Neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease.
Neurotoxicity (image: http://depts.washington.edu/)
Aβ42 neurotoxicity is mediated by ongoing nucleated polymerization process rather than by discrete Aβ42 species.
The identification of toxic Aβ species and/or the process of their formation is crucial for understanding the mechanism(s) of Aβ neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. In this paper, the group of Prof. H. A. Lashuel (LMNN - Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Neuroproteomics), in collaboration with scientists at AC Immune, provide strong evidence that Aβ toxicity is linked to an ongoing Aβ polymerization process and is greatly reduced when the polymerization process is slowed down by the selective removal/degradation of Aβ monomers. It is believed that these findings may extend to other neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein aggregation and amyloid formation, including Parkinson's disease, and Huntington disease.
Asad Jan et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 10.1074/jbc.M110.172411 (2010)