Brain enzyme could hold key to Alzheimer's treatment
Date: Wednesday, July 30 @ 13:44:03 CDT
Topic: Archive of stories pre April 2007
Scientists say a protective enzyme could hold the key to new treatments for Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.
Researchers found that the naturally occurring enzyme prevents protein tangles forming among the brain's nerve cells.
The tangles - bunches of long stringy protein - lead to the destruction of neurons, resulting in symptoms of dementia. The Pin1 enzyme promotes the removal of phosphates from the protein, which prevents tangles.
Chief researcher Dr Kun Ping Lu, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, first identified the enzyme in 1995.
His team compared Pin1 in different brain regions of both healthy individuals and people with Alzheimer's disease. The researchers also created a genetically-engineered mouse to study what happened when the Pin1 gene is removed.
The results showed that Pin1 is needed to ensure that neurons function normally and do not fall victim to age-related neurodegeneration. The findings are reported in the journal Nature.
Dr Lu found that Pin1 is also dramatically over-produced in many human cancers.
He believes the enzyme may provide a missing link between certain cancers and Alzheimer's, both of which become more prevalent with advancing age.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_804713.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery
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