Scientists have found a neuron-enhancing protein to fight Alzheimer's disease

Scientists from St. Petersburg Peter the Great Polytechnic University have analyzed the process of calcium metabolism in hippocampal neurons. This part of the brain is responsible for memory.

Specialists have found a new mechanism that enhances the formation of clusters of proteins that stimulate this process. Because of their impact, neuronal connections that are responsible for memory and thinking are improved. Researchers also found out the function of one of the organelles of synapses of neurons, which remained unclear until the end.

The results of the study could be used to develop drugs for Alzheimer's disease and other pathologies accompanied by neurodegeneration.

"We were interested in the data of some studies on the action of clusters of one of the proteins in non-neuronal human cells. Researchers from the US and Europe have gotten results that clusters of type one proteins are weakened by the tubulin cytoskeleton (the skeleton of the cell), and hence calcium metabolism is reduced. However, there is a similarly structured type 2 protein that remains poorly understood - it is most commonly found in the synapses of mature neurons. Our data on neurons showed that thanks to the type 2 protein, the opposite happens - the effect of the cytoskeleton causes these proteins to form more clusters and thus calcium exchange is increased. To understand why the opposite results are obtained, we compared proteins from normal cells and from neurons. They are very similar to each other, but slightly different," said Ekaterina Pchitskaya, head of the research "Laboratory of Biomedical Image and Data Analysis" of SPbPU.

It turned out that despite the similarity of the structure, these proteins differ significantly in action. On a cell model of Alzheimer's disease scientists confirmed that the neuronal protein strengthens synapses - the connection between nerve cells.

Read more in the exclusive material "Izvestia":

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