Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Regulation of amyloid beta metabolism
In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progressive brain atrophy and dementia appear because of neuronal cell death and synaptic dysfunction in brains. Amyloid beta plays a central toxic role in AD pathogenesis. Combination of the direct suppression of neuronal death and removal of amyloid beta is a promising strategy for disease-modifying AD therapy. Recently, we found that a novel neuroprotective factor, Humanin, which was originally identified as an anti-neuronal death factor, lowered the level of amyloid beta in AD model mice. In this project, we will investigate mechanisms underlying amyloid beta-lowering activity of Humanin.