Novel Protein Suggested as Core of Alzheimer's Amyloid Plaques

A study in Nature Communications suggests a previously unknown protein may have a core function in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), reports New Atlas . Case Western Reserve University researchers think this protein enables the genesis of amyloid plaques, thought to be a primary cause of the neurodegeneration linked to the disorder. "Our study is likely the first systematic work combining the identification from a genome-wide association study of high dimensional brain-imaging data and experimental validation so perfectly in Alzheimer's disease," said Case Western's Xiaofeng Zhu. The researchers identified a gene associated with Alzheimer's-related brain atrophy, then focused on a specific protein encoded by the gene, which directly attaches to amyloid peptides and facilitates the formation of toxic plaques. "This protein characteristically accumulates, or aggregates, within the center of plaque in AD sufferers, like the yolk of an egg — which is part of the reason we named it 'aggregatin,'" said Case Western's Xinglong Wang. Injecting aggregatin into the brains of mice caused plaque formation and cognitive dysfunction to accelerate, while suppressing the protein had the reverse effect.