Analysis of human brain tissue reveals differences in immune cells in brains with Alzheimer’s disease compared to healthy brains, suggesting a potential new therapeutic target.
Washington University research published in August found Microglia They were in the minds of people with Alzheimer’s disease In the pre-infection state Oftentimes, it makes them less defensive.
Microglia are immune cells that help keep our brains healthy by cleaning up waste and maintaining normal brain function.
In response to infection or to remove dead cells, these beautiful shape-shifters can be mobile to swallow invaders and debris. And they ‘prune’ synapses during developmentIt helps shape the circuitry for our brain to function optimally.
It’s not clear what part they play in Alzheimer’s, but in people with the devastating neurodegenerative disease, some microglia react more strongly and It can cause swelling It contributes to the death of brain cells.
Unfortunately, clinical trials Anti-inflammatory drugs for Alzheimer’s have not shown significant results..
To test the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease, University of Washington neuroscientists Catherine Prater and Kevin Green, together with colleagues from several American institutions, research donors – 12 Alzheimer’s and 10 healthy controls – used brain examination samples to study the genetic activity of microglia.
Use a new method to improve Single-stranded RNA sequencingThe team was able to deeply identify 10 different groups of microglia in brain tissue based on their unique set of gene expression, which tells the cells what to do.
TThree of these clusters had not been seen before, and one of them was very common in people with Alzheimer’s disease. This type of microglia has genes involved in inflammation and cell death.
Overall, the researchers found that clusters of microglia in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease may be in a pre-inflammatory state.
This means that they are more likely to produce molecules that activate molecules that can damage brain cells and possibly contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The types of microglia in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease are less immune and can scavenge dead cells and debris, impairing their ability to absorb weight and promote healthy brain aging.
Scientists also think that microglia can change types over time. So we can’t say for sure what kind of microglia they have by looking at the human brain alone. Tracking how microglia change over time will help us understand how they contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
“At this point, we cannot say whether the microglia are causing the pathology or whether the pathology is causing these microglia to change their behavior.” he said. Prater.
This research is still in its early stages, but it increases our understanding of the role of these cells in Alzheimer’s disease and suggests that certain subsets of microglia may be targets for new therapies.
The team hopes their work will lead to the development of new treatments that can improve the lives of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Now that we’ve determined the genetic profile of these microglia, we’re trying to figure out exactly what they’re doing and hopefully change their behavior that contributes to Alzheimer’s disease,” Prater said. he said..
“If we can determine what they are doing, we may be able to change their behavior with treatments that can prevent or delay this disease.”
The study was published in Natural aging.
An earlier version of this article was published in August 2023.