Alzheimer’s disease represents among 50% and 70% of dementia cases Worldwide. Achieving adequate treatment for the people who suffer from them and stopping their progress for those who have started it is a great motivation for medical research. Now the first vaccine candidate capable of preventing and modifying the course of Alzheimer’s has been presented to society at the Scientific Sessions on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences of the American Heart Association (AHA).
The basis is a previous vaccine developed by researchers at the Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. This drug has shown its effectiveness by eliminating the senescent cellsthose that have reached the end of their life but refuse to ‘die’, generating harmful substances such as ‘senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP)‘. This action against SAGP ameliorated several aging-related diseases in mouse models, such as atherosclerosis or type 2 diabetes.
In another parallel trial, SAGP was shown to be highly expressed in glial cells of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers therefore tried to vaccinate modified mice to suffer a disease compatible with human Alzheimer’s. The goal was attack cells inflamed by an excess of the glycoproteinwith the aim of improving the prognosis of the disease.
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“The test of our vaccine in mice reveals its potential to prevent or modify Alzheimer’s disease“, explains Chieh-Lun Hsiao, a researcher at Jutendo’s Department of Biology and Cardiovascular Medicine. “In the future, the goal will be to achieve similar results in humans. If the vaccine is successful in patients, it would be a big step for slow the progression of Alzheimer’sor even manage to prevent it in advance.
How does it work
Mice were induced with a pathology that mimicked Alzheimer’s by accumulation of beta-amyloid protein. They were then divided into two groups. The first was treated with a control vaccine and the second with a SAGP vaccine at two and four months of age. In general, at that age the modified mice have lost the ability to manifest anxietysince they have stopped being aware of the things that surround them.
But the rodents that received the SAGP vaccine did display anxious behavior. Were cautious y more attentive to the things that were happening around him. This would be a sign, according to the researchers, of the decrease in the symptoms of the disease. In addition, it was observed a reduction of various inflammatory biomarkers characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
In summary, this new work found that:
– The SAGP vaccine significantly reduces beta amyloid deposits brain in the cerebral cortex, where language, attention, and problem solving are processed.
– Los astrocytesthe most abundant glial cells in the brain and other specific inflammatory molecules, decreased in size in mice that received the vaccine. It was also observed a reduction of various inflammatory biomarkerswhich would imply that general brain inflammation improved with the SAGP vaccine.
– Mice that received the SAGP vaccine responded significantly better to maze behavior tests at six months of age than those who received a placebo. Furthermore, they tended to behave like healthy mice normal, showing awareness of their surroundings.
Implying
During the work it was shown that the SAGP protein is located very close to specialized brain cells, microglia, which plays a role in the immune defense of the central nervous system. It helps remove harmful plaque made of proteins, but it also helps with inflammation in the brain that can damage neurons and worsen cognitive decline. This may be one of the causes of the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The beta-amyloid plaques accumulated between neurons interrupt their function and form accumulations that the body cannot eliminate. If vascular problems occur at the brain level, damaging the blood brain barrier which protects from external toxic substances, there is also a disruption of nutrients to the brain. The end result is chronic inflammation that eventually leads to Alzheimer’s disease.
In previous studies, Alzheimer’s vaccines managed to reduce beta-amyloid plaques and brain inflammation, but this new work stands out for also improving the behavior of the treated mice. In addition, it would also have demonstrated the importance of microglia within the disease, whose control would also improve both the development and the worsening of the pathology.
2023-07-30 23:59:23
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