New research has found that the most common version of a protein called CD33 plays a crucial role in regulating white blood cells in the human brain, which could have important implications in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
The study builds on previous research that had identified the protein as a factor that may decrease a person’s likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease. However, less than 10 percent of the population have that version of CD33 as opposed to the more common one.
According to U of A chemist and immunologist Matthew Macauley, whose laboratory led the study, “White blood cells in the brain, called microglia, play a critical role in Alzheimer’s disease—they…
