17th June 2013

Memory-boosting chemical identified in mice

A small, drug-like molecule injected into mice has been found to significantly boost their memory.

The same biochemical pathway the molecule acts on might one day be targeted in humans to improve their memory, according to Peter Walter, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

In one test, normal mice were able to relocate a submerged platform about three times faster after receiving injections of the potent chemical than mice who received sham injections. The mice that received the chemical also better remembered cues associated with unpleasant stimuli – the sort of fear conditioning that could help a mouse avoid being preyed upon.

Notably, the findings suggest that despite what would seem to be the importance of having the best biochemical mechanisms to maximise the power of memory, evolution does not seem to have provided them, Walter said.

“It appears that the process of evolution has not optimised memory consolidation; otherwise I don’t think we could have improved upon it the way we did in our study with normal, healthy mice,” Walter said.

The memory-boosting chemical was singled out from 100,000 chemicals screened at the Small Molecule Discovery Center at UCSF for their potential to perturb a protective biochemical pathway within cells, that is activated when cells are unable to keep up with the need to fold proteins into their working forms.

The chemical identified by the UCSF researchers is called ISRIB, which stands for integrated stress response inhibitor. ISRIB counters the effects of eIF2 alpha inactivation inside cells, the researchers found.

Walter said he is looking for scientists to collaborate with in new studies of cognition and memory in mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases and aging, using ISRIB or related molecules.

In addition, chemicals such as ISRIB could play a role in fighting cancers.

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