2023-05-15 03:30:23
One of the hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s disease is the amyloid beta plaques. A study now shows that the production of these proteins can be influenced by modulating the cell membrane.
A characteristic of the Alzheimer’s dementia are deposits of amyloid-β proteins, which clump together and form plaques in the brain. Amyloid-β is formed by an enzyme in the cellular membranes. A team led by Prof. Harald Steiner and Dr. Edgar Dawkins from the LMU Biomedical Center has now been able to show that the production of amyloid-β is influenced by membrane thickness.
cellular membranes are made up of lipid bilayers. By adding additional lipids externally, they can be thickened, which changes their properties. In earlier studies, Steiner’s team was able to show in cell-free model systems that such changes influence the production of amyloid-β. This effect occurs because the key enzyme for the production of amyloid-β – the γ-secretase – is localized within the membrane.
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Modifications in the cell membrane alter enzyme activity
Now the researchers have proventhat these basic mechanisms also apply in cells. To do this, they first developed methods to modify the properties of living cell membranes in cell cultures. In this way, they were able to show that the addition of a long-chain fatty acid actually led to changes in the cell membranes. This modulation of the membrane composition was then accompanied by a change in the activity of the γ-secretase.
How this affected the production of amyloid-β was inconsistent: “Although our goal was to suppress the production of amyloid-β, we found that the lipid treatments have complex effects on the production of this protein in biological systems ‘ reports Dawkins. “Depending on the genetic background of the cells we used, we were able to decrease or increase the levels of amyloid-β.”
In their results, the scientists see new impulses for lipid-based treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s dementia in the long term. “Our study contains important considerations that researchers should make when evaluating potential lipid-based approaches,” says Steiner – but emphasizes that their implementation in practice is still a long way off.
This article is based on a press release the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. We have the original publication for you here and linked in the text.
Image source: Joseph Barrientos, unsplash
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