Strong motivating causes of neurological diseases and Alzheimer's

Strong motivating causes of neurological diseases and Alzheimer's

A recent scientific study showed that some viral diseases can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

The research, published by the Boldsky health website, citing the journal Nature Communications, is based on laboratory experiments that showed that certain viral particles facilitate the intercellular spread of protein clusters that are a hallmark of brain diseases.

Prion disease

A team of researchers, from the University of Bonn, Germany, noticed that the clusters of distorted proteins, which occur in the so-called prion disease, have the ability to move from one cell to another, where they transfer their abnormal shape to proteins of the same type.

As a result, the disease spreads through the brain, the researchers said, and that a similar phenomenon occurs in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The transfer of aggregates can involve direct cell-to-cell contact, the release of “naked” agglomerates into the extracellular space or packages in vesicles, which are small bubbles surrounded by a lipid sheath that is secreted for intercellular communication.

"The exact mechanisms of transmission are unknown," said Prof. Anna Voorberg, a professor at the University of Bonn.

Simulation of the effects of a viral infection

Imitating what happens as a result of viral infection, the researchers prompted the cells to produce viral proteins that mediate target cell binding and membrane fusion.
Two types of proteins were selected including the spike protein SARS-CoV-2, which originates from the virus that causes COVID-19, and the vesicular stomatitis virus VSV-G glycoprotein, which occurs in pathogens in cattle and other animals.

The cells expressed receptors for these viral proteins, the LDL receptor family, which serves as niches for VSV-G stability, as well as the ACE2 receptor, which is the SARS-CoV-2 receptor.

"We can show that viral proteins are embedded in both the cell membrane and extracellular vesicles," Professor Forberg said.

She added that "its presence increased the spread of protein accumulation between cells, whether through direct cellular contact or through extracellular vesicles."

Viral ligands mediated the efficient transfer of aggregates to recipient cells, where they stimulated new aggregates. "The links act like switches that open the recipient cells and thus infiltrate the dangerous points," Professor Forberg said.

Virus protein receptor interactions

Overall, the data suggest that viral ligand-receptor interactions can in principle influence the transmission of pathogenic proteins.

Prof. Forberg said: “The brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases sometimes contain certain viruses. They are suspected of causing inflammation or of having a toxic effect, and thus accelerating the process of neurodegeneration,” noting that “viral proteins can act differently, as they can result in increased intercellular proliferation of protein groups already present in neurodegenerative diseases.” Like Alzheimer's disease.

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