Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made an exciting discovery that may lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and similar brain problems.
They found that a molecule in the immune system, called STING, plays a big role in the brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s.
Normally, STING helps protect the body by fighting viruses and removing damaged cells. But in Alzheimer’s, STING becomes too active. Instead of helping, it creates too much inflammation in the brain and starts damaging brain cells.
The researchers, led by Dr. John Lukens, found that too much STING activity speeds up the buildup of sticky plaques and twisted tangles in the brain. These are the two main signs of Alzheimer’s. The scientists tested what would happen if they blocked STING in mice. They discovered that this helped reduce brain damage and protect memory.
They also noticed that special brain immune cells, called microglia, became less active around the plaques. This helped protect nearby brain cells. The mice even did better on memory tests, showing their brains were working more normally.
This means that STING could be a powerful new target for Alzheimer’s treatments. Right now, most treatments focus on either plaques or tangles. STING seems to affect both. It may also work at different stages of the disease, which could make it more useful than other treatment options.
Jessica Thanos, one of the scientists, said that it’s very important to understand how the brain’s immune system works—both in healthy brains and in aging ones. The better scientists understand what causes brain inflammation, the better they can create treatments that stop damage before it’s too late.
Even though this discovery is exciting, more research is needed before a new treatment is ready for patients. Scientists have to make sure that stopping STING won’t cause other problems, like making it harder for the immune system to fight off infections or cancer.
This work was done at the Harrison Family Translational Research Center, which is part of the new Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology at UVA. Dr. Lukens hopes this research will lead to safer and better ways to protect the brain from damage caused by Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
He said, “There is an urgent need for treatments that can slow or prevent neuronal damage in Alzheimer’s. Shedding light on how STING contributes to that damage may help us target similar molecules and ultimately develop effective treatments.”
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