Apoa1

Study maps 92 blood proteins that cross the blood–brain barrier to support brain health

Researchers led by neuroscientist Andrew Yang at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease developed a labeling technique to track nearly 900 blood proteins and identified 92 that cross into the brain, many originating in organs like the liver. The team focused on apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1), which prompts astrocytes to release cholesterol needed for synapse maintenance, and found two receptors, SR-B1 and ABCA1, that help ferry it across the barrier. In mice modeling early Alzheimer's disease, this protein transport system broke down.