Discovery of a Novel Brain Damage Pathway Caused by Caffeine Overdose
by Hyunmin Lee
Category: Biology
Abstract – The ADORA2A gene is important for neuromodulatory functions, and high expression is a stress biomarker in human brain cells. Caffeine can cause brain diseases, but the effect of high doses of caffeine on ADORA2A expression has not been investigated. We hypothesized that caffeine induces stress by increasing intracellular H2O2 levels, which overexpresses ADORA2A. Our results show that caffeine greatly increases ADORA2A expression in human brain cells and induces apoptotic cell death. This novel mechanism could lead to the development of therapeutic drugs for caffeine-induced stress.