Blood peptide lower in Alzheimer’s patients also works in animal models
Researchers set out to test a synthetic peptide as a potential treatment against the clumping proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Then they discovered the peptide already exists naturally in the human body, and is reduced in Alzheimer’s patients.
In Alzheimer's disease, a protein called amyloid-beta accumulates in the brain. Zinc ions play a role in the clumping process. Researchers designed a small man-made peptide, called HAEE, that interferes with the interaction between amyloid-beta and zinc. In laboratory animals, HAEE suppressed the formation of amyloid clumps.
Peptide found naturally in human blood
The researchers then developed a method to measure HAEE in blood plasma in preparation for human trials. What they found was unexpected: HAEE is not a purely man-made construct but a normal component of human blood plasma.
Moreover, in 200 patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, HAEE concentrations were clearly lower than in 150 participants with no thinking or memory problems. This association makes HAEE a potential blood test marker for Alzheimer's disease. It also opens the door to investigating man-made HAEE as an additional treatment.
Caution is warranted
The researchers published their findings in PNAS Nexus. They stress that this is an association: low HAEE levels accompany Alzheimer's, but whether this is a cause or consequence has not been established. Trials of man-made HAEE as a treatment have not yet been conducted in humans. Whether this peptide can serve as a medicine requires further investigation.
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