US scientists investigating Alzheimer’s disease have made a major breakthrough by identifying a key cellular process that causes the most common cause of dementia.

Researchers at the City University of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center have discovered a key mechanism that links cellular stress in your brain to Alzheimer’s progression. Scientists say they are characterizing it as a promising target for drug treatments aimed at slowing or reversing the progression of the disease.

According to the study published in the journal neuronYour brain’s primary immune cells – known as microglia – play a vital role in protecting the brain from this degenerative disease. Microglia are also known as your brain’s first responders; However, scientists say that these same cells play a dual role. While some may protect your health, others may even worsen neurodegeneration, which can lead to Alzheimer’s.

Professor Pinar Ayata, principal investigator of the study, said, according to scientists, there should be an understanding between these cells for greater clarity. He said, “We set out to answer what are the harmful microglia in Alzheimer’s disease and how can we target them therapeutically. We identified a novel neurodegenerative microglia phenotype in Alzheimer’s disease marked by stress-related signaling pathways Is.”

The research team discovered the activation of this stress pathway, known as integrated stress response or ISR, leading to the production of microglia and release of toxic lipids.

Toxic microglia damage neuron cells, which are vital to brain function and are most commonly affected in Alzheimer’s. However, scientists found that blocking the stress response or lipid formation reversed Alzheimer’s symptoms in preclinical models using mice.

How was the study conducted?

Scientists say they examined postmortem brain tissue from Alzheimer’s patients using electron microscopy – which uses a beam of electrons to create detailed images of objects much smaller than we can see with a regular microscope. They are much smaller than that.

They found an accumulation of microglia deep in the brain tissue of disease sufferers – a subset of these cells associated with cellular stress and neurodegeneration. The levels of these cells in Alzheimer’s patients were twice as high as in the brains of healthy people.

“These findings reveal an important relationship between cellular stress and the neurotoxic effects of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease. Targeting this pathway may open new avenues of treatment either by blocking toxic lipid production or by preventing the activation of a harmful microglial phenotype. “Can,” Anna Flury said. , member of Professor Ayata’s laboratory and co-leader of the study.

the team said Study will help in developing medicines which target specific microglial populations or mechanisms resulting from stress.

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