{"id":10768,"date":"2016-08-25T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T07:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&p=10768"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:15:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T23:15:39","slug":"elevating-brain-protein-allays-symptoms-alzheimers-improves-memory","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/elevating-brain-protein-allays-symptoms-alzheimers-improves-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Elevating brain protein allays symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s and improves memory"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014Boosting levels of a specific protein in the brain alleviates hallmark features of Alzheimer\u2019s disease in a mouse model of the disorder, according to new research published online August 25, 2016 in Scientific Reports<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"lee-edited\"
In a mouse model of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Salk Institute researchers show that raising levels of neuregulin-1 (right) lowers a marker of disease pathology in a part of the brain that controls memory compared with controls (left). <\/p>\n

Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.<\/p>\n

Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The protein, called neuregulin-1, has many forms and functions across the brain and is already a potential target for brain disorders<\/a> such as Parkinson\u2019s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeuregulin-1 has broad therapeutic potential, but mechanistically, we are still learning about how it works,\u201d says the study\u2019s senior investigator Kuo-Fen Lee<\/a>, a professor in the Salk Institute\u2019s Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology and holder of the Helen McLoraine Chair in Molecular Neurobiology. \u201cWe\u2019ve shown that it promotes metabolism of the brain plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously, researchers have shown that treating cells with neuregulin-1, for example, dampens levels of amyloid precursor protein, a molecule that generates amyloid beta, which aggregate and form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer\u2019s patients. Other studies suggest that neuregulin-1 could protect neurons from damage caused by blockage of blood flow.<\/p>\n

In the new study, Lee\u2019s team tested this idea in a mouse model of Alzheimer\u2019s disease by raising the levels of one of two forms of neuregulin-1 in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for learning and memory. Both forms of the protein seemed to improve performance on a test of spatial memory in the models.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the levels of cellular markers of disease\u2014including the levels of amyloid beta and plaques\u2014were noticeably lower in mice with more neuregulin-1 compared to controls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jiqing
Jiqing Xu and Kuo-Fen Lee<\/p>\n

Klicken Sie hier<\/a> for a high-resolution image<\/p>\n

Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The group\u2019s experiments suggest that neuregulin-1 breaks up plaques by raising levels of an enzyme called neprilysin, shown to degrade amyloid-beta. But that is probably not the only route through which neuregulin-1 confers its benefits, and the group is exploring other possible mechanisms\u2014such as whether the protein improves signaling between neurons, which is impaired in Alzheimer\u2019s\u2014says the study\u2019s first author Jiqing Xu, a research associate in Lee\u2019s group.<\/p>\n

A neuregulin-1 treatment is not available on the market, though it is being explored in clinical trials as a potential treatment for chronic heart failure and Parkinson\u2019s disease. One advantage of neuregulin-1 as a potential drug is that it can cross the blood brain barrier, which means that it could be administered relatively noninvasively even though the efficiency is not clear. On the other hand, other research suggests too much of the protein impairs brain function. Working with chemists at Salk, Lee\u2019s team has come up with a small molecule that can raise levels of existing neuregulin-1 (rather than administering it directly) and are testing it in cells. This alternative therapy could be a better way to prevent plaques from forming because small molecules more readily cross the blood brain barrier.<\/p>\n

The group is also interested in neuregulin-1 for its ties to schizophrenia. An alteration in the neuregulin-1 gene\u2014a single change in one letter of the DNA code for the protein\u2014has been found in families with schizophrenia and linked to late-onset Alzheimer\u2019s disease with psychosis. The protein may be a way to understand the overlap between Alzheimer\u2019s and other brain disorders, Lee says.<\/p>\n

An important caveat is that the new research was conducted in a single type of mouse model of Alzheimer\u2019s. Lee\u2019s group is testing neuregulin-1\u2019s affects across other models. \u201cThere\u2019s much more work ahead before neuregulin-1 could become a treatment, but we are excited about its potential, possibly in combination with other therapeutics for Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n

Other authors on the study are Fred DeWinter, Catherine Farrokhi, Jonathan Cook and Xin Jin of Salk\u2019s Clayton Foundation for Peptide Biology Laboratories; and Edward Rockenstein, Michael Mante, Anthony Adame and Eliezer Masliah of the University of California, San Diego<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Die Forschung wurde unterst\u00fctzt durch die Nationale Gesundheitsinstitute<\/a>, the Clayton Foundation, The Albert G. and Olive H. Schlink Foundation<\/a>, the Gemcon Family Foundation and the Brown Foundation.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":10772,"template":"","faculty":[95],"disease-research":[127,146],"class_list":["post-10768","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","faculty-kuo-fen-lee","disease-research-alzheimers-disease","disease-research-aging-and-regenerative-medicine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nElevating brain protein allays symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s and improves memory - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/elevating-brain-protein-allays-symptoms-alzheimers-improves-memory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elevating brain protein allays symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s and improves memory - 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