Alzheimer & Parkinson

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterised by amyloid-β pathology, neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction and cognitive decline. Few pharmacological interventions are available, offering only symptomatic relief, and approval for a number of anti-amyloid biologics is limited, with concerns about safety, cost and efficacy. Here we investigated the effects of 8-10 weeks treatment with liraglutide, NAcGIP[Lys(37)PAL] and Xenin-25[Lys(13)PAL], long-lasting analogues of...

Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) are the principal safety concern limiting anti-amyloid therapies for Alzheimer's disease, yet their biology remains unclear. Here we show, through multi-omic profiling of peripheral blood from three ARIA+ patients and matched controls, that ARIA is associated with coordinated reprogramming of CD8 + T cells. CD8+ effector memory (TEM) and terminally differentiated (TEMRA) subsets were expanded, clonally enriched, and transcriptionally primed for...

The molecular circadian clock is a ubiquitous transcriptional-translational feedback loop that regulates CNS function, glial responses, and neurodegenerative pathology. The nuclear receptors REV-ERB-α (Nr1d1) and REV-ERB-β (Nr1d2) are components of the core circadian clock which regulate metabolism, neuroinflammatory responses, synaptic pruning, and protein aggregation, though the cell type-specific effects and relative compensatory effects of REV-ERB-α AND -β in the brain are unknown. To study...

Aggregation of the protein tau defines tauopathies, the most common age-related neurodegenerative diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Specific neuronal subtypes are selectively vulnerable to tau aggregation, dysfunction, and death. However, molecular mechanisms underlying cell-type-selective vulnerability are unknown. To systematically uncover the cellular factors controlling the accumulation of tau aggregates in human neurons, we conducted a genome-wide...

Intracellular accumulation of α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates is a hallmark of synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). In MSA, αSyn aggregates form glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) in oligodendrocytes, despite their low expression of αSyn. Here, we demonstrate that neuron-to-oligodendrocyte propagation of αSyn, via Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) contributes to GCI formation. Male transgenic mice expressing the A53T mutant human αSyn exclusively in...

A trial of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) was performed in people with gait-impaired Parkinson's (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05110053). Fourteen patients underwent gait assessments and [^(18)F]-FDG and [^(18)F]-FEOBV PET at baseline, six, and twelve months after SCS. Twelve participants were randomised to six-month MicroBurst or sham, followed by six-month extension with stimulation. The primary outcomes were feasibility and safety, as captured by the trial process measures and nature and frequency...

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is a hallmark of many diseases of the brain, including those that represent the largest healthcare burden (for example, Alzheimer disease and stroke). Despite this, rejuvenation and repair of the BBB is not a mainstream concept. During life, the BBB is subjected to perturbations and stresses from a wide range of endogenous or exogenous sources, which can promote brain health or can lead to brain pathologies. The BBB supports many functions that are critical...

Emerging evidence suggests that Parkinson's disease (PD) may have its origin in the enteric nervous system (ENS), from where α-synuclein (αS) pathology spreads to the brain^(1-4). Decades before the onset of motor symptoms, patients with PD suffer from constipation and present with circulating T cells responsive to αS, suggesting that peripheral immune responses initiated in the ENS may be involved in the early stages of PD^(1,5-7). However, cellular mechanisms that trigger αS pathology in the...

α-Synuclein (αSyn) is a presynaptic protein of unestablished physiological function that plays a central role in Parkinson's disease neuropathology. To date, the reported effects of αSyn expression on the kinetics of axonal synaptic vesicle exocytosis and membrane cycling have been relatively small. In contrast, we report that αSyn is the major modulator of substantia nigra somatodendritic dopamine release, a little-understood form of neurotransmission that is central to sensorimotor and basal...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk is strongly influenced by genetic variants that converge on pathways regulating endosomal homeostasis. Among these, BIN1 and RIN3 have emerged as susceptibility genes, yet their functional relationship in AD remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated how BIN1 and RIN3 interaction regulates RAB5 activity and endosomal pathology. RIN3 has been shown to bind BIN1, and we previously reported that this interaction modulates amyloid-β (Aβ) precursor protein (APP)...

Dysfunction of the glymphatic system has been proposed as a mechanistic link between sleep disruption and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In animal models, glymphatic impairment alone can drive AD pathology. Whether this system clears amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau in humans remains unknown. In a randomized crossover trial with 39 participants, we found that glymphatic clearance during normal sleep increased morning plasma levels of AD biomarkers compared to sleep deprivation. Participants underwent...

Meningeal immune cells monitor the central nervous system (CNS) and influence neuroinflammation in mice, but the human leptomeningeal immune landscape and the changes that occur in this immunological niche in neurodegeneration remain underexplored. Here we performed single-cell RNA and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing of 99,625 high-quality immune cells from 57 leptomeninges and brain samples from donors with Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease and...

No abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a major unmet medical challenge, with limited tools that integrate early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. Considering the pivotal roles of amyloid-β (Aβ) and cholinesterases (ChEs) in AD etiology, we report dual-functional theranostic NIR-I probes. The lead candidate, I-43, exhibits favorable NIR optical properties (Stokes shift ≥ 220 nm) and binds strongly to Aβ fibrils, with K(d) values of 58.2 ± 9.7 nM for Aβ(1-40) and 104 ± 25 nM for Aβ(1-42)....

Although upregulation of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) excessively activates pro-inflammatory microglia through Aβ peptides, it remains unclear whether TLR2 regulates neuronal pyroptosis via the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We assessed TLR2 expression in peripheral blood from clinical samples and employed SH-SY5Y cells for initial screening. AD pathology was simulated by Aβ(1-42) stimulation, and pathway regulatory relationships were dissected through TLR2 knockdown, NF-κB...

CONCLUSIONS: We present a thorough genetic analysis of the relationship between HF, AD, and the intestinal-neuroimmune interaction, emphasizing the potential of GM and immune cells as therapeutic targets.

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is a central regulator of microglial activity and loss-of-function coding variants are major risk factors for late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). To better understand the molecular and functional changes associated with TREM2 signalling in microglia, we generated a TREM2 reporter mouse. In APP transgenic animals, bulk RNA-sequencing of isolated microglia sorted based on reporter expression highlighted TREM2 level-related changes in...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer are among the most devastating diseases worldwide. Epidemiological data indicate that the incidence of AD significantly decreases in patients with a history of cancer. However, whether and how peripheral cancer may affect AD progression is yet to be studied. Here, we find that peripheral cancer inhibits amyloid pathology and rescues cognition via secretion of cystatin-c (Cyst-C), which binds amyloid oligomers and activates triggering receptor expressed on...

Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis is driven by α-synuclein (α-syn) amyloid aggregation, with the flexible C-terminal region mediating pathological interactions with cellular receptors and facilitating disease propagation and neuroinflammation. Through immunization with human α-syn fibrils and iterative neuronal binding and propagation assays, we identify H21 as a high-affinity fibril-specific monoclonal antibody. H21 selectively binds to α-syn fibrils and specifically targets the C-terminal...

Pilat, Le, and colleagues¹ reveal that the Alzheimer's-linked TREM2 T96K variant, previously labeled gain of function based on in vitro assays, unexpectedly weakens microglial activation and disease-associated microglial responses in female mice in vivo, prompting a reassessment of what "functional gain" means for TREM2 in neurodegeneration.