In the Old West, camps sent smoke signals across distances to share key developments or strategy. Likewise, two important signaling molecules¹ communicate across nerve cells to regulate electrical and chemical activity, neuroscientists from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio reported today. The findings in rodent²（啮齿动物） models have implications for potential future treatment of epilepsy（癫痫） , stroke and other problems, the researchers said.

"We now have novel targets for therapeutic³ intervention⁴ for a range of neurological and cardiovascular（心血管的） diseases, including stroke, epilepsy, dementia, hypertension, mental illness and others," said senior author Mark S. Shapiro, Ph.D., professor of physiology⁵ at the Health Science Center. "This study should guide clinicians and pharmaceutical⁶ companies in developing new therapies against mental, neurological, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular（脑血管的） diseases that afflict⁷ many millions of people."

By isolating⁸ nerve cells from rats, the San Antonio team found a relationship between signaling enzymes⁹ called phosphoinositide（磷酸肌醇） kinases（激酶） and calcium¹⁰ ions. Calcium transport and levels of calcium concentrations inside nerve cells are extremely important for proper neurobiological function, Dr. Shapiro said.

In epilepsy, for example, it is thought that the hyper-excitability in the brain causes abnormal elevations¹¹ of intracellular calcium ions, which is extremely toxic¹². Thus, epileptic seizures¹³ often predispose people to additional seizures, as the normal regulation of brain activity increasingly breaks down.

The study is in the Jan. 7 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.