A mouse study suggests that brain cells "zombies" could be the key to fighting Alzheimer's disease

According to a study on mice, targeting so-called "zombie cells" could be the key to treating age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

Also called senescent cells, these units are neither useful nor dead and are unable to reproduce or develop distinctive features. Scientists believe that zombie cells cluster together to cause the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as well as physical diseases such as osteoarthritis and atherosclerosis.

Mayo Clinic researchers who conducted the study, published in the journal Nature, Genetically engineered mice have tau protein entanglements – supposed to contribute to Alzheimer's disease – in their brains. They have also been modified to target senescent cells.

The team discovered senescent cells collected in specific regions of the brain before mice suffered cognitive decline. Similarly, preventing them from clustering seemed to prevent tau proteins from clustering together and reducing neuronal death and memory loss.

The researchers targeted the so-called zombie cells to understand their role in the development of age-related diseases. Getty Images

Darren Baker, a molecular biologist at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the journal, said: Newsweek"Using a combination of unique mouse models and pharmacological means to eliminate these cells, we have established that their presence in the central nervous system promotes pathological alterations, including the accumulation of toxic aggregates of tau protein. In addition, we show that senescent cells cause neurodegeneration and loss of cognition in mice.

This research could have important implications for the treatment of age-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, currently affecting 5.7 million people in the United States. By the year 2050, these numbers are expected to triple.

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But we are still far from the senescent cells that constitute the basis of treatments against these diseases.

"It's important to note that this study used mice that we knew were predisposed to the disease," Wilson said. "We show that senescent cells have favorable effects on the disease, now it will be important to establish if this occurs in other mouse models of neurodegeneration in patients."

James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer Society, who did not participate in the study, said, "There has been no new drug against dementia in 15 years. "

But he pointed out that several hurdles had to be overcome before a zombie cell drug came onto the market.

"For example, we do not know if this drug is actually able to enter the brain and the elderly often have a lot of harmless brain cells that look like the senescent zombie cells targeted by this drug. say the two apart, "he said.

Rosa Sancho, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Researchers continue to get a better idea of ​​the precise interaction between the immune system and the brain, and this new study adds another dimension to this puzzle. .

She continued, "In this small but well-designed study, researchers were able to clearly identify the immune cells of a region of the brain important for memory and thought, which could limit the damage associated with neurodegenerative diseases.