Study Finds Enzyme Disrupting Nerve Cell Communication in Alzheimer’s Disease

[TECH NEWS]

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by abnormal proteins that stick together in little globs, disrupting cognitive function (thinking, learning, and memory). These sticky proteins are mostly made up of beta-amyloid peptide. A better understanding of these proteins, how they form, and how they affect brain function will no doubt improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. To this end, a research team led by Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) found that beta-amyloid-induced destruction of synapses—the connections that mediate communication between nerve cells—is driven by a chemical modification to an enzyme called Cdk5. The team found that this altered form of Cdk5 (SNO-Cdk5) was prevalent in human Alzheimer’s disease brains, but not in normal brains. These results, published online the week of August 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, suggest that SNO-Cdk5 could be targeted for the development of new Alzheimer’s disease therapies. As many as 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, currently the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

08/15/2011, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute