Chinese scholar Science sub-journal: C/EBPβ/AEP pathway determines Alzheimer's disease and life expectancy

On March 31, Chair Professor of Shenzhen University of Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (tentative name, "Shenzhen Science and Technology"), and the team of Ye Keqiang, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences published the latest results in "Science Progress"

Previously, the team put forward the hypothesis that "there is a C/EBPβ/AEP neural signaling pathway in the brain", and believed that the activation of this pathway is the core factor leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and it also affects the lifespan.

C/EBPβ plays a role in regulating nutrient metabolism, energy homeostasis and fat differentiation, and it can increase the level of certain proteins in brain cells; while AEP is an enzyme that cleaves some proteins, and these fragments gradually aggregate to Cause Alzheimer's disease, gradually destroy the patient's memory and thinking ability, and ultimately affect their ability to live in daily life

To prove the conjecture, the team used a mouse model to selectively overexpress C/EBPβ in brain neurons to mimic aging

Ultimately, the study found that C/EBPβ, a key transcription factor that affects Alzheimer’s disease, also has an impact on lifespan, with mice with higher C/EBPβ gene expression having shorter lifespans, while mice with less C/EBPβ gene Mice lived longer

Ye Keqiang, the corresponding author of the paper, said: "Our previous study found that the C/EBPβ/AEP neural signaling pathway plays a crucial role in driving Alzheimer's disease.

The research paper, titled 'Neuronal C/EBPβ/AEP pathway shortens life span via selective GABAnergic neuronal degeneration by FOXO repression', has been published in the journal Science Advances