Will blocking interleukin-10 help with Alzheimer's disease?
The immune system is able to remove beta-amyloid plaques
LifeSciencesToday based on the materials of Keck Medicine:
USC neurogeneticists harness immune cells to clear Alzheimer’s-associated plaques from rodent brains
A new study by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) shows that the body's immune system is able to clear the brain of toxic plaques, which are a characteristic sign of Alzheimer's disease, and reverse the process of memory loss and damage to neurons.
An article published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Neuron (Guillot-Sestier et al., Il10 Deficiency Rebalances Innate Immunity to Mitigate Alzheimer-Like Pathology) presents a promising approach to the treatment of the disease, which, according to the forecasts of the Alzheimer's Association, 16 million Americans over the age of 2050 will suffer from 65 years old.
"In today's public health, the situation with Alzheimer's disease is critical, and effective methods for its treatment do not yet exist," says the head of the study, Professor of physiology and biophysics Terrence Town, PhD. "Our work shows that restoring the ability of the immune system to remove toxic plaques from the brain may give new hope for the emergence of a safe and effective method of treating this devastating disease."
3D reconstruction of an immune cell (red) containing beta-amyloid (blue) in the compartment where its destruction occurs (yellow). The removal of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 activates the cells of the innate immune system, thereby clearing the brain of toxic amyloid plaques. Photo: Marie-Victoire Guillot-Sestier, PhD.Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible progressive brain disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.
This is the most common of many types of memory loss and other mental abilities, collectively called dementia. In the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, sticky plaques are formed and accumulated from the beta-amyloid protein. The imbalance of the immune system damaged by the disease, which, as a rule, removes toxic substances from the body, makes the process of destruction of beta-amyloid plaques ineffective.
To show that blocking a substance known as interleukin-10 activates the removal of beta-amyloid plaques by the immune system, restores memory and eliminates damage to brain cells, Professor Towne and his group used genetically modified mice. The results of the learning and memory tests of mice with an Alzheimer's disease model and activated immune cells were very close to the results of healthy animals. In future experiments, the effectiveness of drugs targeting interleukin-10 will be tested on genetically modified rats with an Alzheimer's disease model.
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