Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia and is characterised by the build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain. Microglia, the immune sentinels of the brain, are not only responsible for eliminating foreign invaders, but also maintaining brain homeostasis by clearing toxic waste such as the amyloid plaques.
However, the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s Disease and its relationship to amyloid plaque accumulation remain unclear. Now, a team of scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and Monash University have found the gene expression signatures underlying microglia associated with amyloid plaque phagocytosis — i.e. the engulfing of deposits of the amyloid beta (A?) protein in the brain. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Communications, offer a new target for interventions that aim to address the underlying disease mechanism of this incurable disease.
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