"A number of mutations have been shown to result in familial migraines," says Dr. Rhoda Blostein--a medical scientist at the Research Institute of the MUHC, professor in the Department of Medicine and Biochemistry at McGill University, and author of the new study. "Discovering genetic mutations that cause disease is important, but in order to develop treatments we must understand what these mutations do." By engineering several genetic mutations known to cause inherited migraines (type 2), and incorporating them into human cells, Dr. Blostein and her team showed several genotypes damage the operation of a tiny cellular mechanism commonly known as the Sodium Pump (Sodium/Potassium ATPase enzyme).
"Much of what happens in your brain--from memory to basic movement--is the result of the transmission of electrical impulses along nerve cells," says Dr. Blostein. "This is a basic process by which our brain cells communicate." By expelling sodium from the cell, and drawing potassium from outside, the sodium pump maintains a gradient of potassium, which is critical for the propagation of electrical signals along nerve cells. Like an air conditioner in the heat of summer, the sodium pump is a massive energy hog, consuming around 30% of the energy produced by the cell in order to perform this vital cellular process.
Of particular interest in this study is that some mutations cause migraines by reducing sodium pump efficiency--akin to reducing the power supply. "This is the first time that a genetic mutation of the sodium pump has been shown to
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Contact: Ian Popple
ian.popple@muhc.mcgill.ca
514-843-1560
McGill University
27-Jul-2005