2023-10-15 12:40:17
The Korea Brain Research Institute announced on the 12th that the research team of Senior Researcher Youngsik Choi and Senior Researcher Jaemyung Jang of the Brain Development Disease Research Group has identified the cause of nerve cell synapse damage in patients with early dementia.
Alzheimer’s dementia is known to be caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain due to amyloid plaques, which are formed by amyloid beta protein accumulating on the outside of cells. However, the reason why nerve cell synapses are first damaged in patients with early dementia before amyloid plaques increase is not yet known.
Dr. Choi Young-sik’s research team studied the molecular mechanism by which synaptic damage occurs in neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region that stores memories, at the stage before amyloid beta protein causes brain cognitive damage. Nerve cells have long axons that transmit signals to other nerve cells, and the area where the axons connect with other nerve cells is called a synapse. Synaptic damage occurs specifically in these axons, and is known to be mainly caused by failure of the ‘endosome-lysosome pathway’ and inability to remove toxic proteins that need to be exported out of the cell.
The research team used 3D brain transparency technology and advanced synaptic proteome analysis technology jointly developed with Aligned Genetics, a domestic research equipment company, to identify endoplasmic reticulum that must be secreted from nerve cells, unable to go out and accumulating inside axons, causing synaptic damage. confirmed that In addition, through single-cell transcriptome analysis technology, it was discovered that nerve cells that sprout outside of nerve cells and have problems with primary cilia, which interpret external signals from the cell, are more sensitive and damage occurs more quickly than other nerve cells. Dr. Choi Young-sik said, “This study is significant in that it revealed the mechanism by which synaptic damage to brain neurons occurs first in the early stages of dementia,” and added, “To understand the damage to nerve cell axons caused by amyloid beta protein, we used a brain organoid model and “We are conducting various studies incorporating the tau fibrosis model, which will help develop treatments that suppress or delay cognitive impairment in the brain.”
Reporter Nari Kang [email protected]
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