Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have uncovered the role of octopamine, a neurotransmitter found in small amounts in mammals, in preventing cell death in the mammalian brain. Their study showed that introducing octopamine into astrocyte cultures from mice’s cerebral cortex stimulates lactate production, essential for cell survival, especially under conditions of ATP deficiency. This finding likens octopamine’s function to an SOS signal, allowing stressed neurons to prompt astrocytes to provide energy, thereby protecting against cell death. The research has implications for developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and bipolar disorder, which are associated with imbalanced octopamine levels. Interestingly, while octopamine is often seen as an evolutionary remnant, its functional significance in mammals has not been well understood until now. The scientists aim to further investigate octopamine’s role in healthy brain functioning, particularly in relation to energetic demands during cognitive processes like learning and memory. This study enhances our understanding of how metabolic reprogramming within astrocytes can confer neuroprotection and opens new avenues for therapeutic development targeting dysregulated octopamine levels.
