Short term changes in the proteome of human cerebral organoids induced by 5-MeO-DMT.
Scientific reports – October 09, 2017
Source: PubMed
Summary
Certain psychedelic compounds, known for their traditional medicinal use, may positively influence brain cell structure. Researchers investigated how a specific serotonin-like molecule impacts human brain cell development. Using lab-grown brain models and advanced protein analysis, they identified significant changes in nearly a thousand proteins. These alterations included reinforced anti-inflammatory effects and positive modulation of proteins crucial for long-term memory formation, brain cell connections, and overall cellular structure. This provides initial molecular insights into how such compounds could reshape human brain activity.
Abstract
Dimethyltryptamines are entheogenic serotonin-like molecules present in traditional Amerindian medicine recently associated with cognitive gains, antidepressant effects, and changes in brain areas related to attention. Legal restrictions and the lack of adequate experimental models have limited the understanding of how such substances impact human brain metabolism. Here we used shotgun mass spectrometry to explore proteomic differences induced by 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) on human cerebral organoids. Out of the 6,728 identified proteins, 934 were found differentially expressed in 5-MeO-DMT-treated cerebral organoids. In silico analysis reinforced previously reported anti-inflammatory actions of 5-MeO-DMT and revealed modulatory effects on proteins associated with long-term potentiation, the formation of dendritic spines, including those involved in cellular protrusion formation, microtubule dynamics, and cytoskeletal reorganization. Our data offer the first insight about molecular alterations caused by 5-MeO-DMT in human cerebral organoids.