Significant obstacles remain before potential human therapy.
Immunotherapy could hold promising results for treating Alzheimer’s disease as well as other neurological disorders.
Using Brain Cells to Target Plaques and Tangles
Typically used for cancer treatment, immunotherapy works by harnessing the body’s immune system to recognize and attack harmful cells.
In the context of neurological diseases, immunotherapy uses the brain’s immune cells, known as microglia, to target the amyloid beta plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
As these plaques build up in the brain, another protein called tau also forms and becomes entangled with neurons, ushering in the second stage of Alzheimer’s characterized by brain atrophy and cognitive decline.
Immune Cells Contain Plaques, But Antibodies Clear Them
Researchers tested the immunotherapy approach on mice. They found that when activated, the brain’s immune cells will surround the amyloid beta plaques and form a protective barrier. This barrier prevents the plaques from spreading further.
The microglia’s inability to fully destroy the plaques, which is typically the goal of immunotherapy, is neutralized by a component of the plaques themselves.
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However, the research team found that specially engineered antibodies were able to successfully block and clear the plaques. Clearing these plaques in the mice was found to alleviate their risk-taking behaviors often observed in Alzheimer’s.
Search for Better Treatments Continues
Dr. Colonna and his team believe that their immunotherapy approach could alter the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease. They theorize that by clearing the amyloid beta plaques, it may prevent or slow the formation of the tau protein tangles. However, this hypothesis will require additional research and testing specifically focused on the tau tangles.
Current Alzheimer’s drug treatments have limitations. Medications like lecanemab, which target the amyloid proteins, can sometimes induce side effects like swelling and bleeding (a condition known as ARIA).
“Lecanemab, as the first therapeutic antibody that has been able to modify the course of the disease, confirmed the importance of amyloid beta protein in Alzheimer’s disease progressionaccording to the study authors. ”And it opened new opportunities for developing other immunotherapies that use different methods of removing damaging proteins from the brain.”
The approval of lecanemab confirmed the critical role of the amyloid beta protein in the progression of the condition, the study authors noted. The medication opened up new avenues for developing other immunotherapy approaches that uses different methods to remove harmful proteins from the brain, they added.
