Plasticity may make neurons vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease

Plasticity may make neurons vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease
Principal neurons of the entorhinal cortex layer II assist with memory and navigation and are among the most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s. Researchers generated a line of mice for studying ECII neurons (highlighted using a green fluorescent protein). The neurons are at such high risk because they frequently remodel, making them prone to fatal dysfunctions, the researchers found. Credit: J.-P. Roussarie et al./Neuron 2020

Neurons that regularly remodel are more prone to Alzheimer’s disease and die when that remodeling goes awry, a new study suggests. The work is the first to track the progression of Alzheimer’s at the genetic and molecular levels within neurons vulnerable to the disease.

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