Plexin-B1 Protein May Hold Key to Stopping Alzheimer’s

Summary: By focusing on the plexin-B1 protein, researchers discovered a novel strategy that may be used to stop or reduce the course of Alzheimer’s disease. Their research demonstrates the critical functions that plexin-B1 and reactive astrocytes play in the removal of amyloid plaques. This finding highlights the significance of cellular interactions and creates new avenues for Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

Important Details:

Crucial Protein: The brain’s capacity to eliminate amyloid plaques can be improved by targeting the plexin-B1 protein.

Cellular Interactions: The removal of toxic deposits from the brain is regulated by reactive astrocytes.

Novel Therapies: The research provides fresh avenues for the development of Alzheimer’s disease therapies.

The Mount Sinai Hospital 

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a novel approach that may be able to delay or even stop the growth of Alzheimer’s disease, marking a significant advancement in the field.

The research, which focuses on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and the function of reactive astrocytes and the plexin-B1 protein, offers important new insights into brain cell communication and opens the door to novel treatment approaches.

The article appeared in Nature Neuroscience.

The goal of this ground-breaking research is to improve the brain’s capacity to eliminate amyloid plaques, which are a defining feature of Alzheimer’s disease, by manipulating the plexin-B1 protein. It was discovered that reactive astrocytes—a subset of brain cells that become activated in response to trauma or illness—were essential to this procedure.

They influence how other brain cells can reach and remove these dangerous deposits by assisting in the regulation of the space surrounding amyloid plaques.

“Our results provide a viable avenue for creating novel therapies by enhancing the way cells engage with these detrimental plaques,” stated Roland Friedel, PhD, a senior author of the study and an associate professor of neuroscience and neurosurgery at Icahn Mount Sinai.

To comprehend the molecular and cellular causes of the disease, complicated data comparing healthy people to those with Alzheimer’s disease served as the driving force behind the research.

One of the study’s principal authors, Hongyan Zou, PhD, an Icahn Mount Sinai professor of neurosurgery and neuroscience, emphasized the findings’ wider implications: “Our study opens new pathways for Alzheimer’s research, emphasizing the importance of cellular interactions in developing neurodegenerative disease treatments.”

The study’s validation of multiscale gene network models of Alzheimer’s disease is among its most noteworthy accomplishments.

“This study not only confirms one of the most important predictions from our gene network models but also significantly advances our understanding of Alzheimer’s. It lays a solid foundation for developing novel therapeutics targeting such highly predictive network models,” said Bin Zhang, PhD, Willard T.C. Johnson Research Professor of Neurogenetics at Icahn Mount Sinai and one of the study’s lead authors.

The research highlights the significance of plexin-B1 in Alzheimer’s disease and highlights the potential of targeted therapeutics to impede the illness’s advancement.

Although the research team’s findings represent a major advancement in the fight against Alzheimer’s, they stress that further study is necessary before these findings can be used to develop treatments for actual patients.

“Our ultimate goal is to develop treatments that can prevent or slow down Alzheimer’s progression,” Dr. Zhang added, outlining the team’s commitment to further exploring the therapeutic potential of plexin-B1.

For more information: Regulation of cell distancing in peri-plaque glial nets by Plexin-B1 affects glial activation and amyloid compaction in Alzheimer’s disease, Nature Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01664-w