UC researcher wins Pfizer Portugal Award

The research work in the area of autism conducted by João Peça, of the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) and professor at the Department of Life Sciences, FCT, University of Coimbra, was the winner of the 2019 Pfizer Award in the category of Basic Research. The study “Abnormal mGluR-mediated synaptic plasticity and autism-like behaviours in Gprasp2 mutant mice” was recently published in the journal “Nature Communications”.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are conditions that appear in childhood, usually before school age and affect personal, social and academic development. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that begins in the first years of life and causes changes in social behaviour, social communication and increased repetitive behaviours.

Although it is not always possible to identify the cause for the onset of this disorder, in a significant number of cases mutations and changes in genes are responsible for the pathology. Thanks to the advances over the past decade, more than 300 genes have been identified and are called “autism susceptibility genes”. However, there is no cure for ASD, and each genetic mutation can cause a number of unique complications. Thus, one of the biggest difficulties in investigating new therapies is the heterogeneity of the “therapeutic targets”

The work of João Peça's team focused on understanding a particular gene - Gprasp2. Gprasp2 is a very interesting molecular target as it controls a way of neuronal signalling, which is altered in several cases of ASD. Thus, although the Gprasp2 gene is responsible for a small percentage of known mutations due to their molecular function, this protein may serve as a therapeutic target for a variety of individuals.

^{Translation by Diana Taborda}