Researchers from Gladstone Institute uncovered the therapeutic benefits of genetically improving interneurons with a voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.1 and transplanting them into the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. This study is led by Jorge Palop, Ph.D., an assistant investigator at the Gladstone Institutes. The study findings are published in journal Neuron.
Inhibitory interneurons are essential for managing brain rhythms. They regulate the oscillatory rhythms and network synchrony that are required for cognitive functions. Network dysrhythmias in Alzheimer’s disease and multiple neuropsychiatric disorders are associated with hypofunction of Nav1.1, a voltage-gated sodium channel subunit predominantly expressed in interneurons in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Researchers found a way to re-engineer inhibitory interneurons genetically boosted by adding protein Nav1.1 to improve their function. They showed that these enhanced interneurons, when transplanted into the abnormal brain of Alzheimer mice, can properly control the activity of excitatory cells and restore brain rhythms.
The researchers then discovered that the interneurons with enhanced function were able to overcome the toxic disease environment and restore brain function. The findings could eventually lead to the development of new treatment options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition to examining if the cell therapy could be translated from mice to humans, researchers are working on pharmaceutical drugs to enhance the function of inhibitory interneurons.
Citation: Martinez-Losa, Magdalena, Tara E. Tracy, Keran Ma, Laure Verret, Alexandra Clemente-Perez, Abdullah S. Khan, Inma Cobos, Kaitlyn Ho, Li Gan, Lennart Mucke, Manuel Alvarez-Dolado, and Jorge J. Palop. “Nav1.1-Overexpressing Interneuron Transplants Restore Brain Rhythms and Cognition in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Neuron, 2018. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.02.029.
Research funding: National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer’s Association; S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.
Adapted from press release by Gladstone Institutes.