Newly identified small molecules break amyloid tangles that cause Alzheimer ’s

Key takeaways:In lab experiments, researchers observed a molecule called EGCG break up tau tangles extracted from Alzheimer ’s disease brain tissueEGCG does not, however, easily penetrate the human brainThey found two other molecules — CNS-11 and CNS-17 — that work like EGCG to stop tangles spreading cell to cell but are better leads for drugsScientists at UCLA have used a molecule found in green tea to identify additional molecules that could  break up protein tangles in the brain thought to cause Alzheimer’s and similar diseases.The green tea molecule, EGCG, is known to break up tau fibers — long, multilayered filaments that form tangles that attack neurons, causing them to die.In a paper published inNature Communications, UCLA biochemists describe how EGCG snaps tau fibers layer by layer. They also show how they discovered other molecules likely to work the same way that would make better potential candidates for drugs than EGCG, which can ’t easily penetrate the brain. The finding opens up new possibilities for fighting Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and related diseases by developing drugs that target the structure of tau fibers and other amyloid fibrils.Thousands of J-shaped layers of tau molecules bound together make up the type of amyloid fibrils known as tangles, first observed a century ago by Alois Alzheimer in the post-mortem brain of a patient with dementia. These fibers grow and spread throughout the brain, killing neurons and inducing brain atrophy. ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news