The molecule, known as GSK3-beta, activates a gene that creates a protein, called BACE1. When BACE1 cuts another protein, called APP, the resulting fragment \u2013 known as amyloid beta \u2013 forms tiny fibers that clump together into plaques in the brain, eventually killing neural cells.<\/p>\n Using an animal model, Dr. Weihong Song, Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and professor of psychiatry, found that disabling GSK3-beta\u2019s effect in mice resulted in less BACE1 and far fewer deposits of amyloid in their brains. Song\u2019s research, published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation<\/em>, also found that such mice performed better than untreated mice on memory tests.<\/p>\n Previous research had shown that GSK3-beta spurred the growth of twisted fibers inside neurons, known as tangles \u2013 another hallmark of AD<\/strong>. Song says his discovery of the protein\u2019s dual destructiveness makes it a promising target for drug research.<\/p>\n GSK3-beta, however, is a versatile enzyme that controls many vital physiological functions<\/strong>. The drug used to inhibit GSK3-beta in the mice is too indiscriminate, and could cause several serious side effects, including cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can find a way to stop GSK3-beta\u2019s specific reaction with BACE1, and still leave it intact to perform other crucial tasks, we have a much better chance of treating AD and preventing its progression<\/strong>,\u201d says Song, a member of the Brain Research Centre at UBC and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI), and Director of the Townsend Family Laboratories at UBC.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the UBC press release: A scientist at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the molecule that controls a scissor-like protein responsible for the production of plaques \u2013 the telltale sign of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD). The molecule, known as GSK3-beta, activates a gene that creates a protein, called BACE1. When… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6],"tags":[195,42,18,194],"class_list":["post-8853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-neuroscience","tag-alzheimers","tag-brain","tag-cognition","tag-dementia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8853"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8939,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8853\/revisions\/8939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lab\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/lab_research.jpg\" "\\"Lab\\"")
A scientist at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the molecule that controls a scissor-like protein responsible for the production of plaques<\/strong> \u2013 the telltale sign of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD).<\/p>\n