Professor Chunyu Wang, a biological sciences expert at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, along with his team, have made some fascinating discoveries about Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that affects memory.
Their findings were published in Angewandte Chemie.
The Experiment: Looking at ApoE and Heparan Sulfate
Wang and his team, including a Ph.D. student named Dylan Mah, looked closely at how two molecules interact.
One is called Apolipoprotein E, or ApoE for short, which is a protein that helps move cholesterol around the body.
The other is called heparan sulfate (HS), a sugar molecule on the surface of cells that helps them communicate.
An unusual form of ApoE, called ApoE4, is strongly linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
“It’s super interesting to understand why ApoE4 can increase Alzheimer’s risk,” said Wang.
The Discovery: Link Between Alzheimer’s Risk and Protein Binding
The team examined not just ApoE4, but also ApoE3, the most common type of ApoE, as well as two protective types, ApoE2 and ApoE Christchurch.
They found out that a specific change (called 3-O-sulfo or 3-O-S) in HS was important for how ApoE and HS interact.
All ApoE types recognized 3-O-S, but the strength of their interactions was different and seemed to be related to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“We were quite surprised to see that ApoE’s binding pattern looked very similar to Tau protein, which is linked to many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s,” said Mah.
The Implication: A New Target for Alzheimer’s Drugs
The team’s findings hint at a possible new target for drugs to slow down Alzheimer’s: the enzymes that cause the sulfation change in HS, called heparan sulfate 3-O transferases.
Future Plans: Taking a Deeper Look
The team now plans to learn more about the interaction between ApoE and HS. They want to build a 3D model of how ApoE and HS interact and look at this interaction in cell cultures and animal models.
“Alzheimer’s disease is very complex,” said Wang. “The more I study it, the more interesting it gets.”
Mah added, “We hope to prevent or reduce enough of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s so people can continue to live independently.
Understanding how the disease works at the molecular level is really important for finding new treatments.”
Conclusion: The Importance of Alzheimer’s Research
Dr. Deepak Vashishth, director of Rensselaer’s Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasized the importance of Wang’s research.
“The identification of a new potential drug target to fight this progressive disease is extremely exciting, not only for the six million patients in the United States but also for their families and caregivers.”
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The study was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
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