This let them figure out how long the drugs were able to stick and block the flow of ions. In the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Furukawa and his colleagues published a study where they created maps of different drugs bound to the NMDA receptor channel. These drugs affect behavior, mood, thoughts, or perception.

Furukawa and his team leveraged their blueprints to explore this second route for optimizing therapeutics using three psychotropic drugs. While pinpointing the perfect spot for a drug to bind has its advantages, drugs must also stay bound long enough to have a beneficial effect.

Their work was published in the journal Nature Communications. This video shows the antibody, a “picky protein,” developed by the Furukawa lab latching onto the top of the NMDA receptor and preventing neurons from being overactive.įurukawa and his team are now optimizing the design of the picky protein to improve its potential and efficacy for clinical use. This prevents too many ions from getting through and neurons from activating at the wrong times. When the picky protein binds, it restricts the receptor’s movement and helps close its ion channel. It is designed to bind to a specific spot on the NMDA receptor. The team developed antibodies, or “ picky proteins,” that may avoid unwanted side effects by being very picky about what they target. Furukawa and his team recently used their detailed maps of the NMDA receptor structure to design a molecule that fits perfectly. They don’t bind well enough to the NMDA receptor and set off unwanted reactions. Most drugs for neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s suffer from severe side effects because they don’t fit just right. Their second approach looks at how well drugs bind to the NMDA channel to maximize their impact. One is to pinpoint the perfect spot where drugs should bind to minimize side effects. Using these maps, Furukawa and his team have innovated two new routes for optimizing NMDA therapeutics. Drugs that fit and match up perfectly to the NMDA receptor or channel could have more benefits and fewer side effects. “We’re trying to essentially provide a blueprint for optimizing drugs that have the potential to treat disorders but cause dangerous side effects,” Furukawa says. Knowing the precise details of NMDA’s structure allows scientists to develop and optimize therapeutics from new angles. They let his team look, in 3D, at how the protein’s atoms are arranged and move. The Furukawa lab’s maps provide a unique, atomic point of view of the NMDA receptor. When the NMDA receptor doesn’t work properly, neurons can fire at the wrong times, which can result in disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and epilepsy. The NMDA receptor acts as a channel to allow ions into neurons to activate them. Furukawa has zeroed in on a protein called the NMDA (for N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor that plays a key role in learning and memory. He creates structural 3D maps of important proteins that malfunction in brain disorders. Center for Humanities & History of Modern BiologyĬold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Hiro Furukawa takes an architectural approach to brain research.Business Development & Technology Transfer.Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.How one family secured the future of a laboratory.

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