Accumulation of damaged proteins and Alzheimer's disease

The causes of Alzheimer's disease may lie in the processes of natural aging of the brain

Anna Stavina, XX2 century, based on FASEB materials: Protein build-up may trigger inflammation associated with Alzheimer's and other conditions

The researchers were able to detect one of the possible triggers of the inflammatory process preceding the development of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. In a review by Currais et al. Intraneuronal protein aggregation as a trigger for inflammation and neurodegeneration in the aging brain, published in the online version of The FASEB Journal, indicates that inflammation can occur as a response to an increase in the number of damaged aggregated proteins in neurons. At the same time, the very process of accumulation of these proteins in cells is a natural component of brain aging.

"We hope that in the future doctors will develop such drugs that will prevent the accumulation of damaged proteins in the neurons of the aging brain or remove already formed protein clusters. People of mature age will be able to lead a full life while preserving their cognitive abilities," says co–author Antonio Currais, senior researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. – Our laboratory is actively searching for ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases through the management of pathological processes that develop as we age. We believe that these processes are the main cause of diseases. Our approach differs from the approach of pharmaceutical companies that develop drugs for the treatment of rare genetic forms of neurodegenerative diseases and at the same time ignore the aging process."

In the article, the scientists claim that since nerve cells are unable to divide, they cannot distribute the accumulated damaged proteins between two new cells. Proteins accumulate and become toxic, leading to the development of inflammatory reactions within the neurons themselves. This also suggests that the connection between the aggregation of damaged proteins and the triggering of the inflammatory process exists not only in the brain, something similar can develop in other organs and tissues as we age. Drugs that will ensure the removal of aggregated proteins from cells will have great potential in terms of prevention and treatment of many neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, and even stroke.

The authors of the review emphasize that we are not talking about extracellular clusters or "plaques" of beta-amyloid protein, which are actively studied in the context of the development and course of Alzheimer's disease. They attributed to the described proteins not only the already known beta-amyloid, which can be detected inside neurons long before the appearance of clinical signs of the disease, but also deformed versions of proteins that normally perform any functions in neurons. However, as the brain ages, the "stacking" of protein molecules is disrupted, and insoluble protein clusters form inside the cells, which provoke inflammation. It is important that previously these proteins were not considered as associated with any diseases, and to some extent this is true, but only in relation to "normal" molecules that are soluble and do not form clusters in neurons.

"This in-depth review, the first in a corresponding series of publications, combines the results of the authors' own research and the work of other teams. He points to the important role of inflammatory processes in Alzheimer's disease. Inflammation can be either the cause of its development, or a response to some other trigger that triggers the disease. This aspect of Alzheimer's disease should not be ignored," said Thoru Pederson, editor–in-chief of the FASEB Journal.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  12.01.2017