Study Links Key Cellular Mechanism to Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
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Researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have unveiled a critical mechanism that links cellular stress in the brain to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study, published in the journal Neuron, highlights microglia, the brain's primary immune cells, as central players in both the protective and harmful responses associated with the disease.
Microglia, often dubbed the brain's first responders, are now recognized as a significant causal cell type in Alzheimer's pathology. However, these cells play a double-edged role: some protect brain health, while others worsen neurodegeneration.
The research team discovered that activation of this stress pathway, known as the integrated stress response (ISR), prompts microglia to produce and release toxic lipids. These lipids damage neurons and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells -- two cell types essential for brain function and most impacted in Alzheimer's disease. Blocking this stress response or the lipid synthesis pathway reversed symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in preclinical models.
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