Nat Commun: Scientists discover potential therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease!

Alzheimer's disease occurs in familial and sporadic forms

Recently, researchers from the University of Sherbrooke published a research paper titled "Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase inhibition reverses immune, synaptic and cognitive impairments in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model" on Nat Commun, studying stearoyl-CoA The role of desaturase (SCD), a key regulator of fatty acid desaturation, in AD pathogenesis

A 3xTg mouse model of AD14 carrying human APPSwe, tauP301L and PS1M146V mutations develops symptoms of learning and memory impairment as early as 6 months of age, before the onset of overt amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

Given that fatty acid metabolism genes, including SCD, are markedly dysregulated in the hippocampus during symptomatic stages, the researchers hypothesized that SCD activity may contribute to the observed transcriptomic disturbances

Figure SCDi infusion potently modulates gene expression in the hippocampus of 3xTg with major effects on immune and synapse-related genes

In conclusion, this study demonstrates that brain fatty acid metabolism links AD genes with downstream immune, synaptic, and dysfunctional disorders, identifying SCD as a potential target for AD therapy

references:

Hamilton, LK, Moquin-Beaudry, G.