Overview
- Tokyo University of Science researchers reported in Nature on Wednesday that they found a protein that stops the brain’s repair after stroke.
- Microglia, the brain’s immune cells, first help healing by releasing growth factors like IGF‑1 but this support fades after about two months.
- The team identified ZFP384 as the protein that triggers the shutdown of this help in mice and saw the same pattern in human post‑stroke brain tissue.
- An antisense oligonucleotide that binds Zfp384 messenger RNA kept microglia making IGF‑1 in mice and sustained functional recovery.
- The researchers said a human version will need redesign, safer delivery, and testing, and they aim for eventual clinical use over the coming decade or two.