Alzheimer & Parkinson

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is a driving factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the mechanisms behind remain elusive. Emerging evidence highlights that outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are critical mediators of microbiota-host communication. Here, we observed a reduction in a gut probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN)-like strain in AD patients, and its levels are positively associated with cognitive ability. The EcN OMVs containing outer membrane protein A (OmpA) translocate to the brain,...

Synaptic function and plasticity depend on the precise control of protein abundance and turnover, governed by the balance of synthesis and degradation. This review examines the regulatory mechanisms that maintain synaptic protein stability, focusing on the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS), autophagy-lysosomal pathways, and related proteolytic systems. We detail how key enzymes, including E3 ligases such as Nedd4-1, Mdm2, and Parkin, and deubiquitinating enzymes like USP46 and USP8, dynamically...

Traditional deep-brain stimulation via implanted electrodes can effectively treat neurological disorders, but surgical injury limits its clinical application. Here, we developed ultrasound-responsive piezoelectric nanoparticles for minimal-invasive and wireless neuromodulation. In the 6-OHDA-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) mouse model, these nanoparticles are injected into the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of the mouse brain. After ultrasound stimulation for several days, the motor behavior,...

Neurons and glia are distinct in their morphology, development and function, possessing unique transcriptomes and proteomes, but little is known about their metabolomes. The challenge of brain cell metabolic profiling is to obtain a large number of cells for reliable analysis. Here we purified microglia, astrocytes and neurons from mouse brains, identifying >70 metabolites through targeted metabolomics and 9,854 metabolite features via untargeted metabolomics. We systematically characterized...

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline, with synaptic dysfunction as the strongest correlate of clinical symptoms. The apolipoprotein E ε4 (ApoE4) allele is the most potent genetic risk factor for late-onset AD. Beyond its roles in amyloid-β aggregation and tau hyperphosphorylation, ApoE4 disrupts synaptic integrity by perturbing lipid metabolism, neuroimmune regulation, mitochondrial dynamics, and activity-dependent plasticity. These ApoE4-driven mechanisms...

Mitochondrial dysfunction is widely implicated in human disease, yet whether it plays a causal role and why effects are tissue-specific remain unclear. Here, we analyse over 15,000 RNA-sequencing datasets from 49 tissue types integrated with germline genetic data to investigate the impact of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcription on disease risk. We identify 25 nuclear genetic variants associated with mtDNA transcript abundance, revealing gene- and tissue-specific regulatory architectures. We...

Previous research on the genetic links between cognition and psychopathology has largely treated cognitive function as unitary, in part due to a lack of well-powered genome-wide association studies on specific cognitive domains, particularly crystallized knowledge (also known as crystallized intelligence). Here, we parse the genetics of cognitive test performance into components representing reaction time, fluid reasoning, and crystallized knowledge. This multivariate approach allows us to...

A blood biomarker reveals the mechanistic shift from amyloid to tau pathology.

With the aging of the global population, neurodegenerative diseases have become a major public health challenge. Currently, there are many limitations in the traditional treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as medicine, deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and transcranial direct current stimulation, including the inability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) accurately and challenges in achieving precise and quantitative control during the treatment...

Monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid-β, i.e., lecanemab and donanemab, have recently been approved for treating early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Though these antibodies are by many considered milestones in AD therapy, clinical approvals have been inconsistent due to ongoing debates over their clinical benefit and safety. The reported cognitive decline slowing is modest and often below the thresholds for clinically significant differences on outcome scales. Moreover, these therapies are linked...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains the most common neurodegenerative disorder. It is driven by complex molecular dysfunctions that includes amyloid aggregation, tau pathology, and neuroinflammation. It leads to cognitive deficits and memory loss in elderly people. Current treatments offer limited symptomatic relief. Hence, there is urgent need for innovative therapeutics and diagnostic approaches. Among emerging therapeutic targets, microRNAs (miRNAs) have pivotal role in regulating genes linked...

Plasma protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) have been integrated with genetic studies to prioritize proteins implicated in numerous human diseases. However, limited interaction between plasma and the central nervous system decreases the fluid's relevance for neurological disease. We compared the pQTL landscapes between plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), detecting widespread differences across fluids that translate to the identification and prioritization of proteins and pathways implicated...

P. F. Giannopoulos, Y. B. Joshi, J. Chu, and D. Praticò, "The 12-15-Lipoxygenase is a Modulator of Alzheimer's-Related Tau Pathology In Vivo," Aging Cell 12, no. 6 (2013): 1082-1090, https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12136. The above article, published online on 17 July 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Monty Montano; The Anatomical Society; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed upon...

Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly recognized as detrimental risk factors for brain health. Here, utilizing data from 383,421 participants in the UK Biobank, we identify significant associations between social isolation, loneliness, and the incidence of 11 neurological and psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, multiple...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder traditionally defined by amyloid-β plaques and tau tangles. However, growing evidence indicates that deeper disruptions in cellular homeostasis contribute to disease onset and progression. Among these, impaired communication between mitochondria and the nucleus has emerged as a central yet underrecognized pathological feature. Mitochondrial-nuclear (mito-nuclear) crosstalk regulates energy metabolism, stress responses, and...

There is increasing evidence of microglia participation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), which incentives their modulation to intercept the disease. Here, we describe a new mechanism by which the recently AD-associated Peptidase M20 Domain Containing 1 (PM20D1) instructs microglia to tackle AD. We show that the PM20D1-derived N-oleoyl-Leucine (OLE) improves AD pathologies in two animal models of AD. OLE induces microglia association with amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques, reduce their size, number and...

Aging is driven in part by progressive deterioration of proteostasis and antioxidant defense, leading to cellular dysfunction and age-associated disease. The naturally occurring methylated inositol D-pinitol (DP) was reported to present metabolic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as to extend the lifespan of D. melanogaster and C. elegans through the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway. But the mechanism of DP on delay aging remains poorly understand. Here, we showed that 200 μM...

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Aberrant activation of the classical complement pathway in the brain is implicated in contributing to synapse loss and neurodegeneration in various neurodegenerative conditions. Given that C3aR is a druggable target in the complement pathway, we evaluated the potential of C3aR knockout (KO) to rescue neurodegeneration in a tauopathy model and neuroinflammatory responses in an acute endotoxemia model. We found that C3aR KO did not rescue Tau pathology, microglia activation markers,...