Scientists propose a new trigger for Alzheimer's hidden inside brain cells
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside propose that Alzheimer's may begin when amyloid beta pushes a protein called tau off the microtubules that keep neurons working. In their experiments the two proteins competed for the same binding sites, suggesting the plaques long blamed for the disease may be a symptom rather than its root cause. The team says the next step is to test whether protecting microtubules could counter the damage.
For decades the leading theory of Alzheimer's blamed sticky plaques of amyloid beta, yet drug after drug aimed at clearing them failed. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside now report that amyloid beta can bind the same spots on microtubules as tau and shove it aside, jamming the cell's internal transport network before plaques ever form. Published in PNAS Nexus.