Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have tested a new potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Transplantation of blood stem cells from healthy animals to patients helps to replace defective nerve cells.
The researchers experimented with mice that had defective TREM2 genes, the most common genetic change associated with a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers transplanted stem cells and progenitor cells isolated from the blood of healthy animals into these animals.
The analysis showed that the transplanted cells restore the circulatory system in the recipient’s brain and even form new cells that look and function like microglia — macrophages of the nervous system, dysfunctions in which are associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The new cells replaced many of the recipient’s original microglia and, as shown by preliminary analysis, restored their function. In addition, the transplant also affected other signs of Alzheimer’s disease, including a decrease in the formation of amyloid plaques. «We showed that most of the original brain microglia was replaced by healthy cells, which led to the restoration of normal TREM2 activity,» says Marius Wernig, co—author of the study.
The researchers note that although the first results are promising, they are preliminary and require further research. Firstly, the replacement cells resemble microglia, but still differ from it. It is necessary to study how these changes will affect brain function in a long-term study.
And secondly, the current treatment is invasive — replacement requires first destroying the diseased cells with radiation or chemotherapy. For the full application of the method in humans, a less toxic method of removing cells with impaired functions is needed.
