New knowledge of brain structure offers insights into Alzheimer's
04 April, 2020
New research has revealed greater detail about the brain’s structure, suggesting avenues for future research into Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses.
A fresh study has revealed more detail about key brain cells. The team of investigators has discovered that a structure in the mind is arranged differently compared to the scientific community once believed.
The discovery may have implications for the knowledge of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers have published their findings in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Glial cells
Glial cells exist in the mind, and scientists previously thought that they functioned as a putty or glue for the more significant neuron cells. However, an evergrowing body of research is demonstrating that glial cells do far more than help structure and protect neuron cells.
In particular, they could play an essential role in the development of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
In the present study, the authors focused on one type of glial cell: astrocytes, which are star-shaped. Despite mounting proof the value of glial cells such as for example astrocytes, the way these cells are structured had never been investigated.
The team set out to map the structure of astrocytes to see if this could provide further info on their function in the mind.
New picture of the mind
To get this done, the authors studied the brain cells of mice and humans, creating a new methodology to permit them to see glial cells in more detail.
This involved combining nucleic acid imaging of human and mice brain cells with single-cell genomic data held at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a genetics research center based outside Cambridge, in britain.
By combining these resources of information, the authors could actually produce a detailed, 3D picture of the astrocytes in the cerebral cortex of the mind.
Astrocyte layers
This degree of imaging enabled the authors to make some important discoveries: Instead of being uniform, as previously thought, the molecular kinds of astrocytes vary, based on their position in the mind.
Furthermore, they are sectioned off into distinct layers that are related to, but not the same as, layers of neuron cells that already are well-understood.
According to Omer Bayraktar, Ph.D., an organization leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, “The discovery that astrocytes are organized into layers that are similar, but not identical to, neuronal layers redefines our view of the structure of the mammalian brain.”
“The structure of the cerebral cortex can no longer simply be observed as the structure of neurons. If you want to properly know how our brains work, you will need to consider how astrocytes are organized and what role they play.”
Alzheimer’s disease
This may have important implications for our understanding of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, which prior research has linked to glial cells such as for example astrocytes.
A study in the journal Animal Cells and Systems shows that as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, astrocytes will get caught in a feedback loop with microglia, the cells that could usually drive back Alzheimer’s by releasing cytokines.
This causes inflammation in the glial cells, which makes the microglia become neurotoxic instead of protective.
There happens to be no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that it's the most common kind of dementia; in 2014, for example, it influenced up to 5 million persons in the usa.
By better understanding the structure of glial cells such as for example astrocytes, researchers desire to develop new therapeutic interventions that can target Alzheimer’s disease.
For Prof. David Rowitch, senior author of the analysis and Head of Paediatrics at the University of Cambridge, “This study shows that the cortical architecture is more complex than previously thought.”
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
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