Neuroglobin Defends the Brain From Shock and Stroke

Neuroglobin, a protein found in neurons, may be the key to unlocking new therapies to minimize brain damage and improve recoveries from shock and stroke, according to a new finding.

Neuroglobon is structurally similar to hemoglobin and myoglobin, and is most prevalent in areas of the brain that have adapted to physiologic stress. Unlike hemoglobin or myoglobin, however, neuroglobin's primary function does not appear to involve transporting oxygen, but is more likely to usher in nitric oxide to protect neuron survival and recovery in areas where oxygen supply is reduced.

Dr. Maurizio Brunori and Dr. Beatrice Vallone, researchers from the department of biochemical science at La Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy), suggest instead that neuroglobin is involved in the brain's response to oxygen deprivation and plays a protective role against brain damage. According to the authors, neuroglobin appears to be a stress-responsive sensor for signal transduction in the brain, mediated by a ligand-linked conformational change of the protein itself. Their findings were published in the November 2006 issue of the FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Journal.

"Understanding that our brains have a hemoglobin-like molecule in our head that protects and helps restore function in the brain is an important step toward helping people who experience strokes or similar problems,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal. "Hemoglobin carries oxygen to all the body; neuroglobin defends our brain when it needs air. This article provides the first analysis of this exciting finding in brain research.”