amyloid beta tagged posts

A human donor Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue stained with an agent called ‘congo-red’, which allows for the visualization of amyloid-beta plaques (red) in the brain and surrounding blood vessels. Blue stains show the nuclei of the cells in the brain. Credit: Dr Matthew Campbell, 2015

Researchers believe that periodic clearance of a specific protein across the blood brain barrier could hold tremendous potential for new therapies. Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have shed light on a fundamental mechanism underlying the development of Alzheimer’s disease, which could lead to new forms of therapy for those living with the condition.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized, in part, by the build-up of a small protein (‘amyloid-beta’) in the brains of patients...

The picture shows toxic Alzheimer’s amyloid beta molecules landing on a fake cell membrane, wrapped around a silver nanoparticle. A laser, with help from the silver particle, lights up the molecule to reveal its structure. Credit: Copyright Debanjan Bhowmik; Credit to Debanjan Bhowmik, TIFR, Mumbai

The elusive toxic form of the Alzheimer’s molecule has now been observed, during its attempt to bore into the outer covering of a cell decoy, using a new method involving laser light and fat-coated silver nanoparticles.

“Everybody wants to make the key to solve Alzheimer’s Disease, but we don’t know what the lock looks like. We now have a glimpse of something which could be the lock...

It could lead to the development of new drugs to treat the disease. The study found that the protein fragment, sAPPα, inhibits the proteolytic enzyme BACE1. Increased BACE1 activity contributes to production of the amyloid beta aggregates and plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

“Because sAPPα inhibits the BACE1 enzyme, it may be possible that it can be used to help prevent potentially dangerous increases in BACE1 activity, and thus prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease,” A/Prof Varghese John.

The protein fragment sAPPa is normally produced by neurons and is involved in maintenance of memory...