Scientists Uncover Brain's Toxin Transport Network in Mammalian Brains

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine have shown how mammalian brains create networks of tubes that transport toxins in and out of brain cells, similar to pneumatic tubes in factories and stores. This discovery, published in the journal Science, may advance understanding of the processes that lead to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, observed nanotubes forming to rid neurons of toxic small molecules, including amyloid-beta, a protein that accumulates in Alzheimer's disease. The scientists used high-powered microscopes and live cell imaging to observe how brain cells produce finger-like protrusions between brain cell dendrites to ferry small, harmful molecules.

Key Takeaways:

• Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that mammalian brains create networks of tubes that transport toxins in and out of brain cells, similar to pneumatic tubes in factories and stores.
• The study, published in the journal Science, observed nanotubes forming to rid neurons of toxic small molecules, including amyloid-beta, a protein that accumulates in Alzheimer's disease.
• The researchers used high-powered microscopes and live cell imaging to observe how brain cells produce finger-like protrusions, known as dendritic nanotubes, between brain cell dendrites to ferry small, harmful molecules.
• Computational models of the process documented in the study mimic the process of "early amyloidosis" and uncover a nanotubular connectivity layer in the brain that goes beyond usual communication between brain cells.
• The findings may advance understanding of the processes that lead to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions and pave the way for potential new therapies.
• The researchers identified nanotubes with similar morphology forming between neurons in human brains, suggesting a potential common mechanism between mouse and human brains.
• Future experiments will focus on whether larger-scale nanotube networks exist in cell types other than neurons in the brain and on designing an experiment to create a nanotube to see how it affects the state of cells.

Statistics:

• The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (DP1MH119428 and R01NS138176).
• The researchers observed an increased number of nanotubes in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease at three months old compared to normal mice of the same age.
• By six months of age, the number of nanotubes in normal mice and those with Alzheimer's disease began to equalize.

Sources:

• Johns Hopkins Medicine
• National Institutes of Health (DP1MH119428 and R01NS138176)
• Journal Science (published Oct. 2)