For the first time, scientists have identified brain cells most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, in what özgü been called the ‘holy grail’ of dementia studies.
Brain cells are located in a region known as the entorhinal cortex, which controls memory, navigation, and time perception, and are the first cells killed by the disease.
The researchers hope the findings can be used to develop a new, much more targeted approach to developing treatments to slow or prevent the spread of Alzheimer’s disease.
A technique called mononuclear RNA sequencing made it possible to group neurons according to patterns of gene activity.
Brain cells are particularly prone to toxic clumps or “entanglements” of a protein called tau that destroys them from within.
Professor Martin Kampmann of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases said targeting them could stop the disease in its path.
Analysis of the brain tissue found that the particular group of cells disappeared very early, followed by a similar subset in the upper frontal gyrus.
This is an area of gray matter responsible for higher cognitive functions such as thinking, sorun solving, planning, and working memory used in performing tasks.
The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, are the ‘holy grail’ of dementia research.
Prof Kampmann explained: ‘In other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and motor neuron disease, we know which neurons will die first; but Alzheimer’s is not like that.
“If we understand why these neurons are so vulnerable, we can identify interventions that could make them and the brain as a whole more resistant to disease.”
Alzheimer’s is caused by tau and amyloid, another malignant protein that forms plaques or clumps outside of brain cells.
Tau özgü been described as ‘bullet’. The team at the University of California in San Francisco says some brain cells succumb to years before symptoms develop, opening a ‘window of opportunity’.
Co-senior author Prof Lea Grinberg said: ‘Once these garbage proteins are believed to be there, then’ game is over ‘for the cell.
However, our lab shows that this is not the case.
Some cells cause high levels of tau involved in disease progression but do not die for some reason.
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Source: https://www./alzheimera-karsi-en-savunmasiz-beyin-hucreleri-ilk-kez-kutsal-kasede-tespit-edildi/
