Protein reverses Alzheimer's memory loss in mice

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Protein reverses Alzheimer's memory loss in mice

Published: December 15, 2010

Giving a protein molecule to mice that mimic the signs of Alzheimer's disease in

humans improves the memory and learning ability of the lab rodents, research at

the UT Health Science Center San suggests.

Writing in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences , the Texas-based investigators say the protein molecule, dubbed CBP,

appears to boost the formation of other protein molecules that play a role in

producing memories.

A lot of the research on Alzheimer's has involved a search for ways to get rid

of the plaque deposits and tangled webs of protein molecules seen in the brains

of people suffering from the memory-robbing disorder. Scientists have theorized

the plaque and protein webs somehow block the passage of signals between nerve

cells, which are also known as neurons.

Instead of looking for ways to get rid of the mess, the UT Health Science Center

San team has been concentrating on the protein molecules involved in

transferring signals across the gap between nerve cells, called the synapse.

" One way by which CBP could work is by setting off a domino effect among

proteins that carry signals from the synapse to the nucleus of the neuron, " said

Dr. Salvatore Oddo, the senior author of the PNAS article. " Getting signals to

the nucleus is necessary for long-term memory. "

Oddo is a member of the university's Department of Physiology. Like his

collaborators, he is a member of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging

Studies.

Oddo and his colleagues believe CBP could help reverse memory loss associated

with Alzheimer's by reactivating CREB, a protein know to be involved in memory

formation, and boosting levels of another protein, BDNF, which plays a role in

the creation and survival of nerve cells.

The researchers used a harmless virus to deliver the CBP into the hippocampus of

the mice. The hippocampus is a region in the brain that plays a part in

long-term memory formation. The hippocampus is one of the first parts of the

brain to be affected by Alzheimer's.

The protein was given to 6-month-old genetically engineered mice that were

already showing signs of Alzheimer's. The mice were then put through a maze test

that gauged there memory and learning ability.

The CBP-treated mice did just as well on the test as normal mice. The

performance of Alzheimer's mice that received a placebo instead of CBP was far

behind the treated mice and normal mice.

This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. National Institute on

Aging.