Great contribution in 2019: Interpretation of important research results in the field of Alzheimer's disease research!

By the end of the year, 2019 is coming to an end, and we will be greeted by a brand-new 2020 In the coming 2019, scientists have made a number of important research results in the field of Alzheimer's disease research In this paper, the editor will sort out the heavyweight research results that scientists have made in this research field this year and share with you! Photo source: cc0 public domain [1] NAT Neurosci: scientists have successfully studied the function of human microglia in mouse brain, which is expected to develop a new therapy for Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0525-x For a long time, human brain is a very complex research object, the resolution of brain scanning and the information it can provide are very limited, and researchers can not use in vitro methods to completely copy the important microenvironment in brain cells; recently, an international journal Nature In the Research Report on neuroscience, scientists from Flanders Biotechnology Research Institute developed a new method through research, which pioneered the transplantation of human brain microglia into mouse brain Microglia is a kind of brain cell that mainly maintains complex brain function, which plays a very important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, but it is difficult for researchers to study microglia at present; microglia cultured in a culture dish often ignores the complex environment needed to maintain cell function, while microglia in the brain of model animals such as mice, etc The cytoplasm is also different from the microglia of the human brain 【2】 JAMA Neurol: different subtypes of Alzheimer's disease may affect the future treatment of patients doi: 10.1001/jamaneeurol.2019.3606 Despite decades of research, scientists still haven't found a cure for Alzheimer's disease, and understanding three different disease subtypes may be a very promising research direction; recently, an international journal published in JAMA In the neurology research report, researchers from Mayo Clinic and other institutions analyzed the key areas of the brain through research, and found that the pattern of Alzheimer's disease-related damage or varies according to the disease subtype and age of onset, and the relevant research results are of great significance for the development of new therapies Dr Melissa Murray, the researcher, said that Alzheimer's disease can affect the health of patients in different ways If we clarify the molecular mechanism behind it, we may be able to uncover the mystery of the disease In the article, the researcher analyzed the brain tissue donated by more than 1000 deceased Alzheimer's patients, focusing on the cholinergic center Hub), which is the only known key target to develop a new effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease The researchers observed the main characteristics of this disease, namely, neurofibrillary tangle Tangles), which is an abnormal protein accumulation that can destroy the transport system of neurons, the researchers observed two very interesting patterns 【3】 Cell: a gene related to rare neurological disorders or can regulate the function of key enzymes in Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.07.043 Recently, in a research report published in the international journal Cell, scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital found that a gene that can mutate and cause rare balance disorders or regulate the behavior of special enzymes can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in individuals Relevant research findings may help scientists identify new targets To help develop new therapies that effectively slow down or block the occurrence of AD In 2008, researcher Rudolph E Tanzi and his colleagues identified several genes closely related to the occurrence of AD, including atxn1, which carries the genetic code for the production of ataxin-1 protein Now, researchers have found that the acquired functional mutation of atxn1 can cause a type of SCA1 (spinocerebellar ataxia type 1) SCA1 can lead to the loss of coordination and balance function, and also lead to cognitive problems such as learning and memory 【4】 PNAs: to identify a special protein that can effectively inhibit Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1073/pnas.1914088116 recently, an international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of In the Research Report on sciences, researchers from the University of California have made great progress in the research of Alzheimer's disease; in this paper, researchers found that a special protein named tom-1 can effectively inhibit the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease Researcher Dean Frank Dr laferra said that for a long time, scientists have known that inflammation is the driver of Alzheimer's disease, but inflammation is also a very complex disease with many factors involved In this study, researchers conducted in-depth research on the protein tom-1, which can help regulate the key components of the body's inflammatory response Researchers are very interested in studying tom-1 Because of its low level in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and rodents, researchers are not aware of the key role of tom-1 【5】 SCI transl Med: scientists have identified the key gene related to the risk of Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1126/scitraslmed.aau2291, published in the international journal Science Translational recently In the Medicine study, scientists from institutions such as the University of Washington School of medicine identified a pair of genes that may affect the risk of late and early Alzheimer's disease So far, most of the