PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Uncovers the molecular mechanism behind synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease

Molecular mechanisms of synaptic damage can point way to new treatment approaches

Uncovers the molecular mechanism behind synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease
2021-02-24
(Press-News.org) Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI, Pann-Ghill Suh (President)) announced that Dr. Kea Joo Lee and Dr. You-Na Jang of the Neural Circuits Research Group have identified the mechanism causing synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease as the aberrant expression of RAPGEF2, a synaptic protein. - The results were published on January 2021, in the online Early View of Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology.
* (Title) RAPGEF2 mediates oligomeric Aβ-induced synaptic loss and cognitive dysfunction in the 3xTg-AD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for about 75% of dementia cases and is the most common type of degenerative brain disease. AD is a devastating because disease progression can cause memory loss, mood disorder, slurred speech, confusion, and impaired movement. - With the conventional treatment available today, AD patients may expect to see some temporary improvement of symptoms, but nothing exists at the moment that can halt or reverse the progression. Instead, preventive strategies are emphasized, with health care professionals commonly suggesting physical exercise and continued learning programs as options. - AD is a tricky condition that has constantly thwarted the best efforts to unravel the inner workings of the disease. In the leading hypothesis, abnormal aggregation of amyloid beta (Aß) and tau proteins are identified as a possible cause of the illness. Amyloid beta is known to degrade synapses and drive cognitive impairment such as memory loss.

In their work unveiling the complex processes by which amyloid beta brings about synaptic loss, Dr. Kea Joo Lee and his team have been studying the brain tissue of both deceased Alzheimer's patients and genetically modified mouse models for the disease, and have found "RAPGEF2 protein overexpression" to be the common phenomenon. * RAPGEF2(Rap guanin nucleotide exchange factor 2) is an essential protein involved in multiple critical biological pathways such as synaptic remodeling, neural plasticity, and embryo neural development

- Employing various neurobiological methodologies that utilize neuronal cell culture models and brain tissue from mouse models of Alzheimer's, the researchers arrived at the conclusion that "amyloid beta facilitates the overexpression of the RAPGEF2 protein," and "the RAPGEF2 protein, in turn, activates downstream effectors RAP2 and JNK to ultimately induce synaptic loss." - Intriguingly, electron microscopy and behavioral tests conducted by the team showed the silencing of RAPGEF2 as having a preventive effect on synapse loss and cognitive impairment even in the presence of increased amyloid beta.

The potential significance of these findings is great. Having a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind synaptic damage that occurs in the early stages of the Alzheimer's disease can be invaluable in developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia which have continued to plague humanity despite scientific advancement.

INFORMATION:

This research was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI) basic research program.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Uncovers the molecular mechanism behind synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Celebrating Black chemists and chemical engineers

2021-02-24
Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is celebrating Black chemists and chemical engineers with a special issue highlighting Black chemists who work across the fields of biotechnology, solar energy, pharmaceuticals and more. Guest edited by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) drug delivery pioneer Paula Hammond, Ph.D., this special issue showcases Black scientists, spotlighting their scientific passions and career accomplishments. "In bringing into focus the unique lives of this set of accomplished Black scientists in chemistry and chemical engineering, ...

Study finds digital treatment for osteoarthritis is superior to traditional routine care

Study finds digital treatment for osteoarthritis is superior to traditional routine care
2021-02-24
The steadily increasing prevalence and high costs of treating chronic joint pain worldwide poses a challenge for healthcare systems and healthcare payers. New research published today in END ...

A gene provides both protection and destruction

A gene provides both protection and destruction
2021-02-24
The family of ENDOU enzymes is found in most organisms, yet its functions are only poorly understood. In humans, it has been connected with cancer. RNA viruses, such as SARS-CoV2, contain a gene corresponding to ENDOU, and this is important for virus replication and the suppression of the immune response. However, so far only few details of the role of these enzymes are known. The research group led by the molecular geneticist Dr. Wenjing Qi from the University of Freiburg now contributes some more details to its function in a study published by the renowned scientific journal Nature Communications. They suggest that the gene ENDU-2 could ...

