They clarify a mechanism to explain how neurons die in Alzheimer's

2023/09/19 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

An international team of researchers, including Amaia Arranz Mendiguren, from the Achucarro center, has taken one more step towards understanding how neurons die in Alzheimer's. The work has been published in the journal Science and has declared that it can open new therapeutic possibilities.

In this research, mouse and human neurons have been introduced into mouse models with amyloid plaques, which are used for Alzheimer's research. And you've seen that human neurons are damaged, but not mouse neurons. They observed Tau protein phosphorylation, neurofibrillar winding and cell death.

They also observed that these human neurons had a high expression of MEG3 (a long non-coding RNA). The same happens in people with Alzheimer's. In the experiment, MEG3 has demonstrated the necroptosis of neurons in an act, and even: They also claim that avoiding MEG3 expression protects neurons from death.