Astrocytes, star-shaped non-neuronal cells in the brain, can potentially restore memory and cognitive abilities in Alzheimer’s patients by removing toxic proteins through a process called autophagy. (Image courtesy of KIST)
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – A groundbreaking study has revealed that astrocytes, star-shaped non-neuronal cells in the brain, can potentially restore memory and cognitive abilities in Alzheimer’s patients by removing toxic proteins through a process called autophagy.
On August 25, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that a research team led by Ryu Hoon from KIST’s Brain Science Institute, in collaboration with Lee Changjoon from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and Lee Junghee from Boston University School of Medicine, has uncovered a new therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease utilizing astrocytes.
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder characterized by the abnormal accumulation of toxic proteins like amyloid-beta in the brain, leading to inflammation and neuronal damage.
While it was known that astrocytes play a role in removing these toxic proteins from around neurons, the exact mechanism remained unclear until now.
The research team focused on the autophagy process, a cellular mechanism for maintaining homeostasis.
They discovered that in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains, astrocytes respond to the accumulation of toxic proteins and inflammation by inducing genes that regulate autophagy.
To test their findings, the researchers injected autophagy genes specific to astrocytes into the brains of mice with induced Alzheimer’s. The results showed recovery of damaged neurons and a reduction in amyloid-beta protein clusters.
Notably, increased expression of autophagy-regulating genes in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, was associated with reduced inflammation in brain tissue.
This study is significant as it proposes targeting astrocytes, non-neuronal cells, instead of neurons for Alzheimer’s treatment development.
The research team plans to identify drugs that can enhance astrocyte autophagy to prevent dementia symptoms and conduct preclinical studies.
“We have shown that the autophagy function of astrocytes regulates neuronal damage and cognitive function in the dementia brain. We hope this research will advance our understanding of cell biology related to autophagy and basic research on cellular waste removal and health maintenance,” noted Ryu.
The research findings were published in the international journal “Molecular Neurodegeneration” on July 23.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
