With a four-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers at Case Western Reserve University will investigate whether certain brain proteins may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, nearly 7 million Americans age 65 and older live with the disease, and there are more deaths from Alzheimer’s disease than breast and prostate cancer combined.
Previous research has shown that Alzheimer’s disease begins when the brain’s protective barrier – called the blood-brain barrier (BBB) – becomes weaker. This weakening allows harmful substances to enter the brain, which can lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The NIH-supported research will investigate the potential function of epitope (Eph) receptors in Alzheimer’s disease. Eph receptors are proteins initially studied by Bing-Cheng Wang, professor of pharmacology at Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine, for their role in brain development and cancer. They mediate various cell-to-cell interactions.
These proteins, according to Matthias Buck, professor of physiology and biophysics at the School of Medicine, and his colleagues, may be involved in the disintegration of the BBB, which is crucial for protecting the brain from damage during strokes and the early stages of stroke. Alzheimer’s. . The new study builds on Buck’s 15 years of Eph research.
Working with Buck’s laboratory, which studies part of the Eph receptor protein using advanced imaging and computing techniques, researchers from Texas Tech University and the University of Tennessee will study how this protein behaves in living cells. And scientists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center use crystallography to understand the protein’s structure.
Alzheimer’s disease is very complex and therefore this project requires the collaboration of special skills. Because some infectious agents can cross the blood-brain barrier and Eph receptors are useful, we plan to enlist the help of more local and national partners as this research gains momentum. We expect this research will result in discoveries that will one day make it possible to treat a disease that affects millions of people worldwide.”
Matthias Buck, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University