Pushing computing to the edge by rethinking microchips' design

Pushing computing to the edge by rethinking microchips design
2021-02-24
Responding to artificial intelligence's exploding demands on computer networks, Princeton University researchers in recent years have radically increased the speed and slashed the energy use of specialized AI systems. Now, the researchers have moved their innovation closer to widespread use by creating co-designed hardware and software that will allow designers to blend these new types of systems into their applications. "Software is a critical part of enabling new hardware," said Naveen Verma, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton and a leader of the research team. "The ...

Flu vaccination this season likely to be highest ever

2021-02-24
More U.S. adults reported receiving or planning to receive an influenza vaccination during the 2020-2021 flu season than ever before, according to findings from a national survey. The survey of 1,027 adults, conducted by the University of Georgia, found that 43.5% of respondents reported having already received a flu vaccination with an additional 13.5% stating they "definitely will get one" and 9.3% stating they "probably will get one." Combined, 66.3% have received or intend to receive an influenza vaccination. By comparison, 48.4% of adults 18 and older received the vaccine during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease ...

'Micropopulism' may be turning education into a battlefield in the culture wars

2021-02-24
A new analysis of education debates on both social media and in traditional media outlets suggests that the education sector is being increasingly influenced by populism and the wider social media 'culture wars'. The study also suggests that the type of populism in question is not quite the same as that used to explain large-scale political events, such as the UK's 'Brexit' from the European Union, or Donald Trump's recent presidency in the United States. Instead, the researchers - from the University of Cambridge, UK, and Queensland University of Technology, Australia - identify a phenomenon called 'micropopulism': a localised populism which spotlights an aspect of public ...

Study finds low rate of COVID-19 among dental hygienists

Study finds low rate of COVID-19 among dental hygienists
2021-02-24
CHICAGO, February 24, 2021 -- Despite having been designated as high risk for COVID-19 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a new study finds 3.1 percent of dental hygienists have had COVID-19 based on data collected in October 2020. This is in alignment with the cumulative infection prevalence rate among dentists and far below that of other health professionals in the U.S, although slightly higher than that of the general population. The research, published by The Journal of Dental Hygiene, is the first large-scale collection and publication of U.S. dental hygienists' infection rates and infection control practices related to COVID-19. In partnership, the American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) ...

Sulfur: the consequences

Sulfur: the consequences
2021-02-24
The transition from single-celled organisms to multicellular ones was a major step in the evolution of complex life forms. Multicellular organisms arose hundreds of millions of years ago, but the forces underlying this event remain mysterious. To investigate the origins of multicellularity, Erika Pearce's group at the MPI of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg turned to the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, which can exist in both a unicellular and a multicellular state, lying on the cusp of this key evolutionary step. These dramatically different states depend on just one thing - food. A core question of Pearce's lab is to answer how changes in metabolism drive cell function and differentiation. Usually, they study immune cells ...

NCI study finds people with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may have low risk of future infection

2021-02-24
People who have had evidence of a prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appear to be well protected against being reinfected with the virus, at least for a few months, according to a newly published study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This finding may explain why reinfection appears to be relatively rare, and it could have important public health implications, including decisions about returning to physical workplaces, school attendance, the prioritization of vaccine distribution, and other activities. For the study, researchers at NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, collaborated with ...

Yale scientists capture the choreography of a developing brain

Yale scientists capture the choreography of a developing brain
2021-02-24
The formation of a brain is one of nature's most staggeringly complex accomplishments. The intricate intermingling of neurons and a labyrinth of connections also make it a particularly difficult feat for scientists to study. Now, Yale researchers and collaborators have devised a strategy that allows them to see this previously impenetrable process unfold in a living animal -- the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, they report February 24 in the journal Nature. "Before, we were able to study single cells, or small groups of cells, in the context of the living C. elegans, and for relatively short periods of time," said Mark Moyle, an associate research scientist in neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine and first author of the study. "It has been a breathtaking experience to ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Uncovers the molecular mechanism behind synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease
Molecular mechanisms of synaptic damage can point way to new treatment approaches