A new cell therapy improved learning and memory in mice with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report.
The therapy, developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), relies on both the immune system to fight key aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as engineered cells that focus on brain protein plaques characteristic of the disease.
In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the beta-amyloid protein forms plaques that prevent nerve cells from signaling. One theory is that it could lead to irreversible memory loss and behavioral changes characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
The new study was recently published in the journal Molecular neurodegeneration. Researchers used genetically engineered immune checkpoint cells called Tregs to target beta-amyloid.
When the UNMC team injected the engineered Treg cells into the mice’s bloodstream, plaque buildup and brain inflammation slowed. Thinking skills also seemed to improve in the sick mice.
Although the results of animal studies often prove different in humans, researchers were encouraged by these results.
“The study is an important development in the field that advances the possibility of using cellular therapies to target protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases,” said National Institutes of Health principal investigator Dr. Avindra Nath, who funded the study.
Researchers said the engineered immune cells could offer a targeted and more effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that affects about 6.7 million Americans.
The study’s lead author, Pravin Yeapuri, a postdoctoral researcher at UNMC, noted that other recent clinical trials have also shown the benefit of using Treg cells in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. and other degenerative brain diseases.
“But the limitation lies in how to introduce protective cells into the regions of the brain most affected by Alzheimer’s disease,” he explained in a UNMC press release.
The next step will be to test this approach in humans. Those close to the study are optimistic.
“We look forward to seeing where this important breakthrough could lead in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease,” said UNMC Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold.
More information:
Pravin Yeapuri et al, Amyloid-β-specific regulatory T cells attenuate Alzheimer’s disease pathobiology in APP/PS1 mice, Molecular neurodegeneration (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00692-7
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