Enhanced brain cells clear away dementia-related proteins
Medical Xpress • • health
Key Points:
- Researchers at Washington University have developed a new cellular immunotherapy using engineered astrocytes with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) that target and remove amyloid beta plaques in mice brains, potentially offering a single-injection treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
- This CAR-astrocyte therapy prevented plaque formation in young mice and reduced existing plaques by 50% in older mice, showing promise over current monoclonal antibody treatments that require frequent infusions.
- The approach transforms astrocytes into "super cleaners" that alleviate the burden on microglia, the brain's immune cells, which can become overwhelmed in neurodegenerative diseases.
- The study, published in Science, represents the first successful engineering of astrocytes to clear amyloid beta plaques
