AD' molecular roots

The Molecular Roots of Alzheimer’s

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSDECEMBER 20, 2016

A new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis details the structure of TREM2, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Researchers found that mutations associated with Alzheimer’s alter the surface of the protein, while mutations linked to another brain disorder disrupt the protein’s interior. Such alterations may impair TREM2’s normal role in cleaning up cellular waste via a process called phagocytosis. NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Daniel L. Kober.

Summary: Findings may help to shed light on how Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases develop.

Source: WUSTL.

Cellular ‘housekeeping’ molecule’s structure linked to neurodegeneration

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have detailed the structure of a molecule that has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing the shape of the molecule — and how that shape may be disrupted by certain genetic mutations — can help in understanding how Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases develop and how to prevent and treat them.

The study is published Dec. 20 in the journal eLife./.../