GoKawiilExplore the origins of all complex life, boggle at award-winning microscopy and learn that stomach bugs send protective immune cells rushing from gut to brain.
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Mapping microproteins in the brain might help to understand, and treat, Alzheimer’s disease.Credit: Zephyr/SPL
More than 1,000 previously overlooked ‘microproteins’ have been found in samples of human brain tissue from people with and without Alzheimer’s disease. Dozens of the microproteins showed altered expression in people with Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that could pave the way for uncovering new mechanisms of ageing and neurodegeneration.
Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature Aging paper
Immune cells that fight stomach bugs can migrate from the gut to the brain, where they establish a lasting ‘memory’ of previous infection, according to a study in mice. After an infection, gut-trained T cells journey to the meninges, a protective membrane that shields the brain. Once there, the cells become residents that can respond to later infections. The findings could shed light on how gut infections might affect neurological disorders, and could help to develop therapies that harness the relationship between the gut and the central nervous system.
Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature Neuroscience paper
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