Jerusalem, Feb 25 (IANS) Israeli researchers have developed a method to measure the activity of a crucial cell-division gene in the brain, Tel Aviv University said in a statement on Tuesday.

This breakthrough, published in Nature Methods, could help scientists better understand how cells grow and divide, potentially leading to treatments for cancer, autism, epilepsy, and other severe conditions.

Cells in the human body constantly adjust their size and division rate to adapt to their environment, which is essential for normal development.

Disruptions to this process can lead to diseases such as cancer, and neurological and developmental disorders. Regulating cellular growth is especially critical during early brain development in the first years of life.

PTEN (Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog) plays a key role in this regulation by signaling cells to stop growing. This activity is vital for maintaining proper cell size and state.

Mutations that reduce PTEN activity are linked to conditions like autism, epilepsy, and cancer.

The new tool developed in the study directly measures PTEN activity with high sensitivity in various research models, including in mice brains, Xinhua news agency reported.

This new technology, which combines advancements in genetic tools and microscopy, will allow scientists to gain deeper insights into why PTEN is so crucial for normal brain development, and could improve the understanding of how PTEN-related diseases.

The researchers predict that this new tool will enable the development of personalized therapeutics by monitoring PTEN activity in various biological settings and could help identify diseases at earlier stages.

--IANS

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