genes related to Alzheimer's disease affect the function of neuron cells that transmit information, which can promote the communication between different regions of the brain However, this newly identified gene can affect a completely different kind of cell group, i.e immune cells in the brain The relevant research results may provide a new target for researchers And can help develop new strategies to slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease Ms4a4a and TREM2 genes can play a role in microglia (immune cells in the brain), which can affect the risk of Alzheimer's disease by changing the level of TREM2 TREM2 is a special protein, which can help microglia clear excess of Alzheimer's disease amyloid protein and tau protein Professor Carlos cruchaga, researcher, said that the results of this study may help to develop new treatment strategies If we can improve the level of TREM2 protein in cerebrospinal fluid, we may be able to protect individuals against Alzheimer's disease or slow down the progress of the disease Photo source: cc0 public domain [6] SCI adv: identification of epigenetic markers related to Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw2880 recently, an international journal Science In the Research Report on advanced, scientists from Brigham women's Hospital, Fudan University Medical School and other institutions found epigenetic markers related to Alzheimer's disease through research At the same time, the researchers also described the methylation of skin cultures of non Alzheimer's patients with Alzheimer's disease and their research findings Despite years of efforts and countless investments, scientists are still unable to cure Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of Alzheimer's disease, but now scientists have a deeper understanding of the disease; previous research results show that Alzheimer's disease is not a heritable disease, but researchers speculate, Epigenetic mechanism may play a very important role in it In order to clarify whether this situation is true or not, researchers focused on DNA methylation DNA methylation is to add a methylation group to DNA nucleotides This change will not change DNA itself, but will change gene expression 【7】 Neuron: the "crosstalk" between different key genes may promote the expression of brain inflammation in patients with Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.06.010 Recently, in a research report published in the international journal Neuron, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital clarified how to effectively inhibit the inflammatory expression of brain tissue, which will promote the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease The relevant research results are expected to help researchers develop new therapies for Alzheimer's disease As we all know, the brain of Alzheimer's patients is full of deposits of damaged nerve cells and other proteins (called amyloid and tau protein tangles), but if there is only amyloid plaque and tau protein tangles, a person may not suffer from Alzheimer's disease for a long time; the researchers said that brain tissue should respond to amyloid plaque and t The inflammation (neuroinflammation) produced by Au protein tangle is the main killer of neurons, which will lead to the decline of cognitive function of individual brain 【8】 Hypertention: hypertension drugs are expected to treat Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1161/hypertensionaha.119.12892 In the search for new therapies to slow down the progress of Alzheimer's disease, researchers from the medical center of the University of radburgh found through research that the blood pressure drug nivardipine can increase the blood flow of brain memory and learning center of Alzheimer's disease patients, while not affecting the function of other parts of the brain The relevant research was published in the international journal hypertension These results show that the decrease of cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease patients can be reversed in some areas However, an important question is whether the increase of cerebral blood flow observed by the researchers can be translated into beneficial effects Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common dementia The risk of Alzheimer's disease will increase with the increase of age At present, researchers do not know the specific cause of the disease Previous research results show that the blood flow in the brain of patients with early Alzheimer's disease will decrease The drug nivalidipine is a calcium channel blocker used to treat high blood pressure, and researchers want to study whether the drug can help treat Alzheimer's disease In this study, 44 participants were randomly assigned to receive nimodipine or placebo for 6 months Neither the researchers nor the participants knew who had taken the placebo or drugs At the beginning of the study and 6 months after the study, the researchers measured the blood flow of specific areas of the participants' brain using magnetic resonance imaging technology 【9】 Stem cell Rep: scientists have identified a potential target protein aggregation for Alzheimer's disease doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.12.007 recently, an international journal Stem Cell In the report, scientists from Paris fourth university and other institutions identified potential targets for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease through research; the aggregation of α - synuclein in Parkinson's disease and tau protein in Alzheimer's disease is often related to the progress of neurodegenerative diseases, and the aggregation of these proteins often spreads from one neuron cell to another cell, And attach to the cell In the process of diffusion, α - synuclein and tau protein will also