2023-04-30 20:33:00
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that an HIV drug prevents dementia-causing proteins from building up in the brain. The test subjects were able to restore the self-cleansing function of the brain from toxic proteins, as well as slow down the progression of a neurodegenerative disease. The results of the study are published in the journal Neuron.
The main cause of dementia at the cellular level is the accumulation of huntingtin and tau protein. This leads to degradation and possible death of brain cells. The human body has a protective mechanism once morest this process – autophagy, in which cells destroy pathogenic sites on their own. However, in neurodegenerative diseases, this ability is impaired, which leads to pathology.
In the course of the work, it was possible to identify the cause of autophagy dysfunction in the brain of mice. It turned out that during dementia, microglia release a set of molecules, which then start a chain of reactions that activates CCR5 on the cell surface. By targeting this pathway, the authors found a drug to disable CCR5. The drug maraviroc was approved in 2007 in the United States and the European Union for the treatment of HIV.
Two-month-old mice with dementia were injected with the drug for four weeks. In the experimental subjects following the completion of therapy, there was a significant decrease in the amount of huntingtin and tau proteins. At the same time, the death of brain cells also slowed down in the subjects. In addition, the mice performed better in object recognition tests. Maraviroc is thought to have reduced the rate of memory loss.
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