VATIS UPDATE Article

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine (EUSM), the United States, have performed the first large-scale analysis of post-mortem brain proteins in Alzheimer’s, using systems biology tools previously reserved for gene expression data. Comparing samples from Alzheimer’s patients with those from healthy elderly controls and patients with other neurodegenerative diseases, the team identified networks of changing proteins that were specific to Alzheimer’s.

Putting together protein and gene data, the scientists saw patterns pointing to the importance of inflammation and certain cell types, such as microglia, the brain’s scavenger immune cells, which gobble up amyloid plaques. “Our findings make a significant contribution towards understanding the earliest molecular changes at the protein level in human brain, which are linked to Alzheimer’s pathogenesis and cognitive decline,” said Nicholas Seyfried, at EUSM.