate these findings into humans but we are very excited by these data“ Cryan continued.  

View Research paper here GABAB(1) receptor subunit isoforms differentially regulate stress resilience

UCC scientists developing patch to fight malaria

A new patch has been developed by scientists at University College Cork which could improve the effectiveness of a vaccine against malaria.

The device, which delivers small doses of the vaccine through tiny micro-needles, has delivered positive results during pre-clinical testing. 

Developed by researchers at the School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and the Tyndall National Institute in UCC the patch has an array of tiny silicon microneedles which are able to deliver the vaccine through temporary pores in the skin without causing pain to the patient.

The scientists are now seeking to commercialise it, and are planning to travel to Silicon Valley in the coming week to meet potential investors.

The vaccine is delivered in a live adenovirus, similar to that which causes a common cold, but which is engineered to be safer and to deliver a protein from the malaria causing parasite.

Adenoviruses, however, can themselves provoke a significant immune response from the body, and as a result they cannot be used repeatedly to deliver a vaccine because the immune system blocks them out.

The team's research, however, published in the journal Scientific Reports, outlines how the patch gets around the problem by overcoming the pre-existing immunity. 

By combining the adenovirus with the microneedle technology, the researchers found they could induce higher levels of immunity against malaria with lower doses of the vaccine.

They found that if the microneedle patch was used in the first instance, the same adenovirus based vaccine could be used repeatedly, and that it would induce potent and highly protective immune responses in a pre-clinical situation.

The scientists must next test the device in a clinical setting.

View full press release here

EU project on foods that can boost heart health gets €6m funding

A European research consortium has launched a major project to investigate the prevention of heart disease and stroke through food.

The Bacchus collaboration project will receive €6 million in funding from the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme to study the beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in humans.

Bacchus aims to generate robust scientific evidence supporting a beneficial effect of bioactive compounds in foods on cardiovascular health, for example, reducing high blood pressure. The project will also support 16 European small to medium enterprises in using this scientific evidence to create food products to boost cardiovascular health.

The project brings together 28 beneficiaries from around Europe, including University College Cork (UCC).

The UCC group, led by Dr Maireád Kiely in the school of food and nutritional sciences, is co-ordinating the investigation into whether the consumption of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols in fruit and peptides produced from eggs, meat and cereals, can reduce cardiovascular risk. In total, seven trials will be conducted in Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

Bioactive compounds found naturally in fruits and vegetables have been linked with beneficial effects on blood pressure and other markers of cardiovascular health.

New research suggests specific protein sequences (peptides) naturally present in dairy, eggs, meat and fish may also promote heart health, most notably by reducing blood pressure in adults with hypertension

.

“The Bacchus project provides a significant research opportunity across the areas of food science and nutrition to thoroughly investigate the beneficial health effects associated with bioactive compounds in food,” said Dr Kiely.

View full report here