Brain Protein May Snip at Alzheimer's
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A brain protein may curb brain plaque tied to Alzheimer's disease, possibly inspiring new treatments.
The protein is called cathepsin B (CatB). It's the subject of a study published in Neuron.
The researchers included Sarah Mueller-Steiner, PhD, and Li Gan, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco.
In test tube experiments, they found that CatB cuts through certain amyloid-beta proteins in brain plaque linked to Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers also turned off the CatB gene in mice. After that, those mice showed higher levels of amyloid-beta proteins and brain plaque.
Then the scientists took the opposite approach. They boosted CatB levels in elderly mice that already had brain plaque. After that, the mice's brain plaque piles became smaller.
"Insufficient CatB activity might promote AD (Alzheimer's disease), while increasing CatB activity could counteract the neuropathology of this disease," the researchers write.
By "neuropathology," they mean brain abnormalities.
Gan spoke about the findings in a news release from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.
"We were very surprised and excited to find that CatB might be protective," Gan says.
"The number of drugs for the treatment of AD is very small. CatB's ability to remove [amyloid beta] may lead to another strategy for treating this disease," Gan adds.
Gan's team hasn't studied CatB in people yet. More research is needed before any new treatments are created.