Targeting the LANDO pathway holds a potential clue to treating Alzheimer’s disease

Newswise — (Memphis, Tenn.—August 14, 2020) Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are advancing understanding of a potential Alzheimer’s disease treatment. The work focuses on LC3-associated endocytosis (LANDO) and its role in neuroinflammation. The results appeared as an advance online publication today in Science Advances.

The researchers previously discovered the LANDO pathway in microglial cells, the primary immune cells of the brain and central nervous system. Scientists found that when genes required for this pathway are deleted, Alzheimer’s disease progression accelerates in a mouse model. The investigators also showed that LANDO protects against neuroinflammation, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. 

While continuing to investigate LANDO, the researchers identified a novel function of the protein ATG16L. This protein is critical…

Read more…