Innovative vaccine may treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease

News

Innovative vaccine may treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Innovative vaccine may treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

A new vaccine targeting inflamed brain cells associated with Alzheimer’s disease could hold the key to preventing or altering the course of the disease, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s 2023 Cardiovascular Basic Sciences scientific session.

The conference, to be held in Boston from July 31-August 3, 2023, will provide the latest research on innovations and discoveries in cardiovascular science.

Previously, researchers at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, developed a vaccine to eliminate senescent cells expressing senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP) — a senescence-dissolving vaccine that improves various age-related diseases, Including mouse atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.

Another study also found that SAGPs are highly expressed in the glial cells of Alzheimer’s patients.

Based on these findings, the researchers tested the vaccine in mice to target cells with high expression of SAGP to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

“Alzheimer’s disease currently accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia patients worldwide. Our study’s novel vaccine trial in mice points to a potential avenue for preventing or modifying the disease.” Principal Investigator of the study Author Chieh-Lun Hsiao, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, said: “The challenge ahead is to achieve similar results in humans. If this vaccine proves successful in humans, That would be a huge step towards slowing disease progression and even preventing it.”

In this study, the research team created a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease that mimics the human brain and mimics the pathological changes induced by amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease.

To test the efficacy of the SAGP vaccine, mice were vaccinated with either the control vaccine or the SAGP vaccine when they were two and four months old.

Often, people with advanced Alzheimer’s lack anxiety, which means they lack awareness of what’s around them. The vaccinated mice, on the other hand, experienced anxiety, which means they were more cautious and more aware of their surroundings — a sign that the researchers say could herald less disease. In addition, several biomarkers of inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease were also reduced.

Innovative vaccine may treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease.

The study found that the SAGP vaccine greatly reduced amyloid deposits in brain tissue in a region of the cerebral cortex responsible for language processing, attention and problem solving.

The size of astrocytes, the most abundant type of glial cells in the brain and a specific inflammatory molecule, decreased in the vaccinated mice. Other biomarkers of inflammation also decreased, suggesting that inflammation in the brain improved after SAGP vaccination.

Behavioral tests (maze apparatus) performed on 6-month-old mice showed that mice vaccinated with SAGP responded significantly better to the environment than mice vaccinated with placebo. Mice vaccinated with SAGP behaved like normal healthy mice and were more aware of their surroundings.

The study showed that the SAGP protein is located very close to specialized brain cells called microglia, which play a role in the immune defense of the central nervous system.

Microglia help clear away damaging plaques made of protein; however, they also trigger brain inflammation that damages neurons and exacerbates cognitive decline in people, which can be a factor in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease one of the reasons.

In Alzheimer’s, brain proteins known as amyloid beta peptides clump together to form plaques that build up in neurons, according to the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. aggregate and disrupt cell function.

Blood vessel problems can also cause a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier, which normally protects the brain from harmful substances while allowing glucose and other essential factors to enter the brain. A breakdown in the blood-brain barrier prevents glucose from entering the brain and impedes the removal of toxic beta-amyloid and proteins that lead to chronic inflammation and the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Epilogue

“Earlier studies using different vaccines to treat Alzheimer’s disease in mouse models successfully reduced amyloid plaque deposits and inflammatory factors, however, what sets our study apart is that our SAGP vaccine also better altered the behavior of these mice. Previous studies have shown that SAGP protein is highly elevated in microglia, implying that microglia are important target cells for Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers said Inflammation in the brain may also be controlled by eliminating activated microglia. Vaccines could target activated microglia, remove these toxic cells, and ultimately repair behavioral deficits in Alzheimer’s patients. “

According to the 2023 American Heart Association Statistical Update, approximately 3.7 million Americans age 30 and older were living with Alzheimer’s disease in 2017, a number that is projected to increase to 9.3 million by 2060.

BCVS is one of the largest conferences in the world dedicated to basic and translational research to improve heart health, a goal that has become even more important in the wake of the pandemic.

Sponsored by the American Heart Association’s Committee on Basic Cardiovascular Science, the 2023 meeting will attract top researchers in the fields of microRNA, cardiac gene and cell therapy, cardiac development, and will also include tissue engineering and iPS cells.