This article from Science Daily talks about how a protein known as beta-amyloid could be a potential trigger for Alzheimer's disease. This protein is an extremely toxic one that is found in notable amounts in the brains of people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. University of Virginia researchers and Probiodrug, a German biotech company, have stated that this protein dramatically increases the toxicity of other beta-amyloid molecules that are less toxic and could be a factor in the development of the disease. The German company has already started a test using an enzyme known as glutaminyl cyclase, which initiates the formation of the more toxic version of the protein. George Bloom, a biology professor at the College of Arts & Sciences and School of Medicine says that the enzyme transforms a common form of the beta-amyloid into pyroglutamylated (or pyroglu) beta-amyloid, a form that about 100 times more toxic, which can destroy brain cells little-by-little. The formation of pyroglutamylated beta-amyloid triggers a tau, a protein that creates toxic tangles that play a large role in the development of Alzheimer's in the brain. Researchers have discovered that without tau, Alzeimer's cannot develop. Bloom says that this could be an important step in designing a drug that has the ability to fight the disease. Now, researchers are looking for the proteins that are necessary to make the abundant form of beta-amyloid toxic.
This article relates to our unit of study on the nervous system and the brain. Alzheimer's disease is a homeostatic imbalance that was also discussed by the nervous system project group. The disease affects the brain by impairing of the brains important functions. In class, we talked about the various function of the brain's lobes. and other areas, neurons, and the body's nerve network. With Alzheimer's, the brain is unable to function correctly and send messages to other parts of the body due to the insufficient amounts of neurons. This is caused by the beta-amyloid protein which was discussed in the article.
University of Virginia. "New Understanding of Alzheimer's Trigger"
ScienceDaily, 2 May 2012. Web. 6 May 2012.
Do the toxins themselves play a role in the breaking down of the brain, or do they just trigger the tau? If they do play a part, how?
ReplyDeleteThe toxic beta-amyloid proteins do play a role in breaking down the brain. The very toxic version called pyroglutamylated beta-amyloid is able to kill the brain cells (neurons) using their toxins.
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