Scientists begin to untangle root cause of
Alzheimer's disease
New research in the FASEB Journal suggests
that a fragment of a protein that increases
production of a causative agent of
Alzheimer's points to new drug targets
"N60" might not be the first thing that
comes to mind when people think of
Alzheimer's disease, but thanks to
researchers from the United States, South
Korea and France, this might change.
"That's
because these researchers have found that
the N60 section of a protein called "RanBP9"
might be the key that unlocks an entirely
new class of Alzheimer's drugs, and with
them, hope.
In a research report published online in
The FASEB
Journal (http://www.fasebj.org
), these scientists describe how the
N60 fragment of the RanBP9 protein increases
the production of the amyloid beta protein,
which is present in excessive amounts in the
brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
Most experts believe that if the creation of
amyloid beta protein can be halted or
slowed, the devastating effects of
Alzheimer's disease may also be stopped or
slowed too.
Knowing which portion of the RanBP9 protein
to target is particularly important because
it gives researchers a more specific focus
for developing new Alzheimer's drugs.
According to David Kang, assistant professor
of neurosciences at the University of
California, San Diego, and one of the
researchers involved in the work, "Our study
suggests that targeting RanBP9 expression
and/or N60 fragment generation may lead to
novel strategies to combat this devastating
disease."
To make this discovery, Kang and colleagues
examined extracts from brains with
Alzheimer's disease and age-matched healthy
controls and found that the N60 section of
RanBP9 was increased in Alzheimer's brain.
When control DNA, full-length RanBP9 DNA,
and RanBP9-N60 DNA were individually
expressed in cultured cells, they found that
cells expressing the full length RanBP9
protein had an increased amount of the
amyloid beta protein that was 3-fold over
control, and cells expressing the RanBP9
protein and N60 section had an increased
amount of the amyloid beta protein that was
5-fold over control.
"Alzheimer's might seem hopeless to some,
but this research shows that we're closer
than ever to unraveling both the protein
tangles and mysteries surrounding this
devastating disease," said Gerald Weissmann,
M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB
Journal.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Alzheimer's disease
is the most common form of dementia among
older adults, affecting as many as 5 million
Americans.
Alzheimer's disease involves parts of the
brain that control thought, memory, and
language and can seriously affect a person's
ability to carry out daily activities.
The disease usually begins after age 60, and
risk goes up with age. About 5 percent of
men and women ages 65 to 74 have Alzheimer's
disease, and nearly half of those aged 85
and older may have the disease